What Kind of Editor Do You Need? | Developmental, Line, Copy Edit Explanation

[@ladyursala]

Alexa, that red is stunning on you!

[@KeylinVLOGS]

As a self published author, my developmental editor was AMAZING! Completely agree - you need to have amazing critique partners to forgo this step.

[@janellebigham3381]

You look fantastic in red!

[@samanthahendrix8590]

I'm just now starting my career in proofreading and copy editing (hoping to one day make it into book editing), so I am immensely fascinated by your videos about the editing process and the publishing industry. They really inspire me to pursue my goals. I for one really like nitty-gritty mechanical editing, so I guess I'm on the right path!

[@madmadame1508]

I haven't even gotten ten seconds into this video, but I have to say red is phenomenal on you.

[@ericmulder2602]

Thank you so much for this video! I work in publishing, and this is great information that all authors should know before they're published.

[@DalCecilRuno]

I've had beta readers and critiques read through my book, and I am so happy to know I've plotted this thing well enough that no one is complaining about any developmental edits. 💜 My punctuation sucks though, so... Help!

[@maxmack2150]

You all probably dont care but does anybody know a trick to log back into an instagram account? I somehow lost my account password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me.

[@ikerjimmy2696]

@Max Mack Instablaster :)

[@maxmack2150]

@Iker Jimmy I really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and Im in the hacking process atm. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.

[@maxmack2150]

@Iker Jimmy It worked and I actually got access to my account again. I am so happy:D Thank you so much, you saved my account !

[@ikerjimmy2696]

@Max Mack happy to help :D

[@elaynalayne4610]

I’ve been binging your videos but this is my first comment. So superficial but I adore your whole look in basically every video! Hair, makeup and wardrobe are fantastic. This video was really helpful and I understand so much more, I wanted to thank you for sharing. I know this one isn’t your most popular video but it has so much quality information and I appreciate the work you put in.

[@ThePronounI]

You've read my mind. I was just watching one of your editing related videos. 👏

[@DalCecilRuno]

Saaaame! I'm currently in self editing Hellhole right now.

[@ThePronounI]

@@DalCecilRuno - Ugh, same! I was editing a draft that I let sit, but I had to take a break because it was giving me a headache. 😅

[@IceQueen975]

Okay, so it's *developmental* editing that scared the shit outta me. Good to know! XD Like. Before I even started to write my current book I sat, thought and world built for 2 years. And even during the writing I fleshed out even more, added details via research, etc. It's why I'm so nervous about developmental editing; someone coming in and basically ripping things to shreds and telling me to do it all over would literally kill me inside and make me stop writing.

[@macronencer]

Fantastic advice, as usual. Thank you! I've been using a freelance editor for developmental edits on my book (chapter by chapter, because they are independent stories until the last section... it's complicated!). I've been very pleased with the results, and she does occasionally offer line and copy edit notes whenever she spots problems. I know it shouldn't strictly be part of a developmental editing service, but I think it's all right in moderation, since it helps me understand errors I'm making so that I can avoid them in future. For me, the biggest advantage of hiring an editor has been the insight I've gained into what editing IS. I was a little bewildered until I began communicating with a professional, and now it's much clearer.

[@aestover91]

Super helpful! Had no idea what the difference between a line and copy editor was, but now I know! (and it all makes so much sense now, in hindsight ;A; ) Thanks for making this for us

[@rileyackison4495]

Hey Alexa. Just wanted to say my library finally got your book brightly burning! I’ve read the first couple chapters and so far I am enjoying it quite a bit.

[@librafrills2815]

Fantastic advice and fabulous styling, as always 👌

[@philbe1111]

Great job! I was a bit fuzzy on line edits, but that really cleared it up for me. And as someone else pointed out- you do red well!

[@BionAvastar3000]

good tip about the style guide! Also I like how friendly (and helpful) this particular vid of yours is toward self pubs

[@great-wall-of-nowhere9377]

Thank you for this video my dude, I've been rather confused about these for a while.

[@lukeerik2752]

I don't write. I read. I've seen a few of your videos and your insights are really interesting. Also, you present really well.

[@tathoiclassicalindianbollywood]

Finally #AmEditing! So I have come back here to revise the different types of edits. Thank you Alexa! Always a great source of information. x

[@zrg2393]

I love your video! I don't know if your on the spectrum or not, maybe it makes good video idk, but the talking with your hands and being very expressive really kept my attention vs normal droneing i see in allot of informational stuff and I love your content on this video! Thankyou

[@zrg2393]

You helped me learn and kept my very short attention span so thankyou

[@chiozoe]

I wish I understood this a while back. I paid for copy editing thinking it covered line and copy. I was actually ok with it until I published my work and took a break from the book. When I came back I saw that my sentences could have been tighter. I should have made my work cleaner before paying for a copy editor. I'm lucky though because the issues I had seem to only matter to me and not my readers.

[@GameArts1]

Thank you for the clear definitions of the different editors. Never heard of a line editor's function, but it defiantly makes sense. I am now reading the book the ''first five pages'' by Noah Lukeman, he calls this type of skill ''sound'' indicating the rhythm of the sentences in a manuscript. Would be nice if you could make a video on your top 10 books for writers e.g. Stephen King's on writing, elements of style etc. Keep up the good work!

[@sjbenson5618]

Thank you Alexa I have been waiting a long time for help like this to someone to fix my story.

[@RoseKindred]

Nice clear video, thank you for your dedicated posting.

[@kennythewolf]

What are your thoughts on using Grammerly or other grammar checking software before sending off your manuscript to a copy editor?

[@ayushisharma5783]

Thank you so much. Much needed video❤️

[@nviz47]

Yes! This is awesome thanks! I tried to explain that edits requested of me were more than one person's job - I mean it's doable but not the standard because it goes through rounds. But maybe this will help!

[@patriciadanna7433]

Thank You. Very clear explanations and great advice.

[@baraahaljabali6964]

Thank you .. you're the best 😍❤

[@cynthiao.1923]

What a Christmas-y look!

[@marahsoore6452]

I was really looking into this! I've been trying to find people I can beta read for and you gave me the best way to explain what I'm good at. I'm also a big picture kind of girl as well! So thank you for all the information you give us!

[@JixieDyeAuthor]

If you still want to beta read I'm almost done with my developmental edits. Two chapters away from finish.

[@MrKarmafishes]

Wow! Just blew my mind, thank you so much for this information.

[@Vickynger]

my impression over the years has been that some popular authors barely bother with the editing anymore. and i always wonder why that is... like, does the editor think "im gonna skimp on this one bc its gonna sell anyways and ive got other stuff to do." or is it the author refusing to do big, substantial edits bc they have another book in the pipeline already and refuse their editor's suggestions bc of laziness or time constraints? or is it the editor going too easy on the author bc they dont wanna piss them off and maybe even losing ther publisher a big client? those questions keep me up at night...

[@AlexaDonne]

It's usually an egotistical author who makes so much money for the publisher that they have all the leverage. Sometimes it's too-tight deadlines/not enough time or an editor going easy... but honestly the stories I hear are almost always an author who throws a fit about editing or who simply won't do it.

[@SysterYster]

Line editing is something I've got a lot of help with on Wattpad from the book club I joined there. :D It's amazing. I've learned so much from them. :) (Though I have much more to learn, and I'll give the story to a professional when I think I'm done anyway).

[@patriciadanna7433]

Thank you. As always, you provide great explanations.

[@jorgecasariego6347]

Very helpful for my needs.

[@Treasures4Food]

This was great!

[@claireelliot3135]

Hey Alexa! I’d love a video for each of these different types of edits with more tips and tricks for approaching them ourselves

[@craigreeves5465]

You're really pretty. Enjoying your book btw.

[@pedroelautor514]

Great video thank you!

[@CupCakeUnleashed]

Developmental editing definitely, I already know my line-by-line sucks. I just cant see my plot problems, other than: this character needs more to do, this other character doesnt need to be here, these characters relationship isn't working properly.

[@stephaniefranklin5599]

Very helpful!

[@TuckerTheReader]

Would you consider doing a video on drafts that are too short? I always run into this issue. I finish my 1st draft and it's only 50K words when my goal was 85k. But I never know what to add or change

[@DanicaChristin]

Same!! I'm a chronic underwriter

[@ThePronounI]

I run in to this problem too and somehow end up with a novella. 🙈

[@DanicaChristin]

@@Sohiawrites I often feel like I don't have enough plot - and at the same time anything I try to add feels like filler. And I don't write stories at normally fit into a novella, normally these kinds of stories are 90k+ words (my genre is SciFi)

[@alexandriekitty725]

@@DanicaChristin I think some people would suggest adding a subplot in your case.

[@alexandriekitty725]

For me as a serious underwriter, I found that my underwriting problem got fixed over time. For one of my stories, the first draft ended with 22k words, and my 2nd draft is currently at 35k and I'm about a third through with the story. Noting that I ripped out 16k worth of words when I started my 2nd draft. Like others said lack of descriptions may be your problem, but it may also be lack of experience. The more I wrote other stories, and read, the more I was able to fix issues with the 1st draft of the story I mention earlier. Hope this helps.

[@slackerby77]

This was very helpful! :-)

[@MissHolliday3110]

I use Grammarly as I write to help with those small mistakes that I miss with spelling, grammar and punctuation. It's humbling to see the things that I don't catch as I'm just trudging along. It's easy to get lost in the work and not pay attention to those things.

[@marionleblanc8580]

I have SO much trouble not going into detailed line edit even as I am drafting. I know it slows me down and makes me do a lot of extra work, but I can't be satisfied and move on unless the prose in crisp and clean. Honestly that's the part of writing that excites me the most in general, so that's another reason why it's hard to delay that gratification until the point I have an entire manuscript (which I never managed to complete, so far). Do you have any advice, besides kicking myself in the rump when I catch myself doing it? Maybe I should try and be more disciplined on shorter projects first, but I'm very into that big, long book I've started, so...

[@hudsonmccarthy6267]

Such a helpful video! Thank you so much :)

[@alicemcveighnovelist]

This is soooooo overblown. Developmental editing - yes, fine - but copy-edit and line-edit are identical. Signed, full-time and extremely successful editor for over two decades. (I'm also a novelist, twice, with a "big five" publisher. So I understand the full picture, from both sides of the tracks.) Really, it is super-simple. Here it is: (1) a developmental edit is to sort out any plot/voice/characterization issues relating to the big, overall picture (this woman is correct, however, in suggesting that THIS COMES FIRST. Definitely don't waste your money on a line edit without these sorted out first.) (2) A line (or copy-) corrects your prose, sentence by sentence, word by word. And - hey! That's it! So, to recap - in less than a single minute of your time - if you're worried about the pacing, structure and plot, you need a developmental edit. If you think you've nailed those things but your grammar, spelling, and/or sentence structure etc. needs work, you want a line edit (or copy-edit). It's not rocket science.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for this comment. I'm currently seeking a copy editor, and I figured they performed the same duties as a line editor. You just put me at ease (I was terrified I'd have to pay two separate editors)

[@alicemcveighnovelist]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty No worries. Glad to help.

[@eduardodossantos9348]

Hi Alexa, Would you recommend the same editor for development and copy editing? or do you consider that these two tasks should be done by different editors?

[@retenn1099]

THANK YOU!

[@DanicaChristin]

Thanks for this helpful video Alexa! I heard that after a copy edit, you still need a proof reader (in self-publishing). Is that correct? Or can you rely on the copy editor catching 99% of errors?

[@t.s.611]

In traditional publishing, proofreaders compare the copyedited manuscript with the proof, which is basically the first copy of what the book will look like when it goes out to be sold. They compare the two and check for anything that doesn't match, plus they make sure all the fonts are correct, the margins are all the same size, there aren't any random words split in weird places, etc. They catch spelling errors and such, too. They are basically the last defense against errors. I think you can count on a good editor to catch about 90% of errors. An excellent editor perhaps more than that. However, humans aren't perfect, so even a professional will miss some here or there. That's why publishers have a whole team of editors, and even then you'll still sometimes find typos in books. The more errors a book has when you send it to the editor, the more it will come back with, so it's best to polish up your book as much as possible by yourself/with beta readers before paying for editing.

[@dias7682]

When creating a personal journal to sale independently as part of my brand which editor should I have?

[@bardic_grin]

Does Developmental, Line, or Copy tell the author when there is too much exposition or if the style they are writing in needs reworking or if their writing as a whole needs more polish? Aka: who tells the author when their writing isn't great.

[@jasongretencord3326]

I want to start a career as a copy editor. I still do not entirely comprehend the difference between Line editing and copy editing, though.

[@kcesca]

Line editing is exactly what it says on the label. They go over every single line with a fine tooth comb and make grammer and word edits. Copy edits looks at the line as a whole and say - this scentence can be said better as xyz.

[@t.s.611]

@@kcesca You've actually got them switched! But your descriptions are correct.

[@LordFren]

I am about 50k words into my novel. Thanks for all the help. I am not sure where I want to take it but I would give traditional publishing a try it is good enough. But that will be some time from now :) PS: check your white balance, something was off in this vid.

[@JixieDyeAuthor]

50k! wow that's crazy. How long are you intending to make it?

[@LordFren]

​@@JixieDyeAuthor 135-150k with potential for serialization.

[@JixieDyeAuthor]

@@LordFren that's a lot of words. My own book is 50k. Actually perhaps slightly less now with editing.

[@LordFren]

@@JixieDyeAuthor That is amazing, how far are you into the process? Would you go self publishing or traditional?

[@JixieDyeAuthor]

@@LordFren I'm working through the edits from my developmental editor. Two chapters away from finishing with that. I'll probably go the traditional publishing route but for a long time I was twisted up in knots trying to decide which route I would go. I'm just not sure I have enough marketing knowledge or that my math skill is high enough to go the self publishing route.

[@CriticalSlt]

If you need a copy editor, all news papers have them on staff, some also work on books professionally and would love extra income.

[@rachelthompson9324]

If you develop the book before you write it, that is to say, know how story structure works and impediment it, then you don't need much if any developmental editing. There will be no holes in a sinking story ship to plug.

[@antoinettevangraan3010]

How do you know your critique partners are good or bad?

[@nikkimirhosseyni9535]

I once read a book that clearly hadn’t gone through a good editing process. There was one scene that happened twice in a row. I don’t mean printed twice, I mean it seemed like the author reworked it... but forgot to get rid of the first version. It was the last straw in a bad book for me and I DNFed it.

[@JixieDyeAuthor]

Feels like I'm DNFing so many books these days. Feels like so many people think they can be writers and can forgo the editing steps and their books are just unreadable. This is the trouble with Amazon a bit. Awful books are sold alongside really good ones you never know what you're getting. And on amazon you can get people to give you good reviews even if it's awful so you're just tricked.

[@nikkimirhosseyni9535]

Jixie Dye I sometimes feel bad for relying on booktube to help me decide what I want to read, but honestly it has helped me have two and a half amazing reading years. The book I talked about I read about 5 years ago, but it is so scorched in my brain.

[@JixieDyeAuthor]

@@nikkimirhosseyni9535 Perhaps you're right on that. I should probably do the same.

[@jasito1985]

I'm only interested in Traditional publishing which is a money saver knowing I don't need to hire a copy editor. However, I'm still intimidated by developmental and line editing based on how much it costs to do it. I don't have thousands of dollars to spend on it. Do you know of any credible companies that can do both for descent prices?

[@ryzikx]

Is it strange that as a hobbyist writer copy editing is my biggest strength

[@elizalagonia1049]

Is there a difference between a copyeditor and a proofreader? I thought they were the same, but in a recent video from someone else, they broke it up. I started using Grammarly as a basic proofread so my Betas and CP's don't have to deal with easy grammar mistakes. It works most of the time but on long documents, it seems to get tired.

[@AlexaDonne]

I know in traditional publishing, they are different. I'm less familiar with self-publishing, but wouldn't be surprised at all if they are two different people.

[@royalmason1539]

I'm learning that this business of editing is thousands upon thousands of dollars. It appears to me that self-publishers (vanity presses) make most of their money by getting you to buy as much editing as they can sell you, that expense being in addition to the publishing package you buy. I don't say it's dishonest, you may need all that editing, but learning to self edit in the way this lady is describing is very important, if for no other reason that being better equipped to choose an editor and know what editing you actually need.

[@RozyandRai]

Did you copy edit before you query an agent? I have some friends who are looking for copy editors because some are telling them to copy edit before submit their manuscript to them

[@AlexaDonne]

No, I did not. Authors who are doing traditional publishing should NEVER waste their money on any level of paid editing. I have an entire video on this, which is linked in the description. Authors can and should learn to self-edit at a level where their work is clean enough for an agent. If you can't edit on that level, it's an issue because you shouldn't hire your own editors once you have a book deal. Your writing, on its own, should be good enough. (not perfect, just good enough) The publisher will pay for copy editing. If an agent tells an author to pay for an editor, I am always wary of that agent. Good professional agents don't EVER tell a writer that they have to spend money to query.

[@theaquinnwrites]

As both beta and CP (i don't really distinguish bc i do the same amount of work) I do line edits, I just can't help myself. I think it's also bc I'm a teacher.

[@JixieDyeAuthor]

that's awesome! I bet you're a great CP.

[@theaquinnwrites]

@@JixieDyeAuthor i certainly hope so, though my style is very "harsh love"

[@JixieDyeAuthor]

@@theaquinnwrites well when I'm done with my book perhaps you would beta read for me. As long as your criticism is constructive I will try to accept it with grace. I always classify it as a Sci-fi but I suppose it's fantasy really. Don't know if you read those types of books.

[@theaquinnwrites]

@@JixieDyeAuthor I do but i am reading 3 manuscripts rn and after this I'll set up paid beta services because i just won't have the time to this for free anymore. Unless you'd be interested in beta reading my book in the future - I'm currently doing round then i'll edit it and do another round (it's a queer contemporary romance). If you are interested, my twitter is: twitter.com/theakaye_author and my email is: [e-mail]

[@JixieDyeAuthor]

@@theaquinnwrites Not really my style of novel really. I'm more into fantasy and scifi. But I wish you luck with it. I can't really afford to pay for beta readers right now sorry.

[@anthonyfitzpatrick3904]

My one tip is never ever have friends beta read for you. They lie. 🤣 A lot. And build your ego. Lol. I really need to find critique partners. Checking out your video now.

[@JixieDyeAuthor]

That's a great tip. Thanks.

[@elizabethwillsea2846]

Comma happy. 😂 Sounds like me. Hahaha.

[@iyannasmith4238]

I'm still so confused 😕

[@AScreenwritersJourney]

Do you participate in NaNoWriMo, or is that basically every month for you?

[@AlexaDonne]

I do sometimes, but not every year. Depends on where I am. Last year, for instance, I turned in my book in October so I had nothing left in the well for November. But my debut novel was actually a NaNo novel. Typically I "half NaNo," which means I use it for momentum but don't do a full 50K. That's my plan this year.

[@AScreenwritersJourney]

Thank you so much for your speedy reply! I'm going to write a screenplay in November as if I were a novelist!

[@e_n_hand]

So if you don't have friends how do you get a critique partner? Not saying I don't have friends but you know... Hypothetically.

[@sindieltaylor2147]

'Line editing' *Cat Vietnam flashback meme*