How To: Wattpad

- Editing

In choosing to become an editor, you're basically taking everything from before and utilizing it to edit someone's work. Here, you'll need to know grammar skills and how to spell because it's up to you to track down all the typos, grammar problems, and make sure the writing is top-notch

There are all sorts of different types of editing. There's proofreading, copy-editing, line editing, developmental editing, manuscript evaluation, book shepherding. There's so much more to an editor than just looking for typos. But since we're on Wattpad, we'll just look at proofreading, line editing, and copy editing. For more information on the other types of edits mentioned, visit https://www.clearvoice.com/blog/types-of-editors/.

What is proofreading? Proofreading is the final look through before a work is published. As stated from https://blog.bookbaby.com/2016/04/type-book-editing-need/:

Proofreading comes at the end of the publication cycle. It's the final check before the book is printed or, in the case of eBooks, before it is published and sent to distributors.

For this reason, proofreading is intended to pick up the final typos and spelling mistakes and to correct inconsistencies, like making sure the word "proofreading" is always spelled as one word and not "proof-reading" or "proof reading."

In the case of printed books, proofreaders also look for awkward word splits at the end of a line and ensure there is no ugly single line left at the top of the page from the previous paragraph (known in publishing as a widow) or at the bottom of the page, which really belongs with the paragraph on the next page (orphan).

Proofreading is only done after the raw manuscript has already been edited.

So basically, proofreaders should not have too much to put up with seeing as a manuscript should have already gone through tons of major editing before it's been passed to a proofreader.

What is line editing? Line editing is a more intensive structural edit that focuses on the finer aspects of language – the flow of ideas, transition elements, tone, and style. Line editors expand their efforts to suggest changes to make sentences crisper and tighter by fixing redundancy and verbosity issues while improving awkward sentence and paragraph construction without a full rewrite. Editors will look at the manuscript using a holistic methodology with a review of key aspects of the manuscript: the narrative, vocabulary, structure, characterization, style, and development.

Line editors will focus mainly on word usage and how the sentences flow. While they might hit up a typo or fix a grammar mistake, they're really looking to make sentences flow easier so that they're not as awkward to read. https://blog.bookbaby.com/2016/04/type-book-editing-need/

What is copy editing? Copy editing could just as easily be called text editing. It's a word-by-word edit that addresses grammar, usage, and consistency issues. Copy editors will check for typos and spelling errors along with correcting grammar, language, and syntax errors. They will also pay particular attention to punctuation such as commas, semicolons, and quotation marks.

Editors work on a copy of the author's manuscript, usually a Word file, using the track changes function and adding comments to explain any changes or make revision suggestions. The author can then go through each of the changes and accept or reject them one by one and make any revisions where necessary.

Only when the author is completely satisfied with the plot, story structure, characterization, settings, etc. is the manuscript ready for copy editing. And nobody, no matter how good, gets all that right with a first draft.

Copy editors focus on all the typos and grammar mistakes. They do their best to make sure all misspelled words are spelled right and the grammar is top-notch

On Wattpad, many combine copy and line editing. Maybe because they don't know that there are different names for it or it's because they're choosing to go above and beyond.  https://blog.bookbaby.com/2016/04/type-book-editing-need/