Developmental Edit (also called a critique or substantive edit): This edit tackles big-picture concerns mentioned above: character development, structure, the narrative arc, rising action, organization, flow, and content. For this edit, the editor often makes suggestions through review comments in the manuscript and may compose a critique as lengthy as ten pages.

Line Edit: The editor edits the manuscript line by line. The editor improves the flow of the manuscript and cleans up issues with digressions, lack of focus, dialogue concerns, tense shifts, and poor sentence structure.

Copy Edit: Having done the line by line work, this edit is more technical and punctuation-focused. The editor resolves grammar and punctuation errors.

Proofreading: This is the final step to eliminate typos and any missed errors. This is the polish.

Are you ready to get started?

If you are looking for a passionate, committed and consummate editor who is also reasonable, then I can fully recommend Dave Malone. He’ll handle your manuscript with a high level of expertise and always gives excellent feedback and suggestions.
—Wili Liberman, Owner/Editor of TEACH Magazine

For our academy, I’ve used Dave to help me edit my eBook, printed marketing materials, and website content. He has also helped me with a personal poetry project and was even willing to help my daughter with her college application essays. His revisions are easy to integrate, and he always makes himself available for discussion. I have greatly benefited from his professional service over the past ten years. I highly recommend making Dave a part of your publishing team for both professional and personal work.
—Mark Barrentine, Executive Director, Evangelhouse, Lafayette, Louisiana