In this video, I break down what these copy and line editors do to help you improve your manuscript. From catching those sneaky continuity errors to spotting word patterns you never knew you had, you’ll discover the specific ways professional editors can transform your manuscript and learn where to start the hunt for the right editor for your genre and publishing goals.
Hello, Jane Cleland here.
What’s the difference between line editing and copy editing? And do I need one? And how do I find one? Well, let’s talk about this. Copy editing and line editing probably refer to the same thing. Line editing means it’s on the page. Copy editing refers to what they’re looking for on the page. But the terms are pretty much used interchangeably.
So let’s look at what their going to edit for, how they’re going to help you from this editing point of view. First of all, they’re going to look for continuity issues, blue eyes versus brown eyes. Then they’re going to look for accuracy. They’re going to do fact checking. When you say mountain time, is it mountain time in daylight savings or is it right? And this can be quite exacting. They’re going to look for echoing words, are you repeating the same thing? Are there redundancies? Both in larger scale redundancies, are you repeating the same kind of line or the same emotion, and then literally, are you using the same word too often? I’m smiling because a wonderful thriller writer named Wendy Corsi Staub once told me that thank goodness for copy editors because she had to learn that she was using the word grim too often and that everybody’s expression was grim and she didn’t know she was doing it. It was just the way she expressed that thing.
That’s the beautiful thing that copy editors do. They do get into structure issues. They get into consistency of format issues. For example, if you title your chapters, but then all of a sudden randomly, chapter 18 doesn’t have a title, they will flag that for you. Now, how do you find them? I can recommend an organization called the Editorial Freelancers Association, the hyphen e f a dot org. Look for someone who has experience in your genre and a background that you aspire to. If you wanna be traditionally published, well then it makes sense for you to go with someone who has a background in traditional publishing.
This is such an important step in the editorial process. Just as all good photos need cropping, all good manuscripts need editing. I know you can do it. I’d love to hear about your experiences. Do put them in the comments section. I read them all.
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I am also hoping you will order my new book, Beat the Bots: A Writer’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Age of AI. It may not be new, um, when you’re seeing this. Order it! I think it’ll be quite helpful for you. I’m very confident in it. It’s gotten great reviews. And another thing that would be very helpful, ask your librarian to order it too. Thank you so much.
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