Do I Need Line Editing or Copy Editing?

"Which editing service is right for me?"

If I had a dollar for every time an author asked me this question, I'd probably have about five dollars.

Seriously, though, I've patrolled enough writing Reddit threads to know that folks are a bit confused about which editing service their manuscript needs and when. Understandably so, considering nearly nothing in the publishing industry is regulated, and editors often use service terms interchangeably.

So, for those of you who are new to the realm of editing or are tired of being met with vague descriptions for various services, I'm here to lay your questions to rest.

Without further ado, here's the lowdown on line editing and copy editing according to little old me.

What is line editing?

In my mind, line editing is copy editing's big sister. It focuses less on the mechanics of good writing (grammar, spelling, punctuation—though these elements are always important) and instead focuses on syntax, intent, clarity, and rhythm.

To put it bluntly, line editing ensures that each and every sentence clearly says exactly what it needs to say so readers can effortlessly absorb your message and not fall asleep while doing so. As a result, this editing stage is more of an art than a science.

Your line editor will comb through your manuscript line by line and do the heavy lifting of improving sentence structure; establishing logical flow between sentences, paragraphs, and topics; and ensuring your manuscript passes the read-aloud test.

I can hear you now: "Lyric, what the hell is a read-aloud test?" I'm glad you asked! Stick with me for a sec.

You know when you're trying to put a piece of furniture together, and you do the responsible thing and consult the instruction manual for step-by-step guidance? You're pumped that all the information is right there to get this mundane task over with as quickly as possible, but when you begin to read the booklet out loud, you're overcome with a boredom you've never known, and you find yourself re-reading step three over and over until you chuck the book across the room and just wing it.

Sure, you've saved yourself the sleep-inducing trauma of reading that booklet, but now your side table leans a bit to the right, and for some reason, there's a few too many screws left over for your liking.

Clearly, the instruction manual failed the read-aloud test with flying colors (to be fair, it wasn't written to be the newest literary classic, but your book was!). And it is this boring drivel that line editing aims to avoid. Instead, your line editor will insert life, dynamism, and dare I say excitement into your manuscript without altering your voice or original intent.

Like I said, it's an art! And it's well worth the investment.

What is copy editing?

Now, copy editing is likely what you thought of the first time someone told you that your manuscript could use an edit. This is the grammar-police service of the publishing world, tasked with calling out every spelling error, grammatical slip-up, or misused punctuation mark until you're convinced that perhaps you don't know English that well after all.

A thorough copy editor will also do some light fact-checking to ensure all proper names, places, dates, historical events, etc. are accurate and spelled correctly. (Emphasis on "light"; of course, the onus is on you, dear author, to make sure the information you share is correct.) They'll keep track of all of this information, as well as any manuscript-specific terminology or spelling/capitalization preferences, in a deliverable called a style sheet. I recommend you use this style sheet moving forward to keep all the minute details of your manuscript organized and consistent.

A quick note: Copy editing is best done toward the end of the editing process. By the time you reach this stage, your manuscript should have already been through at least a developmental edit, and you should be 100% happy with what your manuscript says and how it's being said.

If you're still second-guessing the structure, narrative arc, depth, or intent of your manuscript, you may want to consider developmental editing instead, as copy editing is only concerned with the small nitpicky details. It doesn't make sense for your editor to do all the work of fixing errors and ensuring consistency if you're just going to delete, revise, or add to chapters and potentially reintroduce more errors.

Yeah, editing is an annoyingly long process, but the point of all this is to produce the best piece of art possible, right? So you might as well do your due diligence and follow the pipeline as it was constructed. The peace of mind is worth it.

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So, to wrap up, line editing and copy editing are not the same thing. Ignore anyone who tells you they are. Some editors may combine these services, but most of the time, folks prefer to keep them separate. Line editing is great for the manuscript that has already received a developmental edit, has been revised accordingly, but is in need of some zhuzhing so people actually want to keep reading it. Copy editing, on the other hand, is best done after a thorough line edit to catch all those typos and inconsistencies that make readers want to throw your book at a wall and leave a hate review.

Shameless plug incoming: I offer both developmental editing and line editing! So if your manuscript is ready to be transformed into a page-turner, give me a shout. I'd be happy to help.

Until next time,