Types of Editing: Part Three—Line Editing
Thursday, 23 February 2023
If you’ve been following along, you’ve seen my previous blogs about different types of editing. If not, here they are:
- Overview
- Developmental Editing
- Beta Readers
Line editing is all about the art of writing—cadence, flow, rhythm, clarity, word choice. A story is more than just action beats and plot points. You can have the best story in the world, but choppy and repetitive sentence structure will detract from that.
Truly great books tell an incredible story, but they are also full of beautiful sentences, perfect word choices, and pleasing rhythms.
Line editing will occasionally address minor developmental issues, such as reordering sentences and paragraphs or pointing out small inconsistencies in a character’s backstory, but a line edit will not include reordering the entire story and cannot be done on a manuscript with several gaping plot holes or poorly developed characters, so be certain to address any major developmental issues before hiring a line editor.
Because line editing is so subjective, it is imperative to find an editor who can embody your voice as a writer. In my blog about Developmental Editing, I talked about finding the right editor. Those same rules apply to all stages of editing, but they are most important when it comes to hiring the right line editor. The perfect line editor for you might not be perfect for another author, and that is why you should always get sample edits before hiring someone. The right line editor will help you refine your voice, locate places where you may have shifted tone without intention, and help you recognize when you’re overdoing it with your favorite devices—em dashes, midsentence dialogue tags, bobblehead characters with silly smiles on their faces—everyone has a crutch (or ten), and it is the job of your line editor to buff, scrub, and polish your manuscript so nothing feels overdone or underdone.
Your reader should feel about your manuscript the way Goldilocks felt about all of poor Little Bear’s stuff—just right.
There is often confusion about the scope of line editing. Line editing does address many grammatical issues because grammar influences flow, rhythm, and meaning, but it does not focus on correcting all grammar, nor does it address spelling, punctuation, or adherence to a particular style guide. Those things are addressed during a copyedit. Line editing is all about the artistry, and copyediting is strictly about mechanics. That being said, many editors do combine line and copyediting, so make sure you pay attention to what services you are getting when you hire an editor.
So I’ve described a line edit, but you’re likely still wondering what it looks like. Let me show you! My lovely client, Vee Paxton, agreed to let me use passages from her manuscript Bound to show what line editing looks like. In Vee’s words, here is a little taste of the “Jaime magic.”
Unedited passage:
Logically, the life force energy I’d consumed when I killed the entity invading Malcolm, plus the session I had with Jack before I arrived should be sustaining me, so why is my hunger growing? Malcolm had helped my hunger in a non-sexual way before, but that’s not enough if I have to stay here for any length of time with the urgency I’m feeling. I need to get home as soon as I can.
After line editing:
Logically, the life energy I consumed when I removed and killed the entity inside Malcolm combined with the session I had with Jack before I arrived should have been enough to sustain me for a while. So why am I hungry? Malcolm helped my hunger in a nonsexual way before, but based on the urgency I feel now, that won’t be enough if I stay for any length of time. I need to get home as soon as I can.
As you can see, the selection still says all the same things, but the sentence structure and a little bit of the wording has changed. All my changes were to improve voice, flow, and readability.
Let’s look at another one (this one has some strong language I bleeped out):
Wind rushes by my body, and I close my eyes, unable to watch the horror I created for myself as the impending doom of the street below gets closer. I hoped that somehow this *bleeping* entity inside me would have helped me make that jump across buildings but now all I could do was pray he’d sprout those damn wings before I hit the pavement. There’s *bleep* all I can do, and it’s oddly relaxing knowing there’s no choice but to trust him.
After line editing:
Wind whistles in my ears and whips at my clothes. I close my eyes, unable to watch as my body rushes ever closer to the street below. When I jumped, I was hopeful the *bleeping* entity inside me would help me leap from roof to roof, but now all I can do is pray he sprouts the damn wings he cursed me with before I hit the pavement. There’s *bleep* all else I can do. A strange calm washes over me; I might as well trust him and enjoy the ride.
That selection had more changes than the first, but it still conveys the same message as before. Do you see how the changes improved the rhythm and flow? That is what line editing is.
I could blather on for days about line editing—the magic of getting lost in the music of words and how that music can elevate a story from good to fan-fricking-tastic—but I’ll spare you. As always, thank you for reading the ramblings of a bizarre editor. Can’t wait to see you again next time.