Types of Editors

By Rosalinda Alcalá

When writers complete a writing project they usually realize they need another pair of eyes on their work. The editor chosen most often is a copyeditor. This well-intentioned move to catch stray commas and polish the work is probably not the correct choice. There are six different types of editors, and each serve a different stage of a fiction or nonfiction manuscript. The type of editors are a book doctor, substantive editor, developmental editor, line editor, copy editor, and proofreading. So, now I bet your head is spinning and you’re wondering what each editor does exactly. Well, continue reading to explore each one.

Let’s begin with the book doctor, who operates on the manuscript as a whole and identifies the problems. The book doctor proceeds to rethink, reconfigure, and rewrite sections that need modification. This editor steps into the realm of ghostwriting. In addition, this editor may interview the author for additional information.

The next editor is known as a substantive editor that strolls through almost as a book doctor. This editor works in both realms of a developmental and line editor. Editing involves heavy lifting and moderate rewriting. For example, a substantive editor reorganizes chapter content for better flow. Also, the editor may developing current anecdote into an eye-catching story. However, the rethinking is more of a line-by-line suggestion rather than a whole book restructuring.

Next, Developmental Editing, involves significant structuring or restructuring depending on the project and the editor. Some publishers may hand hold the writer to achieve the publisher’s vision. While other editors may rearrange content within a chapter or rearrange whole chapters. The ideal outcome is to provide the reader with the manuscript’s promise through clarity of structure.

Fourth, Line Editing involves moderate rewriting and editing. This is accomplished by a line-by-line basis. This type of editing doesn’t involve reorganizing. This could be viewed as a heavy copy edit. The editor often can assist an expert in his/her field that may not double a s a great writer. The line editor may assist in finding a better and clear way of writing the information.

Copy editing scans through the document and searching to fix punctuation, grammar, and spelling. This editing is only done once the structure of the manuscript is complete.

The final editing is known as proofreading. This type of editing catches anything missed by the copy editor. In addition, a proofreader searches for typos, issues with headers and footers, flow of page numbers, unnecessary spacing, and font errors.

Whether a manuscript is fiction or nonfiction is irrelevant because all manuscripts need the assistance of an editor. The real question is what shape is your manuscript in and what type of assistance do you need?