“What are you editing, exactly?”

After starting my full time freelance editing business, the most common questions I got from friends and professional network connections: “Editing what?” “Is it video or sound editing?” “So you are going to write books?” This was understandable coming from those who know my past experience in video games and voice assistants or my passion for performing arts. Many assumed I would be copyediting: checking for grammar and nitty-gritty punctuations. The short answer is: I am a substantive editor for nonfiction books. The long answer…

“Editor” is such a broad profession, and editors are an esoteric bunch. Most types of content that can be created and consumed can be edited: audio, images and drawings, video, and text. As for textual content editing, which is what I do, there are so many flavors: based on the length (articles, dissertation, books), genre (many subgenres of nonfiction and fiction), medium (paper, electronic, web, social media), and purpose (entertainment, academic, marketing, journalistic). Across these, all editors have one goal: work with the author to improve their written content so it is easier to read, understand, and appreciate. In the least, editors provide a fresh eye to uncover weaknesses or gaps that authors are bound to miss simply by virtue of being too close to the content for too long. But most editors do more: collaborate with the author to address those weaknesses, and propose and implement improvements to close the gaps.

Editing expertise is defined by what type of improvements an editor looks for and at what stage of the book publishing journey. Substantive editors focus on the substance or content: the big picture message, the manner of presentation, and its intended impact. These editors often work with authors during the initial phases of writing. Mechanical editors, on the other hand, support authors closer to publication time, once the content is final. They focus on words and sentences: making the text error free, consistent, and adhering to standard style guides. Style guides are like dictionaries for rules about numerals, abbreviations, punctuation, hyphenation, capitalization, usage, and more. Many editors are experienced with multiple types of editing and often offer services bundled together: e.g., line and copy editing, or developmental and line editing. Here’s a diagram that shows how different types of editing support an author’s journey from writing to publishing.

I am a substantive editor for nonfiction books. Broadly, I consider substantive editing to include both developmental editing and line (aka stylistic) editing. I work with nonfiction book authors to ensure that the core message is unfolding consistently as the manuscript progresses, the supporting arguments are convincing and logically sound, and their ideas are organized for maximum and lasting impact. Often times this means asking questions and acting as a sounding board to the author.

Once all the content is in place and finalized with author’s approval, I carry out line editing: enhancing sentence level clarity and readability by addressing jargon, abstraction, and fluff. I do correct spelling and grammar errors, but do not focus on accuracy and consistency of capitalization, abbreviations and acronyms, style conformance, formatting, and citations. Depending on the author's goals about publishing, I recommend (and happily refer) an expert copyeditor experienced in the genre. 

My interdisciplinary work spanning engineering, design, and product management, and experience at crossroads of science, business, and technology have equipped me with plenty of skills vital for this type of editing. More on my journey to editing and my process in a later post.

It is critical for authors to understand the scope of editing services offered by editing professionals. Feel free to send me your questions and I will try my best to address them on this blog.