There are many different types of editing services out there. I’ve given a broad overview on how all the different editing levels work in a previous post. Here, I’ll clear up any confusion on two of the most convoluted editing terms: copy editing and proofreading.

It’s very easy to mix these two terms up. They sound similar and, to be fair, the services are similar. They’re still not interchangeable, though.

Even though I’m a professional copy editor, I still wouldn’t touch a proofreading project because I know I don’t have the necessary skill set to do it properly to professional standards. Though some editors are trained in and provide both services, a proofreader is not the same as a copy editor.

If you’re on the hunt for the perfect editor for your book, it’ll help you a lot to know the difference between copy editing and proofreading. You’ll be able to start your search in the right place with the right terms.

So let’s sort these obtuse and confusingly similar terms out.

A Quick Overview of the Editing Spectrum

To start, here’s how fiction editing works in a nutshell. All fiction editing exists on a spectrum between story-level editing and sentence-level editing. Editing the story will change the sentences, but editing the sentences won’t change the story. That’s why you should make sure the story is completely ready to go before starting any technical sentence-level editing. You can check out this post to learn more about whether story-level editing is the best fit for your writing stage.

What Both Copy Editors and Proofreaders Check

Both copy editing and proofreading exist firmly on the sentence-level side of the editing spectrum. They both tidy up the sentences, removing typos, correcting spelling and punctuation, and keeping everything as internally consistent as possible. These are the key areas that both a copy edit and a proofread address:

• Grammar
• Spelling
• Punctuation
• Usage
• Editorial style
• Internal consistency of narrative facts (such as a character’s eye colour)
• Basic fact checking of real-world facts (such as the date of a historical event)

Usage and editorial style are also somewhat obtuse terms, so I’ll quickly define them for you.

Clarifying Some More Terms

Usage is related to spelling, but it’s not quite the same. Usage refers to the appropriate use of words. For example, the correct phrase is to “home in,” not to “hone in,” as the phrase has its roots in homing pigeons.

Here’s another example: the correct phrase has always been “between you and me,” never “between you and I.” That one has to do with the correct use of subjective and objective pronouns. You can check out this post if you want to get into the weeds about how pronoun rules work.

Editorial style refers to a set of rules that only exists for the sake of internal consistency. You’re not grammatically incorrect if you break a stylistic rule. You’re just being inconsistent, and inconsistently structured sentences look bad in print. That’s why editors take editorial style just as seriously as grammar.

Different countries and industries follow different editorial style preferences. Dialogue punctuation is a great example of editorial style and how it tends to differ country by country.

Here’s how you punctuate dialogue across the world:

• “This is how you punctuate a quote in North America.”
• ‘This is how you punctuate a quote in Britain’.
• «This is how you punctuate a quote in Spain. Yes, they use an entirely different symbol called a chevron or guillemet».

None of these punctuation styles is more correct than another. You just have to pick your style and use it consistently throughout your manuscript.

The oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, is another example of an editorial style rule. But that one is much more controversial. A lot of people care very much about drawing “right” and “wrong” lines in the sand about that comma. Considering how many editorial style rules are out there, it is fascinating (and a little terrifying) how so many people have latched onto this one piece of punctuation as a pillar of objective correctness worthy of ferocious defense. But I digress.

Both proofreaders and copy editors look for correctness and consistency in all these domains.

Given that the jobs have so much overlap, it does beg the question, why are you, as a copy editor, so reluctant to do proofreading? The reason is that their differences are still significant.

What Makes Copy Editing and Proofreading So Very Different

There are two main differences between copy editing and proofreading: the format and the focus.

The Format

Proofreaders and copy editors do not edit the same type of document. To understand the difference, let’s get wordy and define the terms copy and proofs.

Copy: The manuscript’s text itself.

Proofs: The manuscript document as formatted into its final print (or digital) layout.

You’ll also need to know this one:

Typeset: The process of formatting the internal pages of your book, as completed by a typesetter.

In short, copy editors and proofreaders edit the manuscript at different stages in the publishing process. The copy edit happens before the typeset. The proofread happens after. A manuscript’s copy usually comes in a Word Document, and a manuscript’s proofs usually come in a PDF.

Editing has gone digital, and that means modern editors need program-specific skills to do their jobs.

That’s the first significant barrier keeping me, as a copy editor, from proofreading professionally. I know the ins and outs of Microsoft Word, with all sorts of macros and add-ons up my sleeve, but I do not know how to use proofreading language and PDF programs to professionally proofread a PDF document.

Also, the fact that these two edits happen in very different publishing stages significantly alters the focus and purpose of the edit.

The Focus

Making changes to your book’s formatted pages (a.k.a. proofs) is time consuming. Adding one sentence here and another paragraph there can have a massive domino effect on the following paragraphs and pages, creating a lot more work for your typesetter. Unless you are doing the typeset yourself (which I don’t recommend unless you have the skill set for it), creating more work for your typesetter means you’ll accrue a larger typesetting bill.

Many traditional presses won’t allow you to make changes after the typeset because it can be so costly. So here’s a pro publishing tip: think of the typeset as setting your story in stone and do your best to make all your changes before starting the typeset. It’ll save you (and your typesetter) from big hassles down the road.

How this Dynamic Affects Copy Editing & Proofreading

Since copy editing happens before the manuscript is typeset, copy editors have the freedom to edit as heavily or lightly as needed. Many copy editors (like myself) also combine stylistic editing into their copy-editing services, checking each sentence for clarity, coherence, and flow in addition to grammar, punctuation, and all the other technical concerns.

On the other hand, proofreaders edit as lightly as possible because any major changes in this stage are costly. While copy editors endeavor to catch everything, it’s practically impossible to catch every technical error in a single pass.

So part of a proofreader’s job is to catch any finicky remaining technical errors. But a proofread doesn’t just exist to double-check grammar and punctuation. Unlike copy editors, proofreaders will also look for any awkwardness or inconsistencies in the formatting itself.

In short, copy editors edit for eloquence and correctness. Proofreaders edit for correctness and formatting readability. The copy edit happens before the typeset and the proofread happens after. Professional copy editors are experts in Microsoft Word and professional proofreaders are experts in their PDF software of choice.

While these differences may seem subtle at first, they ultimately mean that copy editors and proofreaders need very different (if related) skill sets to complete their jobs to professional standards.

I hope this journey into the realm of professional editing jargon hasn’t been too overwhelming for you and that you’ve come out with a better understanding of the editing process.