Content Editing

Content editing focuses on structural elements, readability, and other key aspects to lift a manuscript up to a publishable standard. It is usually the first formal feedback the book receives and stimulates focused rewriting. It can takes weeks or even months as writer and editor collaborate closely to improve the manuscript and prepare it for copy editing.

When should I seek a content edit?

The content edit is the editing step that occurs prior to copy editing. An editor performing a content edit is laser-focused on organization, stylistic consistency, coherence, and reader engagement. Absent any of these, a manuscript is not yet ready for prime time.

Of all the editing steps, a content edit is the one that relies most heavily on the training and experience of a professional editor. There is no style guide or "how-to" reference manual for authors to perform a content edit themselves. Nor is there an AI-oriented content edit app in the foreseeable future. This is a job for a human, not a robot.

The content edit is a crucial stage where the raw material gets transformed and refined into a professional, publishable draft. Even the most accomplished authors skip this stage at their peril, and the best ones know that.

Isn't an editorial assessment enough to address content issues?

An editorial assessment is a useful interim step to address "big picture" issues in the manuscript, and to get ahead of any major problems early in the process after a first draft or a few test chapters are completed.

A content edit is more involved and collaborative between author and editor. This is where "the rubber hits the road" in the shaping of the book.

Depending on the level of trust that has been established, an author will sometimes delegate wholesale content revisions to the editor. With the author's blessing, I have rewritten entire chapters that were underdeveloped, lacked tonal consistency, or needed extensive tightening.

I look at it as the time when books sometimes need "tough love." I'll help authors do whatever it takes to get their manuscripts properly content edited and in shape for copy editing.

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Pricing

The form below provides estimates based on project size. Prices are subject to change based on additional details about your project. Think of this form as a starting point for a dialogue as we get introduced and develop clear expectations ahead of our first collaboration as author and editor.