What does a developmental editor do?

So you’ve finished writing your manuscript and you’ve decided that developmental editing is the next step. But what exactly does a developmental editor do and how can they help you to move your manuscript forward?

The right developmental editor is a crucial partner who can assess where your manuscript is now, understand where you want it to be, and help you bridge the gap.…

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Which editorial service do you need?

A flowchart to help you decide which editorial service you need

Knowing which editorial service to choose can be tricky. Everyone’s heard of proofreading, but what is it really? And how does it differ from copyediting or line editing, or even developmental editing? And when might you need an editorial project manager?

If you contact an editorial services professional via a reputable source such as the directory of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) (of which I am an Advanced Professional member) or ACES: The Society for Editing, they will be able to help you decide.…

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Respect and the inner robot in editing

I recently edited an academic book on Nazi Germany and, as is standard copyediting practice, checked the spelling and diacritics of all proper nouns and non-English words: the Polish ‘L’ character with a stroke; the triple-consonant ‘sch’ in Mischlinge; the umlaut in Röhm. I’ve found that, with experience, copyediting functions like this have seemingly become almost automatic.…

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Is there such a thing as authorial voice?

Authorial voice - the bogeyman?

‘Don’t intrude on the author’s voice’ is one of the first things every new proofreader or copyeditor is told. This is both a very helpful and an utterly useless piece of advice. It is helpful because it is absolutely true, but it is useless because it rarely seems to be defined just what on earth authorial voice is.…

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