Types of Editors

Deciphering Editor Differences and Functions

All too often, I run into writers who are completely befuddled by editors.  I was even recently told by the great Jason Lavelle, “You people are savages.”  Well, maybe you have run into a few ruthless and severe editors, but I do not believe I am one of those. Why, you ask? Because, and that should be good enough for you.

Seriously though, I believe that an editor should be a guide and a fighter for the writer. Ultimately, it’s my job to make sure you don’t look bad, right?

That being said, there are many different types of editors out there, and finding the one that fits you, your characters, your genre, and your needs is sometimes a very daunting task. I am going to try and make it a little bit easier for you.

First, I am going to tell you, in un-inflated and unpretentious language, what the different types of editors do. Later, I will tell you how to prepare to choose an editor. But for now, let’s just decide what type of editor you need.

The Beta Reader: Sometimes people don’t consider beta readers editors, but they certainly are.  Beta readers look over your writing to give you their opinion. These are your friends, relatives, associates, and sometimes complete strangers. You trust your story into the hands of these generous folks and hopefully they give you solid feedback and not just a bunch of fluff. Often you do not pay for beta readers. They should do this out of the goodness of their hearts, and because they love the written word. Seriously though, they like to do it because it gives them a chance to feel part of the creative process. Keep those good beta readers in your back pocket and give them a solid thank you on the acknowledgement page.

The Critique Partner: A critique partner is a writer or published author who looks over a story and helps another writer or aspiring author to raise the quality of his or her work. They may act more as a coach than an editor. You want a critique partner when you need guidance on developing a story for publication. Some discourage critique groups, but I find that they are a great free resource for the early writing stages.

The Commissioning Editor: These are the editors that are looking for books or articles to publish. They can also be called acquisition editors. These are the snobs.  They work for publishing houses and their job is to make those companies money.  They reject more than accept. You know that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Temple of Doom when the villainous priest reaches through the chest cavity of his victim and removes his beating heart. Yeah, you get the idea. If you want to go through that process, get the sword from under the couch and choose your battle cry.

The Copy Editor or Line Editor: Copy editors, also known as line editors and sometimes as content editors, usually look at everything from facts to grammar and formatting. These editors check consistency, spelling, clarity, sentence structure, voice, tone, verb tense. You know, they are those technical and freakish editors that sentence diagram in in their heads. ((Guilty))

The Developmental or Substantive Editor: Developmental editors act as coaches for writers to get a story ready for publication in the beginning of your process. Substantive editors work with you once your story is written. When you need guidance on moving your story forward, these editors should be able to help. They may also spend some of their time ghostwriting. They look at everything the writing encompasses. With books, they look over the story and make changes as necessary to the plot, characters, setting and so forth. These editors also ensure the scope, geography, facts, etc. are accurate for its audience and subject matter. This is the editor that climbs into the trenches with you.

The Proofreader: This is your final editor.  They are the ones that look for glaring mistakes in grammar and punctuation, and they may give a little feedback as to quality or content development. You want to hire a proofreader after all the other editing has been done. They are your final set of eyes.

I know that this was a lot of information, but now you hopefully have a much better idea of what these different editors do and which one will suit your needs.

For those who are curious, I am a developmental and copy editor. I do also copy and proof, but where my heart truly lies is in “peace and quiet, and good tilled earth.” Wait . . . no, it’s in helping writers create a story that readers will pay to read. Check me out at Edits By Stacey.