Mapping the Editing Maze
Updated: 4 days ago
Image courtesy of Oleg Hasanov
(Note to reader: I direct my blogs toward entrepreneurs, coaches, and/or experts writing nonfiction books to use as business assets, but my suggestions are still applicable to anyone writing a fiction novel, memoir, short story, etc.)
John D. Berry, a noted typographer and book designer, has said, "Only when the design fails does it draw attention to itself; when it succeeds, it's invisible."
I'm almost certain that you've read books that have frustrated you with spelling or grammar mistakes, missing plot threads, poo citations, repetitive words, or patterns of speech that drive you crazy. Those kinds of mistakes are the result of faulty editing and design.
Don't fail your readers by skipping the editing process! Whether you're just starting out, already mid-manuscript, or nearing completion, it's never too early or too late to work through edits.
Of course, YOU are your first editor! You are the expert in your field and you must be the first to re-read and edit your work. (You'd be amazed at the number of authors - fiction and nonfiction - who give their editors a first draft of their manuscript!) Doing so wastes time and money for everyone.
Below, I've broken down the five stages of editing, likening each stage to building a house. Take the time to follow the steps and you'll get a final product that has an "invisible" design. (Note that this blog focuses on nonfiction, but it's every bit as applicable to fiction.)
Build your book like you'd build a house
Editorial assessment (Or: Set the foundation)
Too often, authors forget about an editorial assessment to review the overall manuscript “health” of their book. Generally a short diagnostic letter that's completed very early in the writing process, the assessment will provide an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript, as well as pacing, overall structure, and obvious research gaps, and tone. The assessment may pose questions as they pertain to the theme and topics. There are no in-line edits with an editorial assessment; the goal is to help the author understand how to prioritize their efforts.
Developmental editing (Or: Build the structure)
A developmental edit helps to ensure that you have solid structure that will withstand a storm. It fixes the bones of your book without getting into the sometimes-scary line-by-line edits (those come in the next stage).
Your "dev" edit will result in a straight‑talk, substantive editorial letter of 8 - 12 pages (depending on the length of your book) that should include select page notes that show patterns and issues, as well as a next‑draft plan you can act on. Grammar, specific line editing, etc., is not included in the letter.
A nonfiction developmental edit will focus on structure, pacing, and how to streamline your arguments/topics in individual chapters and across the book. It will also consider potential holes in your content and review supporting materials and/or sources. (A fiction developmental edit will focus structure, stakes, point of view, pacing, characterization, and world logic.)
Importantly, regardless of genre or category (non-fiction / fiction), developmental editing will bear your target audience in mind and assess your work in relation to industry standards and expectations.
Line editing (Or: Decorating the rooms)
At this stage, you've nailed your structure and built out the rooms (themes/topics) of your book. Now it's time to "decorate," which is to say, make your sentences flow. A line edit tunes clarity, rhythm and pacing, tone, and continuity. You’ll see tracked changes and importantly, margin notes that teach you why specific edits work so you can repeat the craft in later chapters.
Line editors will address stiff or unrealistic dialogue, tonal inconsistencies, run-on sentences, and other “tics” that affect the overall reading experience. They’ll work on every single line of your manuscript and as much as possible, stay faithful to your particular style of writing and tone. This is critically important; line editors consider carefully author word choices and tone so as not to dilute or lose the author’s voice.
The line edit stage can be frightful. It may bring back memories of the dreaded "red ink" of school essays, and it certainly can be hard to get detailed, not-always-sugar-coated feedback on your writing. But without a great line edit, your book will suffer.
One of the most important aspects of the line edit is the style sheet that your editor will develop specifically for your book. A style sheet is a guide that both you and your editor will use to maintain uniformity throughout your book. It establishes treatment of numbers, lists, compound words, punctuation, quotation marks, italics, etc. Style sheets generally adhere to The Chicago Manual of Style, The Associated Press Stylebook, The Oxford Style Guide, a publisher’s in-house style guide, or are customized specifically to the book being copyedited. This last point is important; your style sheet isn't set in stone, and as you move through the editing process, you may find you need to add "house rules" here and there. The key is consistency, from start to finish.
Copy editing (Or: Cleaning up)
A copyedit is meant to be technical. Your copy editor will clean grammar, usage, hyphenation, and terminology while enforcing the style sheet so that decisions stay uniform. A great copy editor will improve the manuscript’s readability, create consistency, clarify sentences to support or strengthen prose, and consider factual correctness. They’ll also eliminate redundant sentence phrasing, and edit weak words, phrases, or sentences to create stronger alternatives, again while maintaining and even strengthening the author's voice.
This is a great place to use AI, but I do advise caution. I tested it out using ChatGPT (I use the Plus version, with the "Improve model for everyone" setting OFF) when I got to the copyedit stage of writing my book, Start Messy, Finish Mighty: Write the Book That Builds Your Business (release date end of 2026). I copied each chapter of my Google Doc to a Microsoft Word doc and asking AI to make its copyedits. That way, I could compare the documents side-by-side. The results were “okay.” Some of the edits AI made were perfectly valid. For example, it found numerous extra spaces, corrected quite a few commas, and found some repeated words like “your your” in the same sentence.
But I also found lots of inconsistencies and far too many wrong or out-of-context edits. Do not trust AI to be perfect! You must still go line-by-line through your book, and you must still get a human copy editor!
Proofreading (Or: The final walkthrough)
The last stage in the editing process, a proofread is your final insurance pass to catch lingering typos, layout glitches, and broken references before you spend any money on printing. A proofread is especially helpful after the manuscript has been designed (both inside and out!) so as to eliminate any potential errors before going to press.
While it’s nearly impossible to eliminate absolutely every mistake in a book, your proofreader will do their level best to make sure your manuscript is error-free.
Why investing in a full editorial path matters
Strong books typically travel the full editorial path. Think of the best-selling books from top publishers; they’re mistake free, engaging, and stylistically consistent. Each phase of the editorial process targets a different layer of quality, and together they reduce - and hopefully eliminate! - surprises at launch. Not to mention, mistakes cost more the later they’re caught! For example: big structural fixes made during copyedit waste valuable time and potentially dilute your voice. Likewise, skipping the proofreading stage can turn small errors into “public errata,” require costly reprints, and perhaps worst of all, cause reader frustration (thus resulting in fewer sales). After all, who wants to hire someone who is careless enough not to bother double- (or triple-) checking their work?
Scope out what works best for you
You wouldn’t (hopefully!) buy a house without knowing what you’re getting, right? Same for editing and self-publishing services! Agree on and put the scope for what you’re paying for in writing before work begins! And of course, always read your contract once you receive it, to ensure that it is, indeed, what you agreed on. Finally, should there be scope changes on either side, you should expect an honest conversation about revised fees.
Your move!
Roland Media is a publishing consulting firm and offers three premium packages and group coaching to help business experts write books that elevate their brand, reputation, and opportunities. All packages use the Start Messy, Finish Mighty method, a step-by-step, science-based process that uses time-tested business principles to bring your human expertise and experience to the world - faster, and more efficiently. We always conduct a free 30 minute consultation to determine if we're a mutual fit prior to engaging a client. All of our clients keep 100% of their royalties and earnings from any book or related sales.
