What is Copy Editing?

What Is Copy Editing?

There are two broad types of manuscript editing to be aware of when you’re looking to hire a freelance editor: services that deal with correctness (proofreading and copy editing fall into this bucket), and services that deal with content (such as line editing and developmental editing).

Be careful about what you request and understand the services offered so that you get the most out of your time and financial investment. You don’t want to invest in copy editing if what your story really needs right now is developmental editing.

Let’s Define Copy Editing

Proofreading and copy editing basics share some common elements, such as correcting spelling and grammar errors. Still, there are significant distinctions between them. What is copy editing? Copy editors are primarily tasked with ensuring that the content is understandable to the target audience and that all of the pieces within and across publications maintain a consistent tone and style. In contrast, proofreaders concentrate more on the minor mechanical details of the texts and make sure that everything appears as it should without worrying too much about flow and cohesiveness.

Proofreading is a term that’s often confused with copy editing and line editing. But freelance proofreaders are simply editors who do one final comb through a manuscript before it goes to print. They are looking for typos, grammatical mistakes, formatting issues, and other minutiae. Writers looking to self-publish will often hire a manuscript proofreader to give their project a final once-over, but don’t expect creative feedback with this type of service.

Copy editing looks at the overall grammar and mechanics of your manuscript, while checking the project at the sentence level for spelling, style, punctuation, etc. These changes often happen at the sentence and paragraph level. Comments on the overall quality of the writing and writing voice are usually included, but not always. So on the spectrum of editorial services, what is copy editing? Copy editing is one step up from proofreading in terms of comprehensiveness and creative feedback. If you’re still just looking for someone to focus on the basics of your writing, without messing around with your story too much, a copy editor would be a good choice.

Ask any copy editor you’re thinking of hiring what, exactly, is included in their services and the level of detail to expect, as copy editing hovers between a proofreader and a line editor in terms of the definition of their role.

What Is Copy Editing and How to Budget For It 

Copy editing is one step up in terms of comprehensiveness from proofreading, and copy editing rates for your manuscript usually cost between $.02 and $.04 per word. Some copy editors charge by manuscript page, in the range of $2.50 to $5 per page.

Most editors will charge an additional fee to read revised material, because it represents additional time spent on the project. This is common with line editors and developmental editors, who are already familiar with your work. 

For revision reads in my editorial practice, for example, I charge half of the original editing fee, in most cases. The client gets a price break, as the project usually represents less work with every subsequent read. However, this advice usually does not apply to proofreading or copy editing, since revised material presents the same kind of challenges as a first pass—there may be new typos and errors to correct. 

If you’re wondering what is copy editing, we hope this article was helpful!