What Type of Editing Does Your Manuscript Need?

Introduction

Professional editing can often be exactly what you need to take your manuscript to the next level. To humblebrag for a minute, Submitit clients have described my edits as “amazing,” “brilliant guidance,” and “like I just took a master class in writing!” But hiring an editor can also be intimidating, overwhelming, and downright confusing. How do you know if your manuscript needs editing? And what type of editing does it need?

An internet search will quickly pull you down a rabbit hole of conflicting descriptions for seemingly interchangeable terms like developmental editing, substantive editing, manuscript critique, manuscript evaluation, structural editing, mechanical editing, line editing, copy editing, proofreading, and (believe it or not) the list goes on. Even editors notoriously disagree on these definitions, so the best I can do is shed some light on what you will get when you sign up for editing with Submitit. At the moment, Submitit offers the following on- and off-menu options:

• Read-only (automatically included in every submission package)

• Copy editing

• Line editing

• Developmental editing (by request only)

• Poetry editing (officially coming soon, but available now by request)

Later in this post, I’ll outline some considerations (Skills & Resources, Goals & Priorities, and Timing) that can help you decide which type of editing is the best fit for your current project. But first, some definitions:

Read-only editing (always included)

Here at Submitit, many of our clients come to us with manuscripts that they feel are—you guessed it—ready to submit. Typically, these clients have revised and polished their work (probably several times), maybe they’ve run it by writer friends or a critique group, and they’ve done at least one final, close read for typos and tweaks.

When you sign up for a submission package without editing, we take your word for it. This piece is ready to go! We’ll automatically schedule a read-only edit as part of your submission package.

A Submitit read-only includes:

• Formatting: We’ll make untracked formatting changes (font, spacing, headers, etc.) to get the document “up to code” for most submissions. (Before submitting, we will adjust formatting for those few journals that have different guidelines.)

• Obvious typos and errors: In a read-only, we are mainly reading to “score” the piece in preparation for the algorithm. That said, obvious errors will be corrected in Track Changes* and sent back for your approval. This is by no means a comprehensive copy edit, but rest assured, if egregious errors exist, we’ll have our eye out.

*A note on Microsoft Word’s Track Changes: We use this tool not only because it’s industry-standard (editors will expect you to know how to use it), but because it gives you, the author, complete creative control. An editor may offer suggestions, but ultimately, this is your creative work. Track Changes allows you to accept (and reject!) each change as you see fit. Questions? Check out Erik’s blog post on “Cleaning” stories, and if you need one-on-one training, we’re always happy to hop on a consultation call.

Copy editing

Copy editing is focused on all the tiny (but hugely important) details like punctuation, grammar, and syntax—to name a few of our team’s favorite things! In fact, you can keep an eye on our blog for Erik’s occasional, famously in-depth articles about em-dashes, dialogue punctuation, and the like. (At Submitit, copy editing is always included with line editing, but not the other way around.)

A Submitit copy edit includes:

• Formatting

• Punctuation, grammar, syntax (marked in Track Changes and sent back for your approval)

During a copy edit, we may point out some obvious line-level issues, but most of our time and energy will be spent on polish work.

Line editing

With line editing, we expand our focus to style and craft on the sentence and paragraph level. We look at sentence structure, clarity, style, and sound—all the beautiful craft elements that give your prose its unique imprint. (I recommend reading Erik’s article about his approach to line editing, which covers many of the elements involved.)

A Submitit line edit includes:

• Formatting

• Copy editing (punctuation, grammar, syntax)

• Sentence- and paragraph-level craft and style edits (marked in Track Changes and sent back for your approval)

During a line edit, we may add a few notes about bigger-picture issues (characters, structure, plot, etc.), but most of our time and energy will be spent on the lines (hence, line editing).

Developmental editing

Developmental editing is an in-depth look at larger issues—plot, character, setting, pacing, and overall narrative structure. The approach will vary quite a bit depending on your manuscript. If you’ve written a gorgeous, moody character piece, the focus might be on balance, emotion, and pacing; a more traditionally commercial fiction piece might need help with raising emotional stakes; or a memoir may benefit from restructuring for narrative clarity. A developmental edit is our most expensive option because it requires reading the piece more than once and taking time to think deeply about story problems and solutions. Any changes or tweaks suggested will always be simply that: suggestions. As a developmental editor, I always do my best to point out areas that need strengthening and make room for you to find your own path—it’s your story, and ultimately, you know what’s best for it.

A Submitit developmental edit includes:

• An editorial letter (typically one to five pages, depending on the length of the project) with notes about what is working well, areas that need development, and suggestions/questions designed to help you explore solutions to problem areas

• Occasional in-line notes (marked as comments in Track Changes)

Our developmental edit does not include line or copy edits. The assumption is that you will make major revisions to your piece after this edit, and it doesn’t make sense to spend time polishing sentences and paragraphs that might be completely rewritten.

Optional consultation calls to discuss goals and/or editing notes are often recommended before and/or after a developmental edit.

Poetry editing

We are excited to offer poetry editing as part of Submitit’s new poetry submission services (coming in 2025)! As with prose, read-only editing will be included with every poetry submission package. For those who would like a deeper read, our poetry editing focuses on clarity, structure, consistency, and rhythm. We’ll look for errors, yes, but we’ll also help make sure that every line break, word choice, and craft decision (form, imagery, sound, etc.) serves the theme and purpose of your poem.

A Submitit poetry edit (for individual poems) includes:

• Formatting

• Copy editing

• Additional craft-related comments (marked in Track Changes)

A Submitit poetry manuscript critique (for a chapbook or collection) includes:

• Manuscript critique letter

• Copy editing

• Additional in-line notes (Track Changes)

• Notes about poem order and selection

A novel-in-verse critique also includes developmental notes on plot, character, structure, etc.

Considerations

Editors are here to support your work and help clarify your vision. You know your story inside and out, and a good editor can help make sure your meaning is as clear to the reader as it is to you. Every professional writer understands the value of well-trained “fresh eyes” on a manuscript. Of course, quality professional editing is not inexpensive, so before you decide which type of editing you need, it’s worth taking some time to plan ahead. The following considerations can help shape your editing plan:

1. Skills & Resources: Think honestly about your skills and resources, and seek help for the areas that need shoring up. Are you a grammar geek with a library full of style guides, but you aren’t sure if your essay is balanced or if your story’s characters resonate? (Try developmental editing.) Do you already have a strong critique group, or a natural talent for character and pacing, but you couldn’t care less about punctuation? (Try copy editing.) Are you an over-writer who needs help tightening your prose, or do you want to make sure your sentences are logical/beautiful/crisp/robust? (Try line editing.)

2. Goals & Priorities: What you intend to do with your work once it’s complete is another helpful consideration. If, like most Submitit clients, your goal is to be published in literary journals, your highest priority might be sentence- and paragraph-level craft (line editing). If your goal is to send your novel to a literary agent, you might prioritize developmental editing, since (most) agents will focus more on big-picture elements than on details. If your goal is to self-publish, however, you will be responsible for every typo in your manuscript, and you may need help with copy editing.

3. Timing: I recommend planning ahead, especially if you have a longer manuscript. While editors can often fit shorter pieces into their schedules within a matter of weeks, longer works (which can take one to four months, depending on the word count and intensity of the edit) are often booked out months in advance. Submitit’s owner, Erik, for instance, is in especially high demand—clients understand that his expertise is worth the wait, and they plan accordingly!

More information

If you’ve gotten this far and you still have questions about working with editors, feel free to drop us a line. I also recommend Jane Friedman’s blog, which has a useful Comprehensive Guide to Finding and Working with Editors. And of course you should peruse Erik’s many helpful articles on all things craft and submission at Submitit’s blog archive and sign up for our newsletter to receive updates as soon as they’re posted. We hope to read some of your work soon!

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