Distinguishing Between the Editing Types

 

By Martin Wiles

Those dreaded edits. No writer enjoys red Track Change marks all over their perfect-in-their-mind piece of writing. And writers, many of whom are editors, certainly don’t enjoy funneling through them and doing what the editor suggests. Yet every piece of writing—no matter the type or genre—needs editing. The question is which type. 

Among the familiar types of editing are substantive (structural,
content, developmental), copyediting, and proofreading. An unfamiliar type, however, might be line editing. This post will focus on the differences between copyediting and line editing and which one should precede the other.

Substantive editing examines how the writer presents ideas, not just the words they use. This entails logic, organization, tone, and suitability for the audience. This type of editing can include any or all of the following: reorganizing chapters or scenes, rewriting weak paragraphs, and removing redundant material.

Often, an editor will find themselves overlapping in the various types of editing, but the kinds can be separated and are not identical twins. This article focuses only on line editing and copy editing and will answer the following questions: What are the differences, and which should come first?

I must admit that I was not clear on the difference myself. In fact, before writing and teaching a course for the Professional Editors Network (PEN), I had rarely heard the term line editing, although I was familiar with the other types. After a bit of research, however, I discovered I had been line editing all along without realizing it.

Truthfully, line editing and copyediting share many similarities, and most copyeditors probably do both without realizing the difference between them. So, what are the differences?

Copyediting

Copyediting entails checking for facts. If the writing is religious in nature and contains Bible verses, the copy editor will fact-check the verse or verses along with the translation. Further, if the writing is technical, the copy editor would check facts included by the author. Additionally, a copy editor will check syntax, which is how we arrange words and phrases to form sentences that clearly communicate. The last item bleeds over into the line editor’s responsibility.

Regardless of what type of writing we do, we want to help the writer clearly communicate their message to the readers. However, the main things copyeditors examine are the technical items: PUGS (punctuation, usage, grammar, spelling).

Punctuation marks include periods, commas, semi-colons, colons, question marks, exclamation marks, ellipsis points, em dashes, en dashes, apostrophes, quotation marks, brackets, and parentheses. All of these must be present when needed and used correctly.

Usage concerns using the right word, which editing programs don’t always peg. Example: to, too, two. Grammar concerns the eight parts of speech and how to use them correctly. Spelling, well, is self-explanatory.

Line Editing

Generally, line editing examines the following: titles, showing and telling, author voice, SEO and AI analysis, word overuse, sentence structure, clarity, readability, smooth transitions between paragraphs, verb tense and mood, unnecessary tense shifts, word and sentence flow, and story pace.

As one can see, doing these things will cause the editor to encounter PUGS errors, but the line editor will not focus on them. Technically, that’s the copyeditor’s responsibility.

When a writer is choosing between copyediting and line editing, they should understand why there is a logical reason for line editing to precede copyediting. It would make little sense for a copyeditor to correct the PUGS of a manuscript when a line editor may suggest changes that would undo numerous edits a copyeditor has made.

As editors, we should be familiar with the various types of editing, so we can help our clients choose the right one.

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.

Martin Wiles is an author, pastor, English teacher, and freelance editor who resides in Greenwood, South Carolina. He is the administrator/assistant editor for VineWords: Devotions and More and the Managing Editor for Christian Devotions. He is the founder/editor of the internationally recognized devotion site, Love Lines from God (www.lovelinesfromgod.com). His most recent book, Don’t Just Live … Really Live, is available on Amazon. He has also been published in numerous publications. He is the husband of one, the father of two, and the grandfather of seven.