- The second of three editing passes — after developmental, before copy.
- Reviews rhythm, clarity, voice, redundancy, and word choice at the sentence level.
- Delivered as an annotated manuscript with paragraph-by-paragraph suggestions.
- Typical budget: $1,500-$5,000 for a 90,000-word novel.
- Schedule: 4-6 weeks for a typical novel.
Line editing is the second editing pass — a sentence-level review of rhythm, clarity, voice, redundancy, and word choice that happens after the structural developmental edit and before the copy edit. A line editor delivers an annotated manuscript with paragraph-by-paragraph suggestions, not just grammar fixes. The pass typically takes 4-6 weeks for a 90,000-word novel and costs $1,500-$5,000.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Line editing is where prose becomes prose. Developmental editing fixes structure but leaves clunky sentences intact; copy editing fixes commas but cannot improve rhythm. The line edit is the only pass that addresses voice at the sentence level, and skipping it is what makes self-published novels read amateur — even when the plot is strong.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A complete draft that has passed developmental editing.
- A voice anchor: a paragraph or chapter the editor can match against.
- A budget of $1,500-$5,000 for a 90,000-word novel.
- A schedule of 4-6 weeks for the editor’s pass plus your revision.
- A clear scope statement: voice-preserving, not voice-replacing.
- A handoff format: Word with Track Changes is industry standard.
Chapter iii·Example
A debut literary novelist sends her 88,000-word manuscript to a line editor after developmental revisions are complete. Four weeks later she receives an annotated manuscript with roughly 1,200 marginal notes — tightening sentences, cutting filler words, suggesting rhythm changes, never rewriting voice. Her revision pass takes three weeks. The prose reads twice as confident afterward.
Chapter iv·Related questions
In WriteLoom
Three editors, in the order professionals use them
WriteLoom’s Edit studio runs a line-level critique that flags weak sentences without rewriting them — so your voice stays yours.
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