Would you convey my compliments to the purist who reads your proofs and tell him or her that I write in a sort of broken-down patois which is something like the way a Swiss waiter talks, and that when I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will stay split, and when I interrupt the velvety smoothness of my more or less literate syntax with a few sudden words of bar-room vernacular, that is done with the eyes wide open and the mind relaxed but attentive.

Raymond Chandler (letter, dated 18 January 1948, to Atlantic Monthly editor Edward Weeks)

Effective editing
Superb writers require good editors; merely good writers require superb editors. But all writing requires some editing. Editing is a critical part of the overall composition process—and it cannot finally be avoided.

Editing needs vary widely, and the term editing embraces a wide range of roles, functions, and tasks. Nonetheless, nonfiction manuscripts (short and long) generally require three "levels" or categories of editing—developmental, substantive, and copy. Let's look briefly at each.

Developmental editing (also called concept editing) can occur through all phases of a project, but it's especially helpful (and mainly used) in the early prewriting and planning stages. A developmental editor may:

Help conduct research and develop an early outline.
Help organize notes, interviews, and other background materials.
Help define the project's purpose, scope, organization, tone, focus.
Draw out the writer's experience and knowledge.
Suggest formats and structures.
Identify gaps in content and logic.

The developmental editor serves as a kind of "writing coach," providing feedback and encouragement—while probing, analyzing, and shaping the concepts and materials.

The developmental editor helps chart the course and launch the journey. He or she establishes a strong collaborative (or counseling) relationship with the writer, working to establish a firm conceptual and structural foundation for the manuscript—and positioning both writer and editor to address substantive editing needs.

Substantive editing (sometimes called manuscript editing or comprehensive editing) focuses on content—on overall organization, expression, and proportion. It may involve some reformulation, restructuring, and rewriting; and it focuses always on clarity, readability, and overall structure. The substantive editor addresses critical questions:

Do the pieces of the manuscript fall together into a coherent whole?
Is the meaning clear and the structure effective?
Is the style, tone, flow, expression, pace, and consistency adequate?
Is the order of presentation logical (from the target audience's viewpoint)?
Is rewriting required—and, if so, how much and where?
Has all necessary information been included—and all extraneous material deleted?
Has all appropriate referencing and illustrative material (tables, figures) been included?
Are the retrieval aids (table of contents, internal headings, index) useful?
Are the transitions and summaries in place?

Substantive editing is almost entirely analysis-based (as opposed to rules-based copy editing). It looks for essay-level problems—weak motivation, unclear theme, overly complicated organization, incoherent and incomplete argument. Substantive editing often blurs into rewriting and also frequently merges with copy editing—the third "level" of edit.

Copy editing (sometimes called line editing or language editing) addresses usage, style, and mechanical issues. Copy editors check for errors and oversights in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization. They look for problems with subject-verb agreement, parallelism, misplaced modifiers, awkward phrasing, cross-references, transitions, ordering—and more.

The copy editor avoids conceptual and structural issues, focusing instead on the building blocks of the document—paragraphs, sentences, words. He or she strives to ensure correctness—and, functioning as a line editor, strives also to improve precision, consistency, clarity, flow, logic, and polish. (Line editing is similar to substantive editing—but conducted on a smaller scale.)

Proofreading, the final step, ensures pinpoint accuracy and guards against embarrassing language gaffes.

The lines between these levels of edit are less than entirely clear. The three editing functions frequently blur into one another—and are often conducted simultaneously. Nonetheless, some understanding of these broad editing categories may help you assess your editing needs—and help you find the appropriate assistance.

Writing is an intensely personal experience, and the writer-editor relationship is delicate in nature. All writing deserves a respectful review. And you should expect that your editor (working always to draw out the best in you) will stay sensitive to your voice, personality, and feelings.

In the words of James Thurber, "Editing should be. . .a counseling rather than a collaborative task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, 'How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?' and avoid saying 'How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?' "

If you're interested in discussing a project—or if you simply wish to get acquainted—give me a call or drop me a note. I'll listen carefully to your ideas and needs—and we'll go from there.

Orlo J. Otteson
651-278-4824
otteson@aol.com