Editing for Nonfiction Writing
You’ve written and revised—and revised again. I can help with what isn’t working, celebrate what is, and guide you through the editing process.
Match Your Editing Needs with the Choices Below
Developmental Editing
Looking at the Overall Organization and Content
This structural level of editing is the first step in the editing process. Focusing on the big picture, this edit evaluates the shape and content of your work.
Developmental editing addresses these needs:
- Suitability for your intended audience and medium
- Sequence and progression of ideas
- Revising, cutting, or expanding the material
- Removal of repetition or redundancies
- Needed permissions
Stylistic/Line Editing
Looking at the Language and Flow of the Writing
Moving line-by-line, this edit ensures that the writing reflects your voice while communicating what you want to say as clearly as possible.
Stylistic editing addresses the following needs:
- Improving sentence and paragraph construction
- Eliminating wordiness
- Smoothing out transitions
- Increasing the readability of your text
- Choosing an appropriate tone for your medium
Copy Editing
Looking for Correctness, Accuracy, and Consistency
You are almost ready to publish your writing, but you want to ensure it is polished and cleaned up to a professional standard.
Copy editing looks at the following key areas:
- Correcting the grammar, spelling, and punctuation
- Fact-checking the information
- Reviewing all tables and visual elements
- Ensuring the completeness of the material
- Checking for consistency across the document
The secret to editing your work is simple: you need to become its reader instead of its writer.
