- The third and final pre-publication editing pass.
- Reviews grammar, punctuation, spelling, consistency, and style-sheet adherence.
- Fact-checks names, dates, and verifiable claims.
- Typical budget: $1,000-$3,000 for a 90,000-word novel.
- Industry standard: Chicago Manual of Style for trade fiction.
Copy editing is the third and final pre-publication editing pass — a sentence-and-word-level review for grammar, punctuation, spelling, consistency, fact-checking, and adherence to a style sheet. It happens after developmental and line editing, and a copy editor delivers a manuscript marked with Chicago Manual of Style corrections. The pass typically takes 3-5 weeks for a 90,000-word novel and costs $1,000-$3,000.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Copy editing is what separates self-published books that read professional from those that do not. Errors a reader’s eye snags on — missing commas, inconsistent capitalization, a character whose name is spelled three ways — break immersion and trigger negative reviews. Skipping copy editing to save money is the single most common indie-author mistake.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A completed line-edited draft.
- A style sheet: capitalization, hyphenation, made-up word spellings.
- A budget of $1,000-$3,000 for a 90,000-word novel.
- A schedule of 3-5 weeks for the editor’s pass plus your acceptance.
- The Chicago Manual of Style as the default reference for trade fiction.
- A "do not change" list: stylistic choices the copy editor should preserve.
Chapter iii·Example
A self-publishing author sends her 75,000-word romance manuscript to a copy editor. Three weeks later she receives the manuscript with 850 corrections, a four-page style sheet, and notes on twelve minor fact-check items (one character’s eye color changed in chapter 14, a 1923 brand of car that did not exist yet). She accepts most changes and publishes a clean book that does not embarrass her in reviews.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom’s Edit studio surfaces copy-edit candidates — typos, inconsistencies, style drift — so the paid copy edit ships a cleaner manuscript.
See the Edit studio