The Different Types of Book Editing and Which Type of Book Editor You Should Hire
You’re feeling pretty good about what you wrote.
You may have even invested in some AI editing software. (See below.)
Or maybe you’re thinking you need a little help with your book manuscript, but you’re not exactly sure what you need.
One thing is for certain:
I can tell you one thing is for certain:
whether your book will be self-published or traditionally published, you need an editor.
If you want your book to impress your readers and to truly look polished, you need an editor.
Do I really need an editor for my book?
Yes, you do!
You’ll get impartial perspective and a better-written, more refined product, better connect with your readers, get valuable insight, and improve your writing skills.
Yes. You need an editor for your book.
But what type of editor do you need?
What exactly does a book editor do? Well, that depends on what type of editing you’re talking about.
Here are the different types of book editors and how to know which one you need.
Big-picture editing
Developmental editing
What does a developmental editor do?
A developmental editor tells you what’s excessive, what’s missing, and where passages need to go. They’ll show you how to move, add, or delete sections of your book.
They also help you to conceptualize or fine-tune chapter and section titles.
A developmental editor helps you with your ideas and how you present them to your readers.
You need developmental editing (also known as substantive editing) if . . .
you have an incomplete or disorganized manuscript.
A developmental edit will provide in-depth feedback and help with the structure and organization of a book.
If you’re struggling to organize your book effectively, your book is too long, too short, or you’re too stuck to continue—or if you’re striking out with agents and publishers and you don’t really know why—you may need a developmental editor.
This is the most expensive—and most time-consuming—kind of editing.
A developmental editor completes a lengthy report for the author.
A developmental editor can also come on early in a project to help you outline and shape the project from the very beginning, or they can come on later in the process (in which case they might call themselves a book doctor.)
How much does developmental editing cost? / rates
Expect to pay at least $50 an hour for developmental editing; $60 or $70 an hour is more typical. It’s usually more than 3 cents per word (USD).
Some developmental editors will make changes for you here or there, potentially for a higher rate. But if you’re looking for someone to write on your behalf, you’re looking for a ghostwriter.
➡️Read more: Developmental Editing for Nonfiction Books: A Guide for Authors
Manuscript Assessment (aka Manuscript Evaluation)
What does a manuscript evaluation editor do?
A manuscript assessment is a “lite” version of a developmental edit (think “Great taste, less filling”)—and it helps you revise and self-edit.
A manuscript evaluation editor gauges how well the manuscript is geared toward its target audience and how “typical” it is for other books in the genre, then provides brief actionable advice for the author’s revisions.
You need a manuscript assessment if . . .
you’ve already written some or all of your manuscript, and you want some guidance on how to revise and self-edit it so it will better appeal to your target audience or to agents and editors.
If you want help making this manuscript publication-worthy and marketable, and you don’t have the time or the money for full-on developmental editing, get a manuscript assessment.
When completing a manuscript assessment, your editor will provide a short report (a few pages).
Rates for manuscript assessments are similar to developmental editing rates, but the work goes much quicker because it’s not as in-depth.
How much does a manuscript assessment cost? / Rates
Expect to pay at least $30–40 an hour for a manuscript assessment. It’ll be roughly half the cost of developmental editing.
Note: Developmental editors often do manuscript assessments, and vice versa.
➡️Read more: What Is a Manuscript Evaluation? How Much Does It Cost? And Hiring an Editor
Paragraph-level editing
Line editing (often considered part of copy editing)
The purpose of line editing, on its own, is not to comb through your prose, fix your grammar, typos, or capitalize your proper nouns. It is to make sure you are communicating clearly with your readers.
You need line editing if . . .
you’ve finished the manuscript, and you want to make sure your sentences are clearly written (syntax) and flow nicely.
A line edit will check sentence length, grammar, word choice, the order of sentences within a paragraph, and transitions between paragraphs.
A line edit verifies that the writing conveys emotion and has a consistent and suitable tone.
How much does line editing cost?
Just slightly more—often 10 to 15 percent more—than copy editing. (See below.)
Copy editing vs. line editing
Sometimes line editing is combined with the next level of editing, copyediting.
Sometimes line editing includes copyediting, and vice versa. Stick with me here.
Sentence-level editing
Copy editing
What does a copy editor do?
A copy editor’s central task is to make sure the manuscript complies with the rules of standard English usage as spelled out in a style guide—typically The Chicago Manual of Style or sometimes the Associated Press Stylebook or another style guide.
A copy editor is a grammar enforcer.
A copy editor zeroes in on individual sentences and paragraphs to make sure that everything is clear, concise, consistent, and polished.
Sometimes copyediting includes checking sentence length, word choice, the arrangement of sentences within a paragraph, and the flow between paragraphs. These line editing tasks may, and often are, included in copy editing.
Copy editors also check the formatting of references and bibliography entries.
Some copy editors help write and format book descriptions, captions, and jacket copy.
A copy editor offers you an extra set of eyes that can help you with your mistakes.
A copy editor completes a style sheet for the author or publisher as part of their work. The style sheet lists conventions and standards applied to the manuscript.
Here are the tools of the copyeditor (aside from MS Word Track Changes and eagle eyes, of course):
You need copy editing if . . .
you need your grammar, punctuation, and spelling fixed, all the dates, numbers, and capitalization to be properly expressed, and you want inconsistencies and continuity issues resolved.
How much does copy editing cost? / rates
Expect to pay $40–50 an hour for copy editing. It might be 2 to 3 cents per word (USD) or thereabouts.
When to hire a copy editor
You should hire a copy editor when you’re about to submit your manuscript to an agent or publisher, or when you’ve got a complete draft and you’re getting it ready for self-publishing.
This next point is very important: The copy editor should provide you with a style sheet, which you can use for future reference. Here’s a snippet from a hypothetical style sheet.
Your publisher or your indexer (if you have one) may need to see it. You’ll learn from it and become a better writer and self-editor in the future. It helps keep things consistent in your book.
You need a style sheet.
I’m of the opinion that every author needs copyediting, and that copyediting should include line editing.
➡️Read more: Nonfiction Copy Editing Services: What Does a Nonfiction Copy Editor Do and How Much Does Copy Editing Cost?
A brief aside:
Is it “copy editing” or “copyediting”?
Either works.
It’s copy editing, according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, the AP Stylebook, and the American Copy Editors Society.
It’s copyediting (one word), according to The Chicago Manual of Style.
Word-level editing
Proofreading
Copyediting and proofreading are two different things.
Proofreading is a word-level edit, done only at the last moment, once the book has already been designed and laid out in almost-ready-to-be-published ebook or print book form.
The purpose of proofreading is to catch any mistakes that slipped past everyone so far, or to catch mistakes that were introduced during the design and layout process.
A proofreader may log the errors in a spreadsheet as part of their work.
You can hire a proofreader at this time.
Some large publishing houses have proofreaders on staff, and many authors—self-published or not—do their own proofreading.
You need proofreading if . . .
your book is done, designed, in publishable ebook or PDF form, and about ready to be printed—and it’s been through copyediting, and you want someone to look for any residual typos, repeated words (the the, an an), spelling, punctuation, and formatting or white space issues.
How much does proofreading cost?
Expect to pay $36 to $45/hr for proofreading (a minimum of $2 to $3 per final page).
➡️Get my Proofreading Checklist.
AI Editing
What does AI editing do?
In recent years, various AI editing tools have been developed and improved, such as ProWritingAid, Grammarly, and Authors.ai.
These tools provide data-based reports on writing mechanics and grammar, mostly. They scan and look for passive voice, typos, readability, sentence length, repeated usage of adjectives and adverbs, and other such things.
Some authors see them as an acceptable substitute for a human copy editor.
But they can be complicated to use, interpret, and act on.
You need AI editing if . . .
you have a tight budget, patience, and the willingness to decipher the complicated reports these programs offer. And if you are a data-driven person.
How much does AI editing cost?
As of 2024, ProWriting Aid costs either $120 or $144 per year, depending on whether you get the Premium or Premium Pro Plan. A lifetime plan (with occasional discounts) is also available. See ProWriting Aid pricing here.
Grammarly plans start at $144 annually, with a free basic beginner plan available. See Grammarly pricing and plans here.
Authors.ai costs $199 per year, with a $45 single manuscript-review rate, and a free beginner plan available. See Authors.ai plans here.
So there you have it. Yes, you need an editor.
You need at least one of the following: developmental editing, manuscript evaluation editing, line editing/copyediting, proofreading, or AI editing, to get your book manuscript ready for publication.
And once it’s ready, if you’re going to become a traditionally published author, you’ll need an acquisitions editor, and you may require a permissions editor, a bias editor, or a localization editor, especially if you’re a traditionally published fiction author.
Other types of editors in book publishing
There are other kinds of editors in the publishing industry. You’ve probably heard of some of these.
Acquisitions editors (also known as commissioning editors)
These people find manuscripts, get them under contract, and usher them through the publication process.
Sometimes they don’t accept submissions from authors directly—only from agents who have agreed to represent authors.
Don’t be mistaken: They won’t necessarily do any other kinds of editing, and will often expect your book to have gone through at least some of the above levels of editing before it’s gotten to them.
It’s safe to say that if you query an acquisitions editor and don’t hear back within a few months, they’re not interested, and no amount of emailing or calling will make them interested.
An acquisitions editor who has rejected your manuscript might or might not provide an explanation.
You need an acquisitions editor if . . .
You’re looking to become a traditionally published author (whether or not you use an agent to find that person for you).
It’s worth remembering that acquisitions editors don’t always respond to authors’ unsolicited queries and proposals.
It’s safe to say if you query an acquisitions editor and don’t hear back within a few months, they’re not interested and no amount of emailing or calling will make them become interested.
How much does an acquisitions editor cost?
They don’t charge. However, if you work with an agent as an intermediary between you and the acquisitions editor and that acquisition editor’s employer, the agent takes a percentage of your eventual royalties.
You may also want to work with a book proposal editor or coach before approaching an acquisitions editor or agent. In fact, I highly recommend it. I help American authors navigate the publishing process, and one component of that is preparing them to reach out to acquisitions editors and agents.
These are less common, but there are freelancers out there—always freelancers—who provide fact-checking, image permissions, and sensitivity reads. There are also localization editors out there.
You’re not likely to need or encounter these other types of editors if you’re not a traditionally published fiction author.
You need a fact-checker if . . .
you’re trying to track down an elusive citation or quote.
You need a permissions editor if . . .
you’re finding the process of securing permissions to reproduce images or copyrighted material to be too involved, overwhelming, or confusing to handle.
Photographs, blocks of text, images, cartoons, charts, or graphs from outside sources that you use in your book—these may require permission to be printed in your book. And you’ll have to obtain written permission for each item.
Authors handle that stuff alone. Traditional publishers have someone who double-checks and sign offs on everything. But there may be cases where a freelance permissions editor is brought on to assist.
Expect to pay $40 to $50 an hour for fact-checking and permissions editing.
You may need a sensitivity read (also known as a bias edit) if . . .
you’re writing a book—especially a fiction book—that involves sensitive subjects such as race, sexuality, disability, etc.
You need a sensitivity read if you want someone to read your work to ensure that characters in a novel are represented without perpetuating harmful stereotypes and to point out unintentionally insensitive treatment of race, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, etc.
Usually, you’ll get comments in the margins, a brief letter, and often a follow-up consultation, all geared toward helping you revise your work so it better embraces principles of diversity and inclusion.
In 2022, Word 365 introduced a new feature that checks for potentially offensive words and phrases. The new checker produces purple lines beneath problematic text and suggests alternatives to the flagged phrases.
If you use MS Word, in Word settings, you can turn or off this feature that underlines phrases focusing on gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
For example, instead of postman, Word suggests “mail carrier” or “postal worker.”
You need a localization editor if . . .
you’re looking to make sure that nothing has been lost in translation when a book has been translated to another language. This term may also be used to ensure that the proper regional or local slang is used by a non-local author. A localization edit is much more common for fiction books.
I couldn’t find any reliable average rate information for localization editing, but I would imagine it is among the least expensive forms of editing.
A word of caution: In some cases, permissions editors, sensitivity readers, and localization editors are provided by traditional publishers. It may be best to wait until you’re under contract before hiring one of these editors.
You just read about the different types of editing in books.
Let’s recap:
For big-picture editing, there are developmental editors and manuscript evaluators.
For line- and sentence-level editing, there are line editors and copyeditors. (Line editing and copyediting = sometimes one in the same.)
And for last-minute typos and design snafus (once a publishable ebook file or PDF has been created), there are proofreaders.
There are various AI editing tools available, including Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and Authors.ai.
There are also other types of “editors” with more specialized roles in the book publishing industry.
Acquisitions editors “acquire” book manuscripts for publishing houses; permissions editors track down the rights to use copyrighted material in one’s book; sensitivity readers/bias editors help mostly fiction authors to write in a way that respects diversity, disability, and cultural differences. Finally, localization editors ensure that the book is well translated.
Can’t wait for you to publish your book!