What's the difference between editing and revising?

The words “editing” and “revising” have different meanings for editors than they do for many writers.

When we’re writing, we’re not worried about definitions—we’re often working in a state of flow, engaged in an intuitive practice of rewriting and recasting our sentences with the simple goal that they sound more more like themselves. Working this way is an essential part of writing—but it isn’t all editing and revision can be.

To an editor, editing is three essential jobs—copy editing, stylistic editing, and substantive editing—and revision is what a writer does after an edit.

A quick breakdown:

Copy editing and stylistic editing attend to the fine details of words and sentences.

Copy editing is mechanical. The goal of copy editing is to achieve clarity, consistency, and correctness by adhering to established rules and conventions. Trained copy editors correct common errors and know where to look up the answers to uncommon questions. Their guidebooks are heavy enough to serve as doorstops.

Stylistic editing is more creative and exploratory. The goal of stylistic editing is to achieve clarity of meaning, coherence, and flow by finessing the language, structure, and cadence of a sentence or paragraph. When an editor suggests that a piece of writing needs a stylistic change, a writer makes an adjustment by recasting a phrase, rewriting a sentence, or reordering a paragraph.

Substantive editing attends to big-picture elements of a work such as plot, structure, or narrative arc. Editors make substantive suggestions after carefully reading a work and thinking about its elements, the reading experience, and the writer’s intention. Substantive commentary is meant to serve as a guide to a writer in revision.

We specialize in stylistic and substantive editing, but we try to include commentary and guidance on all necessary aspects of a work in order to help a writer with self-editing as well as revision.

Revising is the exciting part of writing. It is everything a writer does after the first draft, from reimagining a character to changing a word to drafting a new paragraph, chapter, or scene. In revision, one change usually leads to another, which leads to insight or discovery, which may lead to a new understanding of the work itself. In revision a writer often discovers they know more than they thought they did.

Revising with guidance from an editor is more challenging and comprehensive than solo revision and can enable you to take your manuscript further in a shorter period of time. This can be thrilling, because it’s in revision that the writing comes to life.

Next time: When to submit?