What Is the Difference Between Editing and Proofreading?
They aren't the same thing. In fact, there are some major differences between editing and proofreading that all writers should know about.
Editing and proofreading. You've probably heard these terms used interchangeably. They're far from the same thing, however. Rather, they're two distinct parts of the editing process, and knowing what the difference between editing and proofreading is can make you seem like a knowledgeable editing client. I've got an easy-to-digest breakdown of the different levels of editing for you below.
What Is the Difference Between Editing and Proofreading?
The editing process happens in four distinct stages: developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading. These four phases tackle progressively shallower issues in a manuscript. We use the term “editing” to broadly refer to the first three stages in the editing process. “Proofreading” refers only to the last stage.
The Four Stages of Editing
Developmental Editing
Developmental editing concerns itself with the biggest-picture issues in a fiction manuscript, such as plot, pacing, and characterization. This is the editing phase in which big, structural changes happen. Developmental edits identify large-scale problems that hold a manuscript back from achieving its full potential, and developmental editors offer up ways to fix them.
Line Editing
Line editing is what most people think of when they think about hiring an editor. These editors conduct a line-by-line assessment of your manuscript, refining your prose and identifying sections of the text that require deeper rewrites. These editors help magnify your unique voice, turning your manuscript into the best version of itself it can be.
Copyediting
Whenever someone gets confused about the difference between editing and proofreading, I find that they’re often confusing copyediting with proofreading. These clients say that they want a proofreader to identify consistency and clarity issues in the text, which is a copyeditor’s job.
Proofreading
Finally, there’s proofreading. This is meant to be the final stage of editing, which is why you shouldn’t proofread before you edit. Proofreaders correct minor problems like typos and formatting errors. They’re literally meant to read the proof of your text, i.e., the last “uncorrected” version before the book is finalized. “Proofreading,” then, is not a catch-all term for “editing,” but a specific and specialized stage in the editing process.
What About Substantive Editing?
This is another term that some clients get very confused about. A substantive edit is technically the same thing as a developmental edit, although that wasn’t always the case. (Editor Jessi Hoffman has a great, informative article on what a developmental edit used to be and how the term changed.)
Many clients confuse a substantive edit with something that simply isn’t done in publishing: doing multiple editing passes at once. It’s impossible to successfully proofread in the same pass as a copyedit in the same pass as a line edit, while simultaneously writing up a developmental edit. But many publishing newbies assume an editor can perform what they — the newbies — call a substantive edit: an edit that knocks out multiple phases of the editing process all at once.
This won’t lead to the results you’re looking for; at best, you’ll get a watered-down version of each type of editing. At worst, you’ll skip over whole phases of the process.
If you encounter an editor offering “substantive editing,” make sure you’re on the same page — agreeing that a substantive edit is the same as a developmental edit.
What Kind of Editing Does My Book Need?
You now know the difference between editing and proofreading, but you might still have questions. Namely, what kind of editing your manuscript requires.
While getting a developmental edit isn’t a bad idea, especially if you’re writing your first book, you may have alpha readers who tell you that the big-picture issues of your draft aren’t issues at all. If that’s the case, you might look into a line edit instead.
Unless you’re absolutely convinced that your prose is of publishing caliber, I don’t recommend jumping directly into a copyedit or — heaven forbid — proofreading. Those editing stages are largely for fixing errors, not deeply improving the quality of your writing.
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Incredibly useful thank you!