In this day of automatic spelling and grammar checkers, the need for an external editor is often overlooked. For any major writing project this is faulty logic.  Whatever writing project you are engaged in, the assistance of an editor working alongside you can be invaluable.

There are many forms of editing and the editor – depending on the role defined for them – can work with you at any stage of your writing process. Indeed, an editor can give your work polish and perspective that add to its credibility.

Conventionally speaking, an editor is engaged before a document is finalized to polish the text, correct any grammatical errors and review the punctuation. This follows the linear writing model that bounces a document from writer to editor to proofreader. But it is not is not always that way. An editor can be the writer’s ally at each and every stage of the writing process shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: The three stages of writing

Development editing involves looking at the ‘bigger picture’ of a book (volume) and working with the structure, organization, flow, content and tone of the material, rather than purely the language and grammar. Of course, the development editor can also handle these aspects as well. In one sense, the development editor can work with the author(s) at the outset in a ‘mentoring’ role helping develop the authors and providing guidance to them.

Substantive editing deals with the organization and presentation of existing content. It involves rephrasing for smoothness or to eliminate ambiguity, reorganizing or tightening, reducing or simplifying documentation, recasting tables, and other remedial activities. Substantive editing can take place within the writing phase as part of the ongoing revision and review aspect. Again the substantive editor works alongside the writer but in a more restricted role than that of the development editor.

Mechanical (copy) editing is concerned with the mechanics of written communication. It refers to consistency in capitalisation, spelling, hyphenation, table format, use of abbreviations, and so forth; correctness of punctuation, including ellipsis points, parentheses, and quotation marks; the way numbers are treated; consistency between text, tables, and illustrations; citation format; and other matters of style. Mechanical editing also includes attention to grammar, syntax, and usage at the most basic level.

Proofreading technically refers to review of the copy after it has been typeset since with traditional typesetting, typographical errors often crept in during the compilation. Nowadays with the advent of digital typesetting proofreading is undertaken electronically but it still refers to the final quality check of a document including the correct placement of artwork and text boxes before it is published or circulated.

The fifth type of editing is known as volume editing and refers to the combining of a set of manuscripts into a single document or set of documents for final publication .  It includes the reformatting and renumbering of headings, combination of chapters (possibly by different authors) as well as titling and subtitling, combination and placement of appendixes, glossaries and other lists. Volume editors are typically deployed in situations where a document has many authors and the volume editor is engaged to ensure the consistency of the final document. Volume editors can also be engaged when a series of documents, working papers or other material are to be produced and where, again, consistency is required.

Sources: The Chicago Manual of Style (Chapter 2); The Australian Editing Handbook