During line editing, ambiguity is one of the most important things to identify and eliminate. You should be looking for ambiguity during your self-editing process, and your professional editor will also root out instances that invite misreadings. Let's explore a few common causes of ambiguity and how you can fix them.

​One of the first questions to ask when you're considering professional editing is What type of editing do I need?

Not only are there a plethora of options, but terminology is not completely standardized throughout the industry. Depending on who you're speaking with, publishing professionals may use different terms for the same type of editing. Specifically, professionals who work directly with authors (like us at Blue Pen) often use different terminology than in-house editors.

After deciding to pursue professional editing and choosing the perfect editor, you have a big decision to make. Which type or types of editing does your manuscript need?

It can be difficult to be objective about your own work's needs, so don't hesitate to reach out to your editor and ask for their opinion.

To help give you a starting place, I've broken down some common types of editing and the order you should pursue them. Note that terminology is not completely standardized across the industry, so always confirm the scope of work with your editor. The definitions below reflect those of the services available from Blue Pen.

​When proofreading, you can save yourself some time by using the find and replace feature to catch common formatting issues. Use the following checklist to ensure your work is as clean as possible.

For a formatting starting point, click here to grab your free Editing Kit, which includes a standard formatting template.

If you're writing fiction, and you're not Cormac McCarthy, chances are you're using quotation marks. But are you using them correctly?

Let's go over the recommendations of the ​Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, the accepted style guide for American fiction.

He or she. He/she. S/he. There have been many attempts at gender-neutral pronouns, but as it so often does, language evolved naturally. And dictionaries and style guides have recently accepted that evolution.

Most of us use singular "they" frequently in informal conversation to refer to an individual whose gender we don't know. But is it okay to use singular "they" in fiction?

​Choosing an editor is a big deal. Whether you're hiring an editor for a developmental pass or simple proofreading, you need someone who is professional, qualified, and a good fit for you and your manuscript.

Finding the perfect editor can be a daunting task. With the technology available today, distance is not a concern, so the pool of prospective editors is massive. You can hire any editor in the world, and a quick search will bring up an insane number of professionals. How do you choose?

Here are a few methods you can use to narrow down your options and make sure that each editor you consider is qualified and is a good fit for your work.
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Every manuscript is different, and each editing process involves correcting different issues. But during my years as an editor, I have frequently seen several of the same issues in first chapters. Here are a few problems to watch out for.

A large number of writers who approach Blue Pen about professional editing don't know what type of editing they need—or whether they are ready for professional editing.
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Last month, Jade asked a fantastic question:

I thought this question deserved more than a 140-character answer, so here we are. Let's toss betas and critiques into an arena, let 'em fight it out, and see who wins.

First of all, what are these things?