Also commonly called structural or substantive editing, this is the first round of editing, which looks at the work as a whole.

It examines the content and organization of the text.

Developmental editing also addresses pacing, ensures the point or argument is clear, fills in any gaps in information (or plot holes in fiction), and redirects tangents.

The editor collaborates closely with the writer to shape the piece into its strongest possible form.

This is an important step—if the work is disorganized or long-winded, copyediting (editing at sentence level) alone isn’t likely to create a positive experience for the reader.

Also called stylistic editing, this step involves a line-by-line approach to edit for style and flow.

It ensures that the tone and reading level of the piece is appropriate for the intended audience and medium.

This step is often combined with copyediting and employs Conscious Language principles.

This stage of editing checks for repetition, redundancies, passive voice, tangents, parallelism, proper tense, and consistent POV. It also examines sentence and paragraph structure, and smooths transitions.

The overall goal is to produce tight, logical, and structured prose that remains true to the author’s voice and vision.

This stage should be completed prior to formatting and the industry standard approach is to use MS Word and the Track Changes feature. (Google Docs can be an option, but it doesn’t have the same functionality and is less secure.)

Copyediting addresses errors with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage.

Some sentences may be recast to resolve errors and improve flow.

It ensures the appropriate style guide is consistently followed for abbreviations, capitalization, treatment of numbers, references, etc.

Conscious Language principles should be considered when copyediting.

This step includes any visuals such as tables, graphs, figures, and captions.

Checking basic facts, simple calculations, timelines, and other details is standard practice.

A custom style sheet to track style choices throughout the project should be included in any copyedit.

Copyediting is a vital step to ensure accuracy, clarity, and consistency.

Proofreading is actually the final editorial task, and is marked up on final page "proofs," either hard copy or PDF.

This step is limited in scope—larger issues should already have been resolved.

Proofreading fixes lingering mistakes with spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

It also addresses layout issues such as spacing, headings, pagination, breaks, etc. and includes any visuals such as tables, graphs, figures, and photo captions.

Proofreaders often collaborate with the typesetter or designer.

Proofreading is a vital step to ensure your final project is correct, clear, and consistent!