What are the stages of book editing?
- Four stages in order: developmental, line, copy, proofreading.
- Each stage has a different focus and a different price range.
- Total budget for traditional editing: $4,000-$15,000 for a 90,000-word novel.
- Running stages out of order is the most common revision mistake.
- Developmental editing is required; proofreading is non-negotiable.
There are four stages of book editing, in order: developmental editing (structure, plot, character), line editing (prose-level rhythm and voice), copy editing (grammar, consistency, fact-check), and proofreading (final typeset read). Each stage has its own toolkit, its own price range, and its own honest test. Running them out of order is the most common revision mistake.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Authors who skip stages or run them backwards waste revision energy. Polishing prose that gets cut in developmental wastes weeks. Copy-editing before line editing means re-doing the copy edit. The order exists because each stage assumes the previous one is complete; reversing it forces redo work.
Chapter ii·What to include
- Developmental editing: 4-8 weeks; $2,000-$8,000; reviews structure.
- Line editing: 4-6 weeks; $1,500-$5,000; reviews prose.
- Copy editing: 3-5 weeks; $1,000-$3,000; reviews grammar and consistency.
- Proofreading: 1-2 weeks; $500-$1,500; reviews the typeset book.
- Total schedule: 12-21 weeks of editing for a typical novel.
- Total budget: $4,000-$15,000 for a 90,000-word novel.
Chapter iii·Example
A working novelist plans her revision and editing calendar before drafting: month 1-2 of revision is structural, month 3-4 character, month 5 line. She sends a clean 90,000-word draft to her developmental editor in month 6, completes developmental revisions by month 9, sends to line editor by month 10, copy editor by month 12, proofreader by month 13. The book ships month 14.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom’s Edit studio runs critique aligned to each stage — structural first, then line, then copy — so the workflow matches the industry sequence.
See the Edit studio