Kennan Ward Photography
I did substantive editing on all of Kennan's five books, the latest of which was published in October of 2001.
You may happen to notice copy editing issues while
doing a substantive edit (and vice versa), and it's fine to make notes about them when you see them, but be sure go through the entire manuscript, from start to finish, in each mode.
Don't try to
do a substantive edit and a copy edit simultaneously.
Not exact matches
Have another one
do more
substantive editing with the story and finally have another beta reader
do a complete final read of the manuscript.
Make sure you are clear what kind of
editing you want
done —
substantive or copy
editing — so that there are no misunderstandings.
I highly recommend getting two rounds of proofreading / copyediting, especially if you
DO need developmental /
substantive editing before the book goes to your copyeditor.
I'm often asked about my role as a developmental editor — what I
do, why it matters, and if this service includes other forms of
editing such as proofreading and line
editing, or even
substantive editing.
Does it include
substantive editing?
To get this information, I would ask your publisher (and the editor) the following questions:
Do you think my book needs any developmental /
substantive editing before I go into copyediting?
In practice you'll probably
do many
substantive edits, going through a number of partial and complete drafts of your book, and then just
do a single copy
edit at the end, once the manuscript is finished in every other respect.
By contrast, every contract I've ever signed — even the ones with the Big Six — has included a clause ensuring that no
substantive editing (other than copy
editing) can be
done without my approval.
When you swap critiques, you are essentially
doing an in - kind swap of a professional service (called a
substantive edit by people who charge for them).
Our line (or
substantive)
editing is
done by editors who have experience with dozens of books and is recommended for authors who are secure with their plot but would like to fine - tune their manuscripts.
The
substantive and copy
edit can be
done by the same editor but should be
done in separate readings through the manuscript.
Content
editing —
substantive editing done by several experienced editors who make the content of your term paper perfect and fully relevant to the stated topics and questions for research.
Erin provides a variety of copyediting services including developmental,
substantive, copy, and line (she
does proofreading as well, but is reluctant to call that
editing!