Line editing involves changes at the sentence and paragraph levels to improve the flow and impact of the prose. This heavy, low-level editing addresses issues related to clarity, consistency, and concision, while maintaining and highlighting the work’s original voice. Line editing emphasizes craft above all else and is crucial to bringing prose up to a professional level.
Our expert line editors are careful to maintain and highlight your unique voice during line editing, with the understanding that fiction line editing requires finesse and creative edits to match authorial intentions. You may also receive comments in the manuscript to help you understand the editor’s thought process as you review changes.
Line editing may also be called heavy copyediting.
Line Editing Includes:
- Edits at the sentence and paragraph levels, delivered using Microsoft Word Track Changes
Is Line Editing Right For Me?
Line editing is one of the most important book editing services for self-publishing authors, and we recommend that all indie authors pursue line editing before their final proofread. Ensure you have completed all story-level revisions and edits, including developmental editing, before beginning a line edit.
Line editing can also help traditional authors impress agents and publishers. However, if constrained by budget, we recommend that aspiring traditional authors prioritize developmental editing over prose-level services.
Line Editing Example
This line editing example was created for a real author during a line editing service with Blue Pen. We share it here with the author’s permission to assist writers searching for editing and proofreading examples.