What Does a Book Editor Actually Do?
If you’ve ever asked yourself (or someone else), “What does a book editor actually do?” then you’re in great company. Even people who have been writing for a long time may not actually have a firm grasp of what book editors do. Or how many different types of editing occur in the process of publishing.
So the first thing you need to know is what types of editing actually occur during the creation of a book:
Developmental Editing
Structural Editing
Line Editing
Copy Editing
Proofreading
Now some of my friends in the publishing world might balk that I even include proofreading here in this list. Editors, in general, do NOT like to be called proofreaders because that’s not what they do. The reason I’m including proofreading here, though, is because this is the common misconception about editing I see.
When people hear an agent or publisher tell them, “Your book needs to be edited,” their mind often goes to proofing. They assume they have too many grammatical errors or typos. But that’s not what is meant at all.
Editing exists on a spectrum with Developmental Editing being on the artistic end of the spectrum where creativity does a lot of heavy lifting, whereas Proofreading marks the more technical/functional end of the spectrum.
So with that out of the way, what do these different type of editors actually do?
WHAT IS A DEVELOPMENTAL EDITOR?
Often, Developmental Editing and Structural Editing can be combined, but I’m keeping them separate for reasons I’ll explain shortly. A Developmental Editor comes along, often in a coaching role, to help the author find the best path forward for their book. This can include helping them with the book outline, revising the book outline, addressing issues with the structure or other holistic improvements which need to be made.
Sometimes a Developmental Editor will also help the author write the book in a ghostwriting or co-authorship role. This is why I like to separate it from Structural Editing which does NOT do any ghostwriting, though they may make suggestions for changes to a text.
Another way I see Developmental Editing as different than Structural Editing is the DE may be involved before the author has their book fully mapped out. They may guide the author past some writer’s block, help them identify themes, or point out gaps which need to be filled, such as a plot hole in fiction or the need to include specific research proof in nonfiction.
When I first got into publishing, this was most of what I was doing. Very few of the authors I work with have a complete manuscript ready for revisions. Hence the reason it needs more “development.”
WHAT IS A STRUCTURAL EDITOR?
Structural Editors do much of the same work as a Developmental Editor, but in their case, they are working mostly with material which has already been written. They are not necessarily helping the author flesh out the entire book, but reviewing what is already on the page and providing notes on what improvements could be made.
This could be suggestions on reformulating an argument, moving around certain paragraphs or whole chapters in nonfiction. In fiction, it could be pointing out a character who needs to be fleshed out more, sections which slow down the pacing, or plot holes.
While an SE may do some light rewriting, it’s not typically to the level a DE would do. They may make suggestions on how the author can rewrite a section where a DE might rewrite the section themselves and then seek the author’s approval on the rewrite.
But it’s very very common for these two to overlap or even be done in one breath. Most of my DE work has also included a heavy dose of SE and vice-versa.
WHAT IS A LINE EDITOR?
A Line Edit (LE) occurs after the manuscript has been completed with revisions. Here, the Line Editor is not making any structural or developmental changes or suggestions. Rather, they are looking at the text on the page to make sure the ideas are clear and the best words are being used, consistent with the author’s voice.
For instance, a Line Editor might take a run-on sentence and break it up into smaller pieces to help with reading clarity. Or they might revise a phrase to shorten the word count. For example, they would take a sentence like the following:
“A lot of times people get confused when a sentence is way too long, which is why you should keep them short and sweet instead.”
And change it to:
“Many times, a long sentence causes confusion. Instead, keep them short and sweet.”
The same message is communicated, but more concisely. Depending on the publisher/author, the LE might be the same as the SE or the DE. For many of my projects, I do both. This can be tricky and I usually need to step away from the material for a few days so I can put on my LE hat.
I like to tell people the Developmental and Structural Editor’s jobs are to primarily focus on the author, but the Line Editor’s job is to focus on the reader.
WHAT IS A COPY EDITOR?
The key distinction with between Line and Copy Editing is Line Editing is concerned more with style, tone, and message—it’s on the artistic end of the spectrum. The Copy Edit is concerned more with the exact words already on the page and ensuring they are logical and correct. As such, it’s more on the functional side of the editing spectrum.
For instance, they might notice the following sentence:
“As we headed East in the morning, the setting sun made me squint my eyes.”
A Copy Editor would see both the capitalization mistake with “East” and also the wrong logical positioning for the sun. They might edit the sentence to:
“As we headed east in the morning, the rising sun made me squint my eyes.”
A good Line Editor is also copy editing as they go. But a good Copy Editor never line edits.
WHAT IS A PROOFREADER?
And finally we arrive at proofreaders! While a DE, SE, LE, and CE will certainly do a bit of proofreading along the way and fix those pesky typos, it’s not their focus. They are not there to be the Grammar Police.
Proofreaders, on the other hand, have the ungrateful job of finding all the little mistakes which everyone else has missed along the way. Which is why they are so important to the editing process for a book! They will not rewrite any sentences or provide any notes on the actual material of the book. Rather, their job is to make sure the copy is as clean as possible from mistakes.
They are usually provided some kind of style guide so they know what to leave alone. For example, if a memoir is being written by someone from the South and they want to say “y’all” and “ain’t,” the proofreader would know not to fix those. They would also be provided some notes on if a certain term needs to be capitalized throughout the book for consistency, especially in nonfiction when the author has a branded term.
My favorite proofreading fail story is when I helped one of my indie clients with their second book. Even though the book was read by at least five different people prior to publication, we all missed one major typo…
Instead of someone’s job title being mentioned as “a public accountant,” the book said, “a pubic accountant.” Definitely NOT the same thing!
It was an embarrassing mistake but one we were able to quickly correct before too many more copies of the book were printed and sold. Hey…you live and you learn. But looking back, I wish we’d had one more pass with proofreading in mind. I no longer trust myself to do it on my own!
IT TAKES A VILLAGE OF EDITORS
Writing can be a lonely process. The role of editors is to come alongside the author and support them in creating the best book possible. Whether one person is serving as the Structural Editor, Developmental Editor, and Line Editor, or whether a different person is filling each of those roles, it truly takes a village of editors to help bring a book to life.
For any new writer, especially if they don’t have a lot of cash on hand, it can be discouraging to hear over and over you need an editor…and then realize you don’t have the means to pay for one yourself. As the saying goes, though, “you get what you pay for.”
If you can’t afford an editor, consider partnering up with another author to exchange books and edit each other’s work. Join a writing group and ask for structural feedback on your book. Reach out to a local college’s English department to find out if any senior-level or post-grad students with an interest in editing would be willing to do work for free in exchange for a review or reference. While their work won’t be up to the highest of professional standards, you can still get good results and it will be a win for both of you!
Take it from someone who said, “I can edit my own work,” and learned the hard way. It’s VERY difficult to self-edit. An extra set of eyes on your work reaps incredible benefits in the end. Hopefully with the information here, you’ll now be equipped to know which type of editor you need at each stage of your project.
