How structural editing is different from other types of editing
Structural Editing or developmental editing
Creating a flawless document is impossible without editing and when your document requires more than a copy edit, you turn to structural editing. The scope of structural editing does not just stop with rewriting the manuscript from the perspective of an editor, but it involves working closely with the author to clarify their intention precisely in the write-up. Structural editing aims to improve the writing style and enhance the target readership on par with the editorial style of the publisher.
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The uniqueness of structural editing and the way it is different from other editing types:
There are many types of editing, such as developmental editing, proofreading, copyediting, etc. But structural editing is far different from them and is considered superior from them all, it merges deep into the content and attempts to modify or eliminate the issues with the plot, characters, pacing, themes, and settings of the work and escalate the writing style and quality completely. It is also referred to as substantive editing as it focuses not just on the content, but the presentation and organization of the entire text, from the title through the end card.
Developmental editing concentrates on checking the concepts, plot coherence, and the development of the character and has little influence on the writing style. Copy editing on the other hand synchronizes with structural editing and works to improve the overall quality of the work, but has little influence on the line-by-line correction of the work. Proofreading is different from structural editing as it focuses on the mere correction of typo errors and spelling errors in the text. In a nutshell, we can state that structural editing encompasses all other forms of editing and is considered a superior way of organizing a text.
Importance of structural editing
Structural editing concentrates on the entire structure of the content to match it with the vision of the author. It requires creating a new structure for the content, recommendations to include content, and also cutting back unwanted content, to deem it fit for the brand and the end reader. The structural editor will make sure that the tone of the content is consistent throughout the script and enhance its clarity, flow, and structure while paying due diligence on the grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
What should you expect from a good structural editor?
A good structural editor will review the entire document with the target audience in mind and will eliminate issues in the theme, plot, dialogue, content organization, etc. They will fix the clarity of the argument in the information and make the publication consistent. The editor will also ensure that the length of the document is appropriate and the text is cohesive with a smooth flow of content.
Why your work requires an experienced structural editor
No matter how good the writer is, there is always scope for revisions in the work, after completing the first draft. Structural editing is the first step of revision after the manuscript and the reason why the work requires revision is that authors get too attached to the story as they write, and fail to concentrate on the minute details. As writing a book takes many days, the author tends to forget what they have included or omitted in the content. Thud, there are all chances for a manuscript to have inconsistencies and flaws and these can be addressed expertly by an experienced structural editor.
Bottom Line:
Structural editing or substantive editing is not a mere rewriting of a manuscript in the words of the editor. But it concentrates on editing the content closely with the author to clarify his intention to the end audience. Its motto is to correct and improve the work to meet the needs of the target readership and the author’s writing style.