No matter what type of writing you do, it's a great idea to involve a copyeditor. Sure, you're a great writer and have your writing process nailed, but when you're looking over your own work for grammatical and factual errors, it's easy to see the words with rose-tinted glasses or to miss those crucial spelling or grammar errors because you're reading it how you meant to write it, rather than what's actually written.

But in the publishing industry, your writing needs to be perfect to get ahead of the game and produce a final document that stands out from the millions of writers out there.

Without that extra pair of eyes, you might end up with a final product that has glaring errors, making you look unprofessional – don't worry, it happens to the best of us.

Copy Editing is Your Solution

Using a copyeditor is the best solution, even for online publications. That second pair of eyes can help you spot plot holes and inconsistencies, spelling mistakes or grammatical issues and give that magic touch to your publication. But it's a good idea to consider what type of copyeditor you need first.

When we say ‘copyeditor' you might think of someone who prints your whole 2000-page novel out and painstakingly goes through each and every page with a red marker. Well, copyeditors have moved on from that now.

Sure, proofreaders go through each page with a fine-tooth comb, but if you're looking for more extensive changes and heavy editing, you'll need a different kind of copyeditor to give you tips and share ideas on how to improve your content. A copy editor's job is to work with you to make your writing the best it can be.

But an editor's an editor, right? - Wrong! There are lots of different types of copyediting and different copyeditors specialise in different areas of writing or stages of copy to spot discrepancies and make edits depending on your writing style.

To help you out, I've put together this quick guide to give some background on different types of copyeditors from freelancers to fact checking editors so you can secure the more professional copyeditor for your task.

  Proofreader

Proofreaders are the most common type of editors and the ones that you're most likely to come across on freelancing websites. The proofreading stage is the final step in your writing process, right before publication.

They'll do your final spelling and grammar corrections, looking at your punctuation, word usage, sentence flow and paragraphing to make sure that your piece works. This is especially important in creative writing pieces or online publications. You don't want any embarrassing spelling errors at the last minute - they can cost a lot to correct once you've sent it to the publisher.

Critique Partner

A critique partner is an editor that's interested in your goals. If you're a novice writer, they'll look at the format, plot, intended audience and the message that you want to deliver. It's this copyeditor's job to provide a professional opinion on how you could improve your work to make it more successful and flag any inconsistencies in the plot which may ruin your success.

They focus on your work as a whole and will work alongside you to perfect it before your final publishable manuscript. If you're looking for a spell checker or someone to look out for grammatical errors, a critique partner isn't right for you. Although they may pick up some errors, that's not what they're there for.

However, if you want someone to bounce ideas off or just some support in how to make the piece amazing, you've come to the right place.

Traditional Copy Editor

Traditional copy editors are also fairly common. They have extensive knowledge of the English language and will scrutinize every line to ensure that your grammar and punctuation is 100% correct. Their copyediting process is in between proofreading and critiquing. They make it their job to track changes in your work to show you their edits, flagging any errors from incorrect grammar to too many words used in sentences. They will pick up on plot holes and feed back on anything that doesn't quite read right.

They are your first ever reader and their opinion counts. If they find lots of issues or don't find the content interesting, then it might be time to go back to the drawing board. Copyediting is essentially your first test to see if your writing will be a success. If it's not quite right, your copyeditor will work with you, ensuring consistency, editing your content and fixing your character arcs before you send it for publication.

This type of editor is right for you if you're confident in your ideas, but not so confident in your layout or grammar and require support and a second opinion.

Content Editor

A content editor is similar to a copy editor, but normally for more extensive pieces of writing such as book publishing or, more recently, online writing. If you've got an awesome story that needs just a bit of fine-tuning, or a blog that's very personal to you, then a content editor is the one for you.

They'll look over the spelling, grammar and punctuation of your piece, much like a proofreader, but they'll also consider your target audience and recommend changes to paragraphs or point out missing information to really pack a punch.

Developmental Editor

A developmental editor is concerned with your brand voice and tone if you're writing for a business, or your character and plot development if you're writing for pleasure. Their aim is to keep you on track and make sure that everything points towards your end goal.

If your character suddenly does something completely unbelievable based on their personality, your developmental editor will tell you so. You might find yourself disagreeing with your editor on certain points, but that's good!

It means that you're both really thinking about improving the work to be the best it can be. Developmental editors will help you see your story from another perspective and move forward to make it amazing.

How to Tell if You've Found ‘The One' for your editing process.

Lots of freelancer websites will advertise editors as simply that: ‘Editors.' Don't be fooled into assuming that they'll edit anything and everything, no questions asked. If an editor doesn't ask questions, then they might not complete the job as you expected.

Any professional editor will encourage questions about their work and will probably ask you some in return. That's great news! It means they're committed to doing the right thing for your copy and not what's right for them.

Make sure you clarify exactly what you need from their copyediting work. Don't employ a proofreader and expect a developmental editor - you will be disappointed.

Choose your editor carefully, ask questions and share expectations. Okay, you might find someone cheaper, but it's probably worth paying that extra bit of money to get the right person who really cares about your work and wants what's best.

Spend some time getting to know your potential editors and pick the right person for your work. As the saying goes… buy cheap, buy twice.

Don't underestimate the power of having a great editor who understands what you're trying to achieve.

At Lyons Tales Editing we can work with you to take your writing to the next level, whatever your needs are. We'd love to hear from you to discuss your project in more detail.