In our Coaching Programs and Consulting services, we work with clients to develop, refine, or complete works in progress. This amorphous field covers everything from inspiration and encouragement to practical advice. Coaching is often done at the beginning of a project, to get things off the ground, or midway through a stuck project to get things going again. The term “consulting” often also applies to the help clients receive in navigating procedures and processes related to publishing, printing, or production.
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING In Developmental Editing, we deal with content, organization, and genre considerations. In a typical developmental edit, the developmental editor provides a revision letter, also called an “editorial letter” or “edit letter,” that outlines the big-picture issues to be addressed in revision. The editor may also include some line or copy edits in the manuscript to show the author how to revise effectively. A developmental editor may instead provide a manuscript evaluation, which is an overall critique of the content that focuses more on describing the problems than on proposing solutions for them. Book doctors are also usually considered developmental editors. They not only provide editorial feedback but also make changes by rewriting and reorganizing passages. Their work is similar to that of ghostwriters, but unlike ghostwriters, they edit existing text rather than create it from scratch.
LINE EDITING Line editors work at the sentence or paragraph level of a project. Like copyeditors, they correct errors, but their main focus is on improving the language and style of the text. Line editing may be performed as a separate service, in conjunction with developmental editing, after big-picture issues have been addressed, or in conjunction with copyediting.
COPYEDITING The role of the copyeditor is as broad as it is important. Copyeditors correct spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation; check cross-references; and prepare the style sheets that guide consistency and accuracy across the manuscript. A copyeditor reviews all aspects of the manuscript at levels of response that vary from light (making a notation to the author) to heavy (revising the text). Copyediting may also be performed in concert with line editing.
