What Type of Editing Do I Need?: For New (Overwhelmed) Independent Authors
If familiarizing yourself with types of editing is the first step in the editing process, knowing what type is right for your manuscript is the next. In case you missed it, here is the first article in this series, focusing on types of editing.
Self-Editing
When deciding what type of editing you need first, begin by flipping through your manuscript. Do you see lots of typos or confusing phrases at a glance? Maybe you wrote parts using speech-to-text, or have a tendency to forget quotation marks or paragraph indents. If this is you, your first step is to reread your own work to correct your spelling, phrasing, and formatting. Don’t worry about every intricacy, just make the text readable. Your editor(s) will have a difficult time assessing your story if they can’t focus on the words!
Alpha Reader
After yourself, your alpha readers are your first audience, the ones who will tell you whether your story is generally enjoyable, what genre they think it fits in, and if character arcs are believable. Think of this as story validation. You probably have an alpha reader, even if you don’t know it. If a fellow writer reads your manuscript before you send it off to an editor, or you send snippets to your partner, or your writing group helps you brainstorm to fix plot holes, that’s alpha reading. All manuscripts need alpha readers, whether formal or not, for the simple reason that writing is meant to be read. Without a fresh set of eyes, you can’t really know whether your idea is working or if it needs some work.
Manuscript Evaluation
A manuscript evaluation, story critique, manuscript assessment, or editorial assessment is a multi-page report on the reading experience and major story elements with specific advice and ideas. Where an alpha read might give you feedback like “The main character seemed flat, maybe their personality could be expressed more,” an evaluation might say, “To flesh out the main character, consider the characteristics they already have and how that might work in another environment. We know they’re kind, so maybe in X or Y scene, we see that kindness manifest as naivety.” If you’ve written a narrative, it’s usually a good idea to get an assessment. Because they don’t include in-line changes, you maintain a lot of control over the line-by-line verbiage while still refining your story, which can be a great warm-up to getting to know your characters and world.
Beta Readers
When you have your second draft, it’s time for beta readers. All manuscripts should go through beta readers to ensure a high quality reading experience for an average person. While your editor will make sure you dot your i’s and cross your t’s later, beta readers will tell you how someone not necessarily professionally trained interprets your work. Beta readers range in the depth of their feedback. They might say things like “I found the main character boring,” or “I couldn’t keep track of who was who,” or “Why is he helping the president again, wasn’t he in cahoots with Goldenface?” Some will leave it there, while others will write a whole manuscript evaluation. It’s always worth finding out what level of feedback you can expect, especially if you’re on a tight budget or timeline.
Developmental Edit
After you’ve gotten feedback from your beta readers, examine the common denominators. Did multiple people tell you the story moves too slowly? Did a few suggest big changes? Was there an overall consensus of confusion? And are these changes too big or too complex to reasonably make on your own? If so, you need a developmental edit. A developmental editor will make in-document changes for scene-level edits, and will also write a chapter-by-chapter report to make sure every part of the story is doing its job. After you receive feedback from your editor, your manuscript is back in your hands to make these important, big-scale changes. It may take multiple passes between you and your editor to have a manuscript you’re pleased with, and that’s okay.
Line Edit
Once you have a story that’s solid, it’s time for a line edit. It’s important not to jump the gun—don’t invest in a line edit until you’re happy with the story and not planning any more beta reads or developmental passes. Unless funds are really, really, really tight, you need a line edit. Where previous editing stages have made sure the story is engaging, line editing makes sure the writing itself is engaging. The story could be incredible, but if it's not fun to read, your audience will never find out.
Copy Edit
Copy editing is more technical than line editing, and looks to perfect your language and consistency. Making sure your manuscript uses either “toward” or “towards” the whole way through ensures your final product looks professional and worth a reader’s time. Some editors do copy/line editing in the same pass, which might be cheaper and faster than getting them done separately.
Proofreading
Proofreading is your final step, and all manuscripts need proofed. This makes sure that your work appears professional and adheres to standard language. These are the really pedantic changes, the ones that might have slipped through the cracks thus far, and they make all the difference in your readers' perception of you as an author.
To recap-
First, give yourself a read through to make sure the manuscript isn’t especially messy or hard to read.
An alpha reader is just someone who reads your first draft and validates that A) you’re telling the story you meant to tell, and B) it’s a story worth reading. You're ready for this when your first draft is clean.
An assessment or evaluation is very important, especially for long stories or stories that will be told in multiple installments. You're ready for this when you're confident you have the skeleton built.
Beta readers are essential, and you might get this done at the same time as the assessment. You're ready for this when you're on a second draft using others' feedback.
If your betas think your manuscript is confusing, you need a developmental edit.
A copy and line edit should be prioritized if at all possible. You're ready for this when you're done making story changes.
Proofreading is essential. You're ready for this when all other editing is done.
In the coming articles, we’ll be addressing more of the most frequently asked editing questions from new (overwhelmed) independent authors.
Where do I get alpha/beta readers?
How do I find an editor anyway?
I’m scared for people to read my work.
I can’t afford any of this!
~Allison of Sigmon Editorial
From idea to ISBN, Sigmon Editorial's got your back.
