Line editing is a step in the book development process that many authors skip. But for certain kinds of authors, it can make the difference between an ‘okay book’ and a ‘great read.’
What is Line Editing?
Line editing is when a specialist editor reads through your manuscript and makes changes on a line-by-line (hence the name) basis. While a developmental editor’s job is more broad (chapters and scenes), and a copy editor’s job is more focused (words and characters), a line editor is meant to help you clean up how ideas are expressed in each phrase and sentence.
For example, a developmental editor would likely not touch this sentence as long as it’s in an appropriate place in the book:
She heard him with her ears.
And a copy editor may not bother making a change to it because it is grammatically correct (proper punctuation and capitalization, everything is spelled correctly, etc.). So, even though this sentence is awkward, it doesn’t fall neatly under the purview of the developmental editor who is focusing on the major structure of the piece, nor the copy editor who is hunting for grammatical errors.
But a line editor, whose specific mission is to find and repair sentences like this, will turn “She heard him with her ears,” into “She heard him.” Humans don’t hear sounds with any other part of their body (outside of niche, fantasy humans, I suppose), so it’s unnecessary to state that someone heard with their ears or knelt on their knees (you can’t kneel on your shoulders) or inched slowly forward (the verb “inch” already denotes that the movement is slow).
A line editor can also find and fix other kinds of sentence level problems with awkward phrasing (as shown above), mixed metaphors (‘a diamond in the albatross,’ ‘a bird in the hand is killed with two stones,’ etc.), and clunky expressions (‘didn’t have nothing better else to do,’ ‘she picked up the water running backwards into her yard,’ etc.).
Why is Line Editing Important?
Line editing makes your writing more clear and engaging. When sentences are disorganized or confusing, it makes the reader stop enjoying the content and start wondering about what you mean by what you wrote. In the best of cases, they will eventually deduce what you meant and continue reading, slightly annoyed at having to stop so often to decipher what you’re saying. In the worst cases, they won’t get through the book at all because they can’t understand what’s going on.
While line-level problems can pop up in anyone’s manuscript, it’s especially critical that people who are more likely to produce confusing lines get a line editor on their team. This includes people who are not writing in their native tongue, authors who have brain trauma or developmental disabilities, and people who struggle with reading problems such as dyslexia.
Drawbacks to Line Editing
As great as line editing can be for the quality of your finished product, that doesn’t mean that everything about it is pleasant.
Line editing can be expensive. This is especially true if your book is on the longer side, such as more than 80,000 words. It takes a lot of time to get through that many sentences, so be prepared to pay more for longer works.
Another issue with line editing is that it takes extra time. If you’re in a big hurry to publish your work, slowing down to find, vet, and hire a line editor (and then letting them do their job) can seem excruciating.
The Right Time for Line Editing
Line editing is usually done after developmental editing has been completed, but before copy editing has been completed. This way you don’t mess up any effort spent on copy editing if your line editor ends up having to add, remove, or rearrange words in a sentence to make it stronger.
Finding Line Editors
Line editors can be found just about anywhere you can contact developmental or copy editors. Many editors provide more than one kind of service or can refer you to someone who can. So, if you’ve already found a developmental editor that you like, feel free to ask them if they know a line editor. Take a look at INeedABookEditor.com, The-EFA.org, or ACESEditors.org to find reputable, quality, experienced line editors for your work.
Sensitivity Reading
What is Sensitivity Reading?
Sensitivity readings are performed by a kind of line editor who goes through your piece looking for circumstances, words, phrases, and assumptions that may reflect things like racism, sexism, or homophobia on the part of the author.
Why is Sensitivity Reading Important?
Authors often hire a sensitivity reader as a way to make sure that they have been respectful and accurate in their portrayal of cultures different from their own. They could be writing characters who are of another nationality, race, sexuality, or gender. Many an author has been skewered in the media for having written stereotypical characters. Hiring a sensitivity reader is a way to avoid this problem.
Drawbacks of Sensitivity Reads
It’s difficult for any one person to try to speak for or represent an entire group. Even though someone may be African-American, their experience is not necessarily exactly the same as every other African-American person on the planet. Some of the things one Italian may find offensive may not bother another Italian person. Some of the things one transgender woman thinks are acceptable may cause insult to a different transgender woman.
Hiring a sensitivity reader isn’t really about trying to satisfy everyone in a particular group. It’s an attempt to do your due diligence as an author. Even though there may be something you write (or don’t write) that sparks offense, having hired a sensitivity reader is a way to at least make an effort to reduce insulting the portion of your readers who match the demographics of the characters you’re writing.
The Right Time for Sensitivity Reading
Not every project will warrant sensitivity reading. However, if yours does, just before, during, or just after your line editing would be best. In the worst cases, you may have entire scenes that need to be revamped in order to side-step offending your readers. In the best cases, there will simply be a word or phrase that needs to be adjusted in order to remove a slur of some kind that you may not have realized you used.
If you are writing a main character that has little or no characteristics in common with you, getting a sensitivity read prior to developmental editing may be best in order to check for entire scenes that could be racist, sexist, etc. If you’re writing a main character or writing supporting characters who are generally similar to you but may have a few slight differences such as their sexual orientation and their nationality, having a sensitivity reading done just before line editing might be more efficient.
Finding Sensitivity Readers
Look for volunteers to become sensitivity readers by asking in your critique and writing groups. Request that people who are open to doing so and are of your main character’s demographics let you know and send them a copy of your manuscript if they ask for it. Don’t assume anything about people just by how they look! Also, remember that people have family members and friends who may fit what you’re looking for, even if they don’t. But if you don’t tell them what you need, they can’t help you.
If you prefer to look for a professional sensitivity reader, do so at the-efa.org, aceseditors.org, or INeedABookEditor.com.