The Difference Between Developmental Editing and Copy Editing

Developmental editing evaluates a manuscript in its entirety. It looks at the structure of the writer’s work and how the language within the story conveys meaning.

These editors look for ways to enhance the content and style – they may even offer suggestions where improvements can be made.

Copy editing is the removal of more than just grammatical errors. It deals with inconsistencies in spelling, usage, punctuation and style. It also involves sentence and paragraph restructuring.

Here, an editor makes sure that the work meets certain standards of readability.