Perfect Your Craft: A Guide to the Different Types of Editing for Writers

There are different kinds of editing any manuscript or piece of writing. If you have just finished writing content, and can’t wait to publish it, hold on. Has the document been thoroughly edited? Because editing is one of the most important facet of writing, and content marketing for businesses. It benefits everyone; from a novelist to a blogger, and even businesses. Well-edited content can improve search engine optimisation (SEO), readability and quality.

Why is editing necessary?

1. Substantive editing polishes the content and makes it ‘reader-ready’ as most aren’t interested in long, text-heavy documents. And even if they are, the readers want the entire narrative to be free from grammar, stylistic, and proofreading errors.

2. With face-to-face communication, conveying a message is easy. The right tone and an apt language does the work. However, with writing, a reader can easily misinterpret intentions. On the face of it, it might not appear to be a drastic problem. However, one grammatical error, a misspelled word or wrong information can be quite off-putting. The structure of your book is just as crucial as the roles of the professional editor polishing your work. 

The Different Types of Editing

Before looking for an editing service or freelancer, consider the type of editor required. One, who is familiar with the necessary styles or competent in a majority of them.

1. Developmental Editing

When the first draft comes in, the editor focuses on two aspects in their developmental edit:
• Quality: Is the content compelling? Poor structure, plot holes, and questionable sources/statements are scrutinised, and if needed, revised.

• Brand alignment: The developmental editor reviews the work and looks for any opposing statement, as it is crucial that the content conveys the brand image and strategy. If it’s a work of fiction or non-fiction, the editor ensures that the primary theme of the book is not overwhelmed by tangential issues and sub plots.

2. Structural Editing

In writing, the structure is its backbone. A structural editor examines parts of the content, such as the textual flow and plotting. They judge if a paragraph is better suited in a different location in the piece or should be omitted altogether.

3. Formatting

Every publication or author or organization has a defined structure of formatting. This form of editing looks at paragraph spacing, fonts, headings and bullet points, among others. The aim is to make the content visually-appealing to engross the readers.  

4. Index Editing

Indexing editors scour through text and create indexes for names, places or other relevant information demanded by the content. While indexing is restricted to non-fiction, it is helpful in situations when an individual or company needs to access the data more quickly. An indexing software can be used to speed up the process and create indexes of significant references in the content.

5. Citations

Citations are slightly different from indexes. They are a way to tell the readers that the material used in the content was originally from another document. It is widely used in research papers or academic journals which require extensive citation of sources. This form of editing involves thorough fact-checking and editing, if a citation has to be written in a specific order. This is particularly vital for businesses as an error could impact the brand image and customer opinions.

6. Review Editing

This form of editing involves the editor going through the content and assessing it. Review editors point out errors, problematic statements and incoherent phrases. Review editors can be particularly helpful if the piece needs to be peer-reviewed or pitched to a larger audience.

7. Copy Editing

If the writing goes unedited, the reader will know that something doesn’t fit well. Mechanical editing is also a form of copy editing as it refers to applying a particular stylesheet, such as Chicago manual of style or Harvard. Therefore, a copy editor works on various details of the piece, such as…
• Grammar
• Spelling
• Capitalisation
• Usage of numbers
• Word repetition
• Inconsistencies
• Dialogue tags
A developmental editor looks at the big picture issues, whereas a copy editor concentrates on the fine details to weave a captivating piece in every paragraph and sentence. There is no single correct style in editing. It all comes down to choice, but the writing has to be consistent.

8. Line Editing

Line editing or line edit is often believed to be synonymous with copy editing. While it is partially true, it is not entirely the same. A copy writer emphasises on the mechanics whereas a line editor pays attention to the language. A line editor reads the piece sentence by sentence and evaluates its effectiveness. The idea is to make the content flow effortless, and maximize the reader’s comprehension.
For example:
Rahul was very tired hungry and irritated after the game
A copy editor would focus on grammar and would correct the sentence to: Rahul was quite tired, hungry, and irritated after the game.
A line editor would alter the language, and turn the sentence into: Rahul was utterly famished and exhausted after the game.

9. Stylistic Editing

This is used when a writer needs to match a given style or voice, most commonly seen with ghost writing. A stylistic editor is a type of editor who compares the content and checks if it is similar to what’s needed, as this is important for publications with stylistic requirements.

10. Fact-checking

Mistakes can occur even if a piece of writing is checked multiple times. This is where an editor takes on the role of cross-checking information to ensure its authenticity. For a piece with heavy citations, fact-checking is key.

11. Proofreading

The last stage of the process, proofreading is utmost important. Proof readers diligently go through the entire document, line by line, to make sure no errors make it to the final piece.
They will look for:
1. Inconsistencies.
2. Spelling and grammatical mistakes.
3. Awkward page breaks.
4. Incorrect page layouts.
Most problems should be solved at this stage, but there can be one odd mistake, which would be eliminated. The piece would then be ready for primetime viewing.

How To Be A Better Editor

With the rise of technology, it is now simpler than ever to self-publish. Most individuals and companies can publish content without ever hiring an editor. However, the skill isn’t all that easy. So, how does one improvise on their editing skills?
1. Identify your audience
Writing requirements change, depending on the target market. Research papers require heavy jargon with citations, but simple blogs need to be reader-friendly. Therefore, the piece needs to be tweaked to clearly convey the message.
2. Revisit grammar
Often overlooked but revisiting grammatical concepts is key to a well-rounded and high-quality piece.
3. Be succinct
A few formats are perfect for long, flowery descriptions, but most content today needs to be concise. Attention spans are shorter and no individual likes to constantly check a dictionary to comprehend the text.
4. Take breaks
Editing can be a painstaking process. Taking breaks at regular intervals should help cure the fatigue, and a fresh pair of eyes are always best to scan for errors.
5. Use online tools
The internet offers a plethora of websites which help in checking plagiarism, grammatical mistakes, and the piece’s readability. The tools can offer great insight, especially if there isn’t another individual or an editor to analyse the content.
6. Show it to another individual
It may not be an editor; any other fresh pair of eyes would certainly be useful as errors or awkward sentences could be identified.
7. Read aloud
This is a fool-proof method used by many editors. Reading aloud helps catch not only the grammatical mistakes, but also problems with the flow and choice of words.
8. Don’t rush
Unless there is a strict schedule, rushing the process might reduce the quality. Try spending time with the content and edit over a period of time. Don’t overthink it though.

How does all of this tie into Content Marketing and Digital Marketing?

Writing shines with astute editing. Therefore, content marketing agencies like Write Wing Media emphasise much on editing. Why? Because the very success of the companies they serve is dependent on writing content that converts leads into customers. But what is content marketing? This 84-second video should give you a glimpse of that. A must-watch for any business who wants to bank on content marketing to boost their revenues and establish themselves as thought leaders. 

How Can Write Wing Media Help You

Are you tired of the same old content?

Do you feel like your blog posts aren’t really reaching their full potential?

Do you want to make sure your website content is written with the right tone and voice?

If so, we’re here to help. We’re Write Wing Media, and we’re the best editing services in Bangalore for bloggers and writers who want to take their business to the next level.

We can help you:

-Create thought leadership articles that’ll get people talking on LinkedIn and Twitter

-Write blog posts that’ll go viral (and also actually help people)

-Edit your website content so it’s easy to read and engage with

We won’t just fix what’s broken; we’ll make sure there’s nothing left to fix! Let us know what you’re looking for, and we’ll get back to you with a quote and timeline—and if there’s anything else we can do to help make your project a success! Contact us now!