April 29, 2025 • 27 mins
Do you need to hire a line editor? Or should you line edit your manuscript yourself?
After all, you want to write an excellent novel. You know that great writing takes shape in revision, and you don’t want to skimp on any layers of editing.
Nor do you want to overestimate your writing skills and leave your book littered with clunky sentences that a wordsmithing line editor could polish into shining brilliance.
On the other hand, you also don’t want to mess up your editing process or your manuscript by getting the editing phases wrong.
You don’t want to hire the wrong people at the wrong time and reduce the efficiency of your edits by getting them out of order.
You don’t want to waste money you don’t need to spend on professional editing you don’t actually need.
And you definitely don’t want to make your manuscript worse by getting feedback that doesn’t match your vision.
So: do you need to hire a line editor?
Well, maybe. Or maybe not.
In this episode, I’m breaking down what line editing is, what line editors do, and what your book and your editing process truly need.
You’ll hear:
- What great line editors can do
- The risk of working with a line editor
- The key that makes great line editing possible
- How to find your best line editor
- And more
Whether you hire a line editor or line edit your novel yourself, the principles I share in today’s episode will help you ensure every word you choose is the right one for your story and your voice.
Links mentioned in the episode:
- See my sample developmental and line editing feedback: alicesudlow.com/83
- Discover Story Clarity and Story Refinery
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Do you need to hire a lineeditor?
You want to write an excellentnovel and you know that great
writing takes shape andrevision.
You don't wanna skimp on any ofthe many layers of editing that
it takes.
Then end up with a book that'sless than your best, nor do you
want to overestimate yourwriting skills and leave your
book littered with clunkysentences that a wordsmithing
(00:21):
line editor could polish intoshining brilliance.
On the other hand, you alsodon't want to mess up your
editing process or yourmanuscript by getting the
editing phases wrong.
You don't want to hire the wrongpeople at the wrong time and
reduce the efficiency of youredits by getting them out of
order.
You don't wanna waste money thatyou don't need to spend on
professional editing that youdon't actually need, and you
(00:44):
definitely don't want to makeyour manuscript worse by getting
feedback that doesn't match yourvision.
so do you need to hire a lineeditor?
Well, maybe or maybe not.
Let's talk about what lineediting is, what line editors
do, and what your book and yourediting process truly need.
(01:53):
Welcome to your next draft.
Let's get this out of the way,right up front.
Industry terms for differenttypes of editing are tricky.
Developmental editing, lineediting, copy editing,
proofreading.
I found all these words reallyconfusing when I was getting
started.
As an editor, I see writersgetting them mixed up all the
(02:14):
time, and if you ask a dozendifferent editors what each term
means, you'll get a dozensimilar, but not quite the same
answers.
It's easiest to understand thedifferences between each kind of
editing when you can actuallysee examples of each type.
So I've put together a sample ofactual feedback.
I have given actual writers, andI've marked it up so that you
(02:35):
can see what parts of thatfeedback are purely
developmental and what parts ofit are about line level
implementation.
If you're confused about thedifference between developmental
and line editing or wonderingwhere there could possibly be
overlap between the two, then Ithink you'll like getting to see
examples of how I approach themboth side by side.
You can grab the sample feedbackby going to alice sub.com/ 83
(03:00):
and filling out the form there.
That's alice sudler.com/ 83, andthat link is in the show notes
as well.
So go download that feedback,read it through, and we'll talk
about it more in a few minutes.
And once you've grabbed thatdownload, I've got a story to
tell you.
Ready?
Let's go.
Recently I was working on apiece of writing, probably a
(03:23):
podcast script or a bit oftricky website copy.
It was late and I was tired, butI needed to get this done even
though it felt like pullingteeth to excavate every word
from my brain.
So I dumped all my scatteredrough ideas into a Google Doc,
and I messaged my editor friendBrandon, and said, help.
Maybe I threw in a pitifulemoji.
(03:44):
I don't know.
I was tired.
Anyway, bran is a book genius.
She calls herself a bookdevelopment partner for
non-fiction, non-writer, and oneof her many, many book related
skills is line editing.
So I sent Bran, my Google Doc, Istood up to find some chocolates
so I could eat my feelings, andI let her do whatever it was
(04:05):
that she could do with my messypile of disjointed thoughts.
When I came back a few minuteslater, the page was covered in
green text.
All the suggestions Brandon hadmade to wordsmith my mess into
something meaningful.
I read it to see if she'd beenable to cobble together anything
useful at all, and every bit ofit was brilliant.
(04:26):
I loved every word.
I read it and thought, oh mygoodness, yes, this is what I
wanted to say.
I read it and I felt like mymind could rest.
It felt like a warm bath for mybrain, this beautiful peace.
I relaxed into the comfort ofknowing.
I don't have to fight with thesewords anymore.
(04:48):
I don't have to struggle withthem.
Brandon has waved a magic wandand now they all say what I
meant them to say all along.
That is the power of great lineediting.
It's actually magical.
And I tell you this storybecause I want you to know right
up front that I love and fullysupport great line editors and
(05:11):
the writers who work with them.
Great line editing is anincredible skill and a real gift
to the writers who benefit fromit.
So let's start there.
I'm pro line editing and proline editors.
Now, for the question at theheart of this episode, do you
need to hire a line editor?
(05:31):
To answer this question, we needto examine what line editing is,
what line editors do, and whatyour book and your editing
process truly need.
So what actually is lineediting?
Line editing is the level ofediting focused on writing
style.
It deals with word choice,sentence structure, and the
(05:53):
clarity and flow from paragraphto paragraph.
line editing is where you zoominto the words and make sure
you've chosen the exact rightword in every place, or where
you make stylistic choices, likesetting one short sentence apart
on its own line for emphasis orrambling on at length without a
period to stretch out an ideaand slow the pace like I'm doing
(06:16):
right here.
Just going and going and going.
When you hire a line editor todo this type of work for you,
they'll turn on track changes orsuggestion mode, and they'll
literally rewrite yoursentences.
Not every single sentence, butthey'll really go through the
pros with a fine toothed comb tomake sure every line is clear
and powerful, and every wordcounts.
(06:37):
Then your job will be to readthrough all their changes,
accept the ones that you like,and query or reject the ones
that you don't agree with.
Line editing is different fromdevelopmental editing, both in
what you're literally editingfor and in how the editor
delivers their feedback.
Developmental editing is thelevel of editing focused on the
(06:58):
content.
In fiction, it deals with storystructure, character arcs, point
of view, genre and theme.
It's where you actually zoom outand shift your focus away from
the words and lines andsentences and paragraphs.
In order to shape the story'sstructure into its strongest
form, you have to set aside thedetails for a while and look
(07:19):
broadly at the big picture.
In the most zoomed out versionof developmental editing, my
story clarity package, I don'teven look at the manuscript.
I ask the writer to condense itinto a 10 page outline, and
that's what we edit.
it's a lot easier to edit thestory structure of an entire
manuscript when you're dealingwith 10 pages rather than a
(07:39):
hundred thousand words.
And I deliver my developmentalfeedback in conversation on
Zoom.
Calls not suggested changes in adocument.
Other developmental editorsmight share their feedback in an
editorial letter or in commentson a doc.
But developmental feedbacktypically doesn't involve using
track changes to rewritesentences in the pages of the
(08:00):
manuscript.
So that's what line editing anddevelopmental editing are.
Developmental editing is aboutthe story and line editing is
about the words.
And both are important.
Regardless of whether you hirean editor for either of these
stages, you need to refine yourmanuscript through a
developmental edit and then aline edit.
(08:22):
Your manuscript needs both typesof editing, But the question on
the table is, do you need tohire someone to line edit your
manuscript?
Why do writers hire line editorsafter all lots of writers do.
I suspect that a lot of thewriters listening to this
podcast would like to hire aline editor or have maybe even
(08:42):
worked with one before.
Because if you're listening tothis podcast, you are serious
about your writing.
You spent a lot of time studyingthe process that books go
through from idea all the way topublication.
You know, the editing pathway.
When I say developmental, thenlying, then copy, then
proofreading.
You know that like the back ofyour hand.
More than that, you want yourbook when you finally publish it
(09:05):
to be great.
Excellent.
Even totally professionalholding its own on the shelf
next to all the authors youadmire.
You want to be proud of it toknow that you've put your
absolute best work out into theworld, and maybe you're worried
that your writing isn't goodenough to sit on that shelf.
Maybe you're new to the craft ofwriting and you know that you
(09:27):
still have so much to learn.
Maybe you're still finding yourvoice and your style as a
novelist after coming tofiction, writing from academia
or screenwriting or copywritingor technical writing, or a
profession that doesn't haveanything to do with writing at
all.
maybe you even got feedback froman authority you respect like an
editor or a critique partner ora professor who told you that
(09:48):
you need a line editor?
Maybe you're a perfectionist ora completionist, and you just
don't wanna skip steps or cutcorners.
All those reasons boil down to,you know, the words on the page
need to be the right words.
You're not sure that you canmake those words the right words
on your own, and hiring a lineeditor comes with the promise
(10:11):
that when you get the manuscriptback, the words on the page will
be the right words.
I would encourage you to becautious about embracing that
promise.
Questioningly the best lineediting does do that.
I know how it feels.
Like I said, I've been edited byBrandon and I've seen her work
magic.
(10:33):
She makes her words feel morelike my words than my words did.
But a great line editor is hardto find just because there are
so many people who put up theirshingle as an editor, and
there's no standardized trainingor certification or regulation
for editors of any kind, andyou'll find as many bad edits
out there as good ones.
(10:53):
If you listen to my episode onmanuscript evaluations, this is
my same warning, but for lineeditors, You've got to vet the
professionals you hire to makesure that they understand your
vision and are truly able tohelp you reach it.
I think there's a particulardanger when it comes to line
editors too.
If you are searching for lineeditors because you believe that
(11:13):
your writing isn't good enough,then you're likely to approach
the editors You find with theassumption that they know more
than you do, and you shouldtrust their judgment more than
you trust your own.
And if you send your manuscriptto an editor whom you believe
knows more than you do, but whoactually doesn't?
And whom you're afraid toquestion and who doesn't
understand your vision anddoesn't have the ability to help
(11:35):
you reach it, then what happensis you hand over your voice.
I've heard how writers feelafter they've gotten bad line
edits.
Line edits that didn't feelright, that they disagreed with,
but they felt weird or bad, orunqualified to argue with.
One writer told me I just gavemy voice away.
(11:55):
So keep this in mind when youthink about hiring a line
editor.
A good line edit is magical.
It makes your story more youthan you even knew was possible.
A bad line edit erases you, andthat's a steep price to pay.
So that's my word of cautionaround imagining a line editor
(12:15):
as a panacea.
the right one can be.
but the wrong one is not justunhelpful, but actually harmful,
but there's something morefundamental that I want you to
know about line editing beyondthe question of good versus bad
line editing.
There's something I want you toknow that I don't hear anyone
talking about, but which I foundto be so important that I've
(12:38):
built my entire approach toediting around this.
Here's the missing piece, theessential thing that you need to
know before you start Googlingline editors.
I find that the best line editsare derived directly from the
developmental edits.
I'll say that again.
effective line edits areinextricably tied to effective
(13:01):
developmental edits.
See, developmental editing isabout knowing what you want to
say.
Line editing is about how to sayit and how can you decide how to
say something if you don't knowwhat you want to say in the
first place.
If you try to line edit yourmanuscript without first doing
(13:22):
the deep developmental work,you're polishing up a lot of
beautiful words and sentencesand paragraphs that might have
little to do with the storyyou're trying to tell.
If you hand your manuscript overto a line editor and they can't
see what you truly want to say,they'll polish up a lot of
beautiful words and sentencesand paragraphs that look very
(13:43):
nice.
But don't look anything like thestory you're trying to tell, or
even change the heart of thestory entirely.
Your line editing can only everbe as clear as the developmental
work that you've put into themanuscript.
And on the flip side, all yourdevelopmental work will never
have any impact on your readersunless it's expressed through
(14:06):
effective line editing.
When I guide a writer through adevelopmental edit and story
clarity, I have a start withthat 10 page outline.
We set the manuscript aside andfocus only on the bigger
picture, not the pagesthemselves.
But eventually once we get thatoutline watertight, we move into
my story refinery package wherewe have to make the manuscript
(14:28):
match the outline that we built.
That means cutting scenes,adding scenes, and moving scenes
around so that all the events inthe story happen in order, and
it means refining every scene sothat every page conveys that
story effectively to the reader.
Because the reader won'texperience the story via a 10
(14:49):
page outline, they'll experienceit as a hundred thousand
carefully chosen unputdownablepage turning words.
Those words communicate all thedecisions that we made in the
developmental editing process.
If they don't effectively conveythe story that we developed to
the reader, well then we're notdone revising.
(15:11):
And so, yes.
Developmental and line editingare two discreet layers of
editing.
They are two different lenses,two different areas of focus,
and yet I consider theminextricable.
I don't believe that effectiveline editing is possible without
a deep developmental levelunderstanding of what the story
(15:31):
is meant to be, and I don'tbelieve that the developmental
style work of digging into theheart of the story is complete
until we have effectivelyexpressed that story in the
words on the page that willcarry it to the reader.
Here's the best news I havefound that the developmental
level work of clarifying theheart of the story will give you
(15:54):
every clue you need to makeevery line level stylistic
choice in your manuscript.
In other words, I firmly believethere's a way to approach the
developmental editing processThat will empower you to line,
edit your manuscript yourselfand hone your voice and style
along the way.
(16:14):
and when you hone your ownstyle, you actually preclude the
need to hire a line editor.
you, no longer need tooutsource.
you become your own best lineeditor.
I get asked semi-regularlywhether I offer line editing,
and I get why writers ask thatbecause I specifically choose to
work with writers who are in thelate stage refinement space When
(16:36):
you're a hop, skip, and a jumpfrom being line edit ready.
In fact, if you go to the frontpage of my website, some of the
first words you'll see are.
This is the space for late stagerefinement that walks the line
between developmental and lineediting will unearth hidden
layers of meaning in your storyand make every scene sing.
And when I answer that question,do I offer line editing?
(16:59):
I always feel a bit like thatpirate meme.
You know, the one where thelittle Claymation pirate says,
well, yes, but actually no.
Although I feel like I'm thereverse.
Well, no.
But actually, yes.
No, I don't offer line editing.
but yes, we're going to lineedit your scenes together.
(17:20):
How in the world does that work?
How does a developmental editorand book coach help you become
your own best line editorwithout herself line editing
your novel?
It works because of thatfundamental essential principle
that's become the backbone of myscene level editing and
coaching.
Effective line edits areinextricably tied to effective
(17:42):
developmental edits.
Let me give you some examples ofwhat this can look like inside
Story Refinery, where I workshopscenes and pages and sentences
and words with the writer.
These are the feedback examplesthat I teased up front.
If you'd like to see themwritten out and broken down,
head to alice sulo.com/ 83 andgrab the download.
(18:03):
Keep in mind that all myfeedback is derived from
developmental editing, but Ioffer my feedback with broad
open-endedness or line levelspecificity depending on what
the writer needs.
When all the writer needs is toknow what a scene is meant to
do, and then they're off to theraces.
My feedback will be.
Here's a concept of what shouldhappen in this scene.
(18:25):
Explore what comes out when youtake those ideas to the page
when the writer isn't sure howto take those ideas to the page
or when they already gave it ago, and we can tell that it's
still not working.
I'll get much more granular.
Here are examples of realfeedback I've given to real
writers in the last few weeks.
(18:46):
We know that at the beginning ofthe scene, the character feels
this, and at the end of thescene, she feels that if you put
an emotion word in this sentenceat this key moment, it'll anchor
the emotional arc In this scene,do you hear the developmental
core of that feedback and theline level application?
(19:06):
Developmental, we know that atthe beginning of the scene, the
character feels this, and at theend of the scene, she feels
that.
Line level.
If you put an emotion word inthis sentence at this key
moment, it'll anchor theemotional arc in the scene.
I'll give you a few moreexamples.
See if you can spot thedevelopmental core and the line
(19:27):
level application.
Here's the next one.
We figured out that what we wantto emphasize in this scene is
the tension between these twocharacters.
The dialogue you've written isreally powerful and full of
tension and can definitely standon its own.
These dialogue tags are actuallydistracting from that tension,
and you can cut them.
(19:49):
Here's the next one.
Could you have this charactersay something like this or this
or this here at the end of thescene?
We know that this scene is aboutthe protagonist trying to
convince this guy to dosomething, so we wanna make it
really clear at the end thathe's agreed to do it.
Here's the next one.
(20:09):
We've determined that the pointof this scene is to be intense
and thrilling and action packedin this section.
if we break each sentence intoits own paragraph and shorten
the sentences to quick punchylines, focusing on the action,
you'll speed up the pacing andmake this beat feel really
intense.
Here's the next one.
(20:30):
We know that when all this stuffhappens in this scene, the
character feels this about it,which is a big deal for all
sorts of reasons that we'vediscussed.
So we want the reader to feel ittoo.
Right now I can see how thecharacter feels about the event,
but I'm not feeling how thecharacter feels.
That's because in this sentence,you're putting the character's
(20:51):
processing of the thing thathappens before the thing
actually happens.
That means we hear about afeeling and don't feel it
ourselves before we see thecause That creates that feeling.
Flip that.
So the action comes first, andthen the character processes it.
And your reader will experienceit like your character does, and
that'll make us feel, and here'sthe last one.
(21:14):
We know that we need to movethrough time quickly in this
part of the scene and summarizethis set of major events while
still helping the reader feelconnected to them.
You've written this summarysequence in past Perfect.
So we had walked, which makes itfeel as though the character is
far in the future looking backand telling us about what
happened.
That's pulling us out of theflow of this sequence.
(21:36):
It also creates an awkwardtransition when we drop back
down into the moment with thecharacter at the start of the
next scene.
If you switch these twoparagraphs to simple past tense.
So we walked, it will feel muchmore immediate to the reader as
though we're walking through theevents with the character.
There you go.
That's six examples of how Itranslate developmental concepts
(22:00):
into line level edits.
And every single one of thoseline level suggestions stems
directly from the developmentalanalysis that the writer and I
do together.
Because in order to figure outhow the words will best be
configured on the page, first,we need to figure out what those
words should even be doing.
Did you catch the developmentalpart of each piece of feedback
(22:22):
and the line level part?
If you'd like to check your workor you'd like me to just give
you the answers, go grab thefree download that I put
together where you can see allthose examples on paper and see
my breakdown of thedevelopmental and line portions
of each one.
You can get that download bygoing to alice udoh.com/ 83.
To be clear, absolutely none ofthis is a line edit in the
(22:46):
traditional sense.
Every now and then I'll ask awriter if I may make some
suggestions directly on the docto illustrate what I'm talking
about, and I'll turn onsuggestion mode and write some
words or change some tenses oradd some paragraph breaks or
draft some sentences.
But all of those are merelysuggestions to illustrate the
(23:07):
concepts that I want the writerto see So that they can then go
experiment and make line editsof their own.
I don't go through the entirescene and suggestion mode, as a
true line editor would, becauseultimately, I believe you are
your own best line editor, Andmy goal is to equip you with the
ability to spot developmentallevel challenges in your writing
(23:31):
and address them on every level,Even down to the lines and the
words.
I have seen time and time againthat when we workshop scenes
together on the developmentallevel, we can boost your line
level writing and skillsenormously, and by the time
we're finished, you'll love yourprose so much that you don't
(23:51):
need to hire a line editor.
It's not a quick process forsure.
It can take weeks or many monthsfor you to refine your style and
find your voice like this.
But the result is you writing inyour voice and no one can take
that away from you.
Having said all that, I dobelieve there is a place for
(24:14):
every kind of editing and everykind of editor, wherever you
have weaknesses, there's aneditor or coach who specializes
in exactly that, who would loveto support you and lend you
their strengths.
So there's nothing at all wrongwith getting a line editor, and
for many writers that's part oftheir process.
Like I said right at thebeginning, I respect great line
editors so, so much.
(24:36):
They are able to take the messyideas I give them and turn that
into the beautiful words that Imeant to say all along.
But if you are a writer aimingfor a career as an author where
you write and publish many booksover the course of many years,
it is strongly to your benefitTo shore up your line by line
(24:58):
writing skills so that you don'treally need a line editor.
on just a practical level.
You bring down the amount thatyou have to spend refining the
manuscript, hire fewer people,save a bit of money.
But beyond that, when you becomeyour own best line editor, you
have more ownership overdiscovering and expressing the
(25:19):
things you truly want to say,And whether you work with me or
not, you need to know how totranslate broad conceptual,
developmental level feedbackinto specific line level
changes, because that's the kindof feedback you're going to get
throughout your career fromacquisitions editors,
developmental editors, and betareaders.
(25:41):
They will all give you expansiveideas without concrete steps to
apply them.
The application and execution ofthat feedback is going to be up
to you.
They're not going to tell youhow to do it, but when you are
your own best line editor, andwhen you know how to translate
developmental feedback into linelevel changes, that's not scary
(26:03):
or overwhelming.
It's the space of possibilityand opportunity.
It's the space where you canplay and experiment and make
every idea your own.
It's your arena to have fullagency over how your story is
told.
It is a big deal to offer thatagency to someone else by hiring
(26:25):
a line editor.
choose to do so, make sure thatyou vet your line editor
carefully.
Choose someone you can trust,the kind of editor who can work
magic and make your story morefully yours.
And even so know that you havethe capacity and the power to do
this.
You've got what it takes to beyour own best line editor.
(26:48):
You can make your storyexcellent.
The key.
Is to dig deep into your story'score.
do the deep developmental workto understand why your story
matters on every level from thebiggest big picture to the
smallest beat in a scene.
And then use that as your guidefor every line level change to
(27:14):
see what that developmental toline translation looks like.
Be sure to grab my samplefeedback@alicesubthough.com
slash 83.
I wholeheartedly believe thatyou can do this and that you'll
be so freaking proud of theresult.
Happy editing.
Do you need to hire a lineeditor?
You want to write an excellentnovel and you know that great
writing takes shape andrevision.
You don't wanna skimp on any ofthe many layers of editing that
it takes.
Then end up with a book that'sless than your best, nor do you
want to overestimate yourwriting skills and leave your
book littered with clunkysentences that a wordsmithing
(00:21):
line editor could polish intoshining brilliance.
On the other hand, you alsodon't want to mess up your
editing process or yourmanuscript by getting the
editing phases wrong.
You don't want to hire the wrongpeople at the wrong time and
reduce the efficiency of youredits by getting them out of
order.
You don't wanna waste money thatyou don't need to spend on
professional editing that youdon't actually need, and you
(00:44):
definitely don't want to makeyour manuscript worse by getting
feedback that doesn't match yourvision.
so do you need to hire a lineeditor?
Well, maybe or maybe not.
Let's talk about what lineediting is, what line editors
do, and what your book and yourediting process truly need.
(01:53):
Welcome to your next draft.
Let's get this out of the way,right up front.
Industry terms for differenttypes of editing are tricky.
Developmental editing, lineediting, copy editing,
proofreading.
I found all these words reallyconfusing when I was getting
started.
As an editor, I see writersgetting them mixed up all the
(02:14):
time, and if you ask a dozendifferent editors what each term
means, you'll get a dozensimilar, but not quite the same
answers.
It's easiest to understand thedifferences between each kind of
editing when you can actuallysee examples of each type.
So I've put together a sample ofactual feedback.
I have given actual writers, andI've marked it up so that you
(02:35):
can see what parts of thatfeedback are purely
developmental and what parts ofit are about line level
implementation.
If you're confused about thedifference between developmental
and line editing or wonderingwhere there could possibly be
overlap between the two, then Ithink you'll like getting to see
examples of how I approach themboth side by side.
You can grab the sample feedbackby going to alice sub.com/ 83
(03:00):
and filling out the form there.
That's alice sudler.com/ 83, andthat link is in the show notes
as well.
So go download that feedback,read it through, and we'll talk
about it more in a few minutes.
And once you've grabbed thatdownload, I've got a story to
tell you.
Ready?
Let's go.
Recently I was working on apiece of writing, probably a
(03:23):
podcast script or a bit oftricky website copy.
It was late and I was tired, butI needed to get this done even
though it felt like pullingteeth to excavate every word
from my brain.
So I dumped all my scatteredrough ideas into a Google Doc,
and I messaged my editor friendBrandon, and said, help.
Maybe I threw in a pitifulemoji.
(03:44):
I don't know.
I was tired.
Anyway, bran is a book genius.
She calls herself a bookdevelopment partner for
non-fiction, non-writer, and oneof her many, many book related
skills is line editing.
So I sent Bran, my Google Doc, Istood up to find some chocolates
so I could eat my feelings, andI let her do whatever it was
(04:05):
that she could do with my messypile of disjointed thoughts.
When I came back a few minuteslater, the page was covered in
green text.
All the suggestions Brandon hadmade to wordsmith my mess into
something meaningful.
I read it to see if she'd beenable to cobble together anything
useful at all, and every bit ofit was brilliant.
(04:26):
I loved every word.
I read it and thought, oh mygoodness, yes, this is what I
wanted to say.
I read it and I felt like mymind could rest.
It felt like a warm bath for mybrain, this beautiful peace.
I relaxed into the comfort ofknowing.
I don't have to fight with thesewords anymore.
(04:48):
I don't have to struggle withthem.
Brandon has waved a magic wandand now they all say what I
meant them to say all along.
That is the power of great lineediting.
It's actually magical.
And I tell you this storybecause I want you to know right
up front that I love and fullysupport great line editors and
(05:11):
the writers who work with them.
Great line editing is anincredible skill and a real gift
to the writers who benefit fromit.
So let's start there.
I'm pro line editing and proline editors.
Now, for the question at theheart of this episode, do you
need to hire a line editor?
(05:31):
To answer this question, we needto examine what line editing is,
what line editors do, and whatyour book and your editing
process truly need.
So what actually is lineediting?
Line editing is the level ofediting focused on writing
style.
It deals with word choice,sentence structure, and the
(05:53):
clarity and flow from paragraphto paragraph.
line editing is where you zoominto the words and make sure
you've chosen the exact rightword in every place, or where
you make stylistic choices, likesetting one short sentence apart
on its own line for emphasis orrambling on at length without a
period to stretch out an ideaand slow the pace like I'm doing
(06:16):
right here.
Just going and going and going.
When you hire a line editor todo this type of work for you,
they'll turn on track changes orsuggestion mode, and they'll
literally rewrite yoursentences.
Not every single sentence, butthey'll really go through the
pros with a fine toothed comb tomake sure every line is clear
and powerful, and every wordcounts.
(06:37):
Then your job will be to readthrough all their changes,
accept the ones that you like,and query or reject the ones
that you don't agree with.
Line editing is different fromdevelopmental editing, both in
what you're literally editingfor and in how the editor
delivers their feedback.
Developmental editing is thelevel of editing focused on the
(06:58):
content.
In fiction, it deals with storystructure, character arcs, point
of view, genre and theme.
It's where you actually zoom outand shift your focus away from
the words and lines andsentences and paragraphs.
In order to shape the story'sstructure into its strongest
form, you have to set aside thedetails for a while and look
(07:19):
broadly at the big picture.
In the most zoomed out versionof developmental editing, my
story clarity package, I don'teven look at the manuscript.
I ask the writer to condense itinto a 10 page outline, and
that's what we edit.
it's a lot easier to edit thestory structure of an entire
manuscript when you're dealingwith 10 pages rather than a
(07:39):
hundred thousand words.
And I deliver my developmentalfeedback in conversation on
Zoom.
Calls not suggested changes in adocument.
Other developmental editorsmight share their feedback in an
editorial letter or in commentson a doc.
But developmental feedbacktypically doesn't involve using
track changes to rewritesentences in the pages of the
(08:00):
manuscript.
So that's what line editing anddevelopmental editing are.
Developmental editing is aboutthe story and line editing is
about the words.
And both are important.
Regardless of whether you hirean editor for either of these
stages, you need to refine yourmanuscript through a
developmental edit and then aline edit.
(08:22):
Your manuscript needs both typesof editing, But the question on
the table is, do you need tohire someone to line edit your
manuscript?
Why do writers hire line editorsafter all lots of writers do.
I suspect that a lot of thewriters listening to this
podcast would like to hire aline editor or have maybe even
(08:42):
worked with one before.
Because if you're listening tothis podcast, you are serious
about your writing.
You spent a lot of time studyingthe process that books go
through from idea all the way topublication.
You know, the editing pathway.
When I say developmental, thenlying, then copy, then
proofreading.
You know that like the back ofyour hand.
More than that, you want yourbook when you finally publish it
(09:05):
to be great.
Excellent.
Even totally professionalholding its own on the shelf
next to all the authors youadmire.
You want to be proud of it toknow that you've put your
absolute best work out into theworld, and maybe you're worried
that your writing isn't goodenough to sit on that shelf.
Maybe you're new to the craft ofwriting and you know that you
(09:27):
still have so much to learn.
Maybe you're still finding yourvoice and your style as a
novelist after coming tofiction, writing from academia
or screenwriting or copywritingor technical writing, or a
profession that doesn't haveanything to do with writing at
all.
maybe you even got feedback froman authority you respect like an
editor or a critique partner ora professor who told you that
(09:48):
you need a line editor?
Maybe you're a perfectionist ora completionist, and you just
don't wanna skip steps or cutcorners.
All those reasons boil down to,you know, the words on the page
need to be the right words.
You're not sure that you canmake those words the right words
on your own, and hiring a lineeditor comes with the promise
(10:11):
that when you get the manuscriptback, the words on the page will
be the right words.
I would encourage you to becautious about embracing that
promise.
Questioningly the best lineediting does do that.
I know how it feels.
Like I said, I've been edited byBrandon and I've seen her work
magic.
(10:33):
She makes her words feel morelike my words than my words did.
But a great line editor is hardto find just because there are
so many people who put up theirshingle as an editor, and
there's no standardized trainingor certification or regulation
for editors of any kind, andyou'll find as many bad edits
out there as good ones.
(10:53):
If you listen to my episode onmanuscript evaluations, this is
my same warning, but for lineeditors, You've got to vet the
professionals you hire to makesure that they understand your
vision and are truly able tohelp you reach it.
I think there's a particulardanger when it comes to line
editors too.
If you are searching for lineeditors because you believe that
(11:13):
your writing isn't good enough,then you're likely to approach
the editors You find with theassumption that they know more
than you do, and you shouldtrust their judgment more than
you trust your own.
And if you send your manuscriptto an editor whom you believe
knows more than you do, but whoactually doesn't?
And whom you're afraid toquestion and who doesn't
understand your vision anddoesn't have the ability to help
(11:35):
you reach it, then what happensis you hand over your voice.
I've heard how writers feelafter they've gotten bad line
edits.
Line edits that didn't feelright, that they disagreed with,
but they felt weird or bad, orunqualified to argue with.
One writer told me I just gavemy voice away.
(11:55):
So keep this in mind when youthink about hiring a line
editor.
A good line edit is magical.
It makes your story more youthan you even knew was possible.
A bad line edit erases you, andthat's a steep price to pay.
So that's my word of cautionaround imagining a line editor
(12:15):
as a panacea.
the right one can be.
but the wrong one is not justunhelpful, but actually harmful,
but there's something morefundamental that I want you to
know about line editing beyondthe question of good versus bad
line editing.
There's something I want you toknow that I don't hear anyone
talking about, but which I foundto be so important that I've
(12:38):
built my entire approach toediting around this.
Here's the missing piece, theessential thing that you need to
know before you start Googlingline editors.
I find that the best line editsare derived directly from the
developmental edits.
I'll say that again.
effective line edits areinextricably tied to effective
(13:01):
developmental edits.
See, developmental editing isabout knowing what you want to
say.
Line editing is about how to sayit and how can you decide how to
say something if you don't knowwhat you want to say in the
first place.
If you try to line edit yourmanuscript without first doing
(13:22):
the deep developmental work,you're polishing up a lot of
beautiful words and sentencesand paragraphs that might have
little to do with the storyyou're trying to tell.
If you hand your manuscript overto a line editor and they can't
see what you truly want to say,they'll polish up a lot of
beautiful words and sentencesand paragraphs that look very
(13:43):
nice.
But don't look anything like thestory you're trying to tell, or
even change the heart of thestory entirely.
Your line editing can only everbe as clear as the developmental
work that you've put into themanuscript.
And on the flip side, all yourdevelopmental work will never
have any impact on your readersunless it's expressed through
(14:06):
effective line editing.
When I guide a writer through adevelopmental edit and story
clarity, I have a start withthat 10 page outline.
We set the manuscript aside andfocus only on the bigger
picture, not the pagesthemselves.
But eventually once we get thatoutline watertight, we move into
my story refinery package wherewe have to make the manuscript
(14:28):
match the outline that we built.
That means cutting scenes,adding scenes, and moving scenes
around so that all the events inthe story happen in order, and
it means refining every scene sothat every page conveys that
story effectively to the reader.
Because the reader won'texperience the story via a 10
(14:49):
page outline, they'll experienceit as a hundred thousand
carefully chosen unputdownablepage turning words.
Those words communicate all thedecisions that we made in the
developmental editing process.
If they don't effectively conveythe story that we developed to
the reader, well then we're notdone revising.
(15:11):
And so, yes.
Developmental and line editingare two discreet layers of
editing.
They are two different lenses,two different areas of focus,
and yet I consider theminextricable.
I don't believe that effectiveline editing is possible without
a deep developmental levelunderstanding of what the story
(15:31):
is meant to be, and I don'tbelieve that the developmental
style work of digging into theheart of the story is complete
until we have effectivelyexpressed that story in the
words on the page that willcarry it to the reader.
Here's the best news I havefound that the developmental
level work of clarifying theheart of the story will give you
(15:54):
every clue you need to makeevery line level stylistic
choice in your manuscript.
In other words, I firmly believethere's a way to approach the
developmental editing processThat will empower you to line,
edit your manuscript yourselfand hone your voice and style
along the way.
(16:14):
and when you hone your ownstyle, you actually preclude the
need to hire a line editor.
you, no longer need tooutsource.
you become your own best lineeditor.
I get asked semi-regularlywhether I offer line editing,
and I get why writers ask thatbecause I specifically choose to
work with writers who are in thelate stage refinement space When
(16:36):
you're a hop, skip, and a jumpfrom being line edit ready.
In fact, if you go to the frontpage of my website, some of the
first words you'll see are.
This is the space for late stagerefinement that walks the line
between developmental and lineediting will unearth hidden
layers of meaning in your storyand make every scene sing.
And when I answer that question,do I offer line editing?
(16:59):
I always feel a bit like thatpirate meme.
You know, the one where thelittle Claymation pirate says,
well, yes, but actually no.
Although I feel like I'm thereverse.
Well, no.
But actually, yes.
No, I don't offer line editing.
but yes, we're going to lineedit your scenes together.
(17:20):
How in the world does that work?
How does a developmental editorand book coach help you become
your own best line editorwithout herself line editing
your novel?
It works because of thatfundamental essential principle
that's become the backbone of myscene level editing and
coaching.
Effective line edits areinextricably tied to effective
(17:42):
developmental edits.
Let me give you some examples ofwhat this can look like inside
Story Refinery, where I workshopscenes and pages and sentences
and words with the writer.
These are the feedback examplesthat I teased up front.
If you'd like to see themwritten out and broken down,
head to alice sulo.com/ 83 andgrab the download.
(18:03):
Keep in mind that all myfeedback is derived from
developmental editing, but Ioffer my feedback with broad
open-endedness or line levelspecificity depending on what
the writer needs.
When all the writer needs is toknow what a scene is meant to
do, and then they're off to theraces.
My feedback will be.
Here's a concept of what shouldhappen in this scene.
(18:25):
Explore what comes out when youtake those ideas to the page
when the writer isn't sure howto take those ideas to the page
or when they already gave it ago, and we can tell that it's
still not working.
I'll get much more granular.
Here are examples of realfeedback I've given to real
writers in the last few weeks.
(18:46):
We know that at the beginning ofthe scene, the character feels
this, and at the end of thescene, she feels that if you put
an emotion word in this sentenceat this key moment, it'll anchor
the emotional arc In this scene,do you hear the developmental
core of that feedback and theline level application?
(19:06):
Developmental, we know that atthe beginning of the scene, the
character feels this, and at theend of the scene, she feels
that.
Line level.
If you put an emotion word inthis sentence at this key
moment, it'll anchor theemotional arc in the scene.
I'll give you a few moreexamples.
See if you can spot thedevelopmental core and the line
(19:27):
level application.
Here's the next one.
We figured out that what we wantto emphasize in this scene is
the tension between these twocharacters.
The dialogue you've written isreally powerful and full of
tension and can definitely standon its own.
These dialogue tags are actuallydistracting from that tension,
and you can cut them.
(19:49):
Here's the next one.
Could you have this charactersay something like this or this
or this here at the end of thescene?
We know that this scene is aboutthe protagonist trying to
convince this guy to dosomething, so we wanna make it
really clear at the end thathe's agreed to do it.
Here's the next one.
(20:09):
We've determined that the pointof this scene is to be intense
and thrilling and action packedin this section.
if we break each sentence intoits own paragraph and shorten
the sentences to quick punchylines, focusing on the action,
you'll speed up the pacing andmake this beat feel really
intense.
Here's the next one.
(20:30):
We know that when all this stuffhappens in this scene, the
character feels this about it,which is a big deal for all
sorts of reasons that we'vediscussed.
So we want the reader to feel ittoo.
Right now I can see how thecharacter feels about the event,
but I'm not feeling how thecharacter feels.
That's because in this sentence,you're putting the character's
(20:51):
processing of the thing thathappens before the thing
actually happens.
That means we hear about afeeling and don't feel it
ourselves before we see thecause That creates that feeling.
Flip that.
So the action comes first, andthen the character processes it.
And your reader will experienceit like your character does, and
that'll make us feel, and here'sthe last one.
(21:14):
We know that we need to movethrough time quickly in this
part of the scene and summarizethis set of major events while
still helping the reader feelconnected to them.
You've written this summarysequence in past Perfect.
So we had walked, which makes itfeel as though the character is
far in the future looking backand telling us about what
happened.
That's pulling us out of theflow of this sequence.
(21:36):
It also creates an awkwardtransition when we drop back
down into the moment with thecharacter at the start of the
next scene.
If you switch these twoparagraphs to simple past tense.
So we walked, it will feel muchmore immediate to the reader as
though we're walking through theevents with the character.
There you go.
That's six examples of how Itranslate developmental concepts
(22:00):
into line level edits.
And every single one of thoseline level suggestions stems
directly from the developmentalanalysis that the writer and I
do together.
Because in order to figure outhow the words will best be
configured on the page, first,we need to figure out what those
words should even be doing.
Did you catch the developmentalpart of each piece of feedback
(22:22):
and the line level part?
If you'd like to check your workor you'd like me to just give
you the answers, go grab thefree download that I put
together where you can see allthose examples on paper and see
my breakdown of thedevelopmental and line portions
of each one.
You can get that download bygoing to alice udoh.com/ 83.
To be clear, absolutely none ofthis is a line edit in the
(22:46):
traditional sense.
Every now and then I'll ask awriter if I may make some
suggestions directly on the docto illustrate what I'm talking
about, and I'll turn onsuggestion mode and write some
words or change some tenses oradd some paragraph breaks or
draft some sentences.
But all of those are merelysuggestions to illustrate the
(23:07):
concepts that I want the writerto see So that they can then go
experiment and make line editsof their own.
I don't go through the entirescene and suggestion mode, as a
true line editor would, becauseultimately, I believe you are
your own best line editor, Andmy goal is to equip you with the
ability to spot developmentallevel challenges in your writing
(23:31):
and address them on every level,Even down to the lines and the
words.
I have seen time and time againthat when we workshop scenes
together on the developmentallevel, we can boost your line
level writing and skillsenormously, and by the time
we're finished, you'll love yourprose so much that you don't
(23:51):
need to hire a line editor.
It's not a quick process forsure.
It can take weeks or many monthsfor you to refine your style and
find your voice like this.
But the result is you writing inyour voice and no one can take
that away from you.
Having said all that, I dobelieve there is a place for
(24:14):
every kind of editing and everykind of editor, wherever you
have weaknesses, there's aneditor or coach who specializes
in exactly that, who would loveto support you and lend you
their strengths.
So there's nothing at all wrongwith getting a line editor, and
for many writers that's part oftheir process.
Like I said right at thebeginning, I respect great line
editors so, so much.
(24:36):
They are able to take the messyideas I give them and turn that
into the beautiful words that Imeant to say all along.
But if you are a writer aimingfor a career as an author where
you write and publish many booksover the course of many years,
it is strongly to your benefitTo shore up your line by line
(24:58):
writing skills so that you don'treally need a line editor.
on just a practical level.
You bring down the amount thatyou have to spend refining the
manuscript, hire fewer people,save a bit of money.
But beyond that, when you becomeyour own best line editor, you
have more ownership overdiscovering and expressing the
(25:19):
things you truly want to say,And whether you work with me or
not, you need to know how totranslate broad conceptual,
developmental level feedbackinto specific line level
changes, because that's the kindof feedback you're going to get
throughout your career fromacquisitions editors,
developmental editors, and betareaders.
(25:41):
They will all give you expansiveideas without concrete steps to
apply them.
The application and execution ofthat feedback is going to be up
to you.
They're not going to tell youhow to do it, but when you are
your own best line editor, andwhen you know how to translate
developmental feedback into linelevel changes, that's not scary
(26:03):
or overwhelming.
It's the space of possibilityand opportunity.
It's the space where you canplay and experiment and make
every idea your own.
It's your arena to have fullagency over how your story is
told.
It is a big deal to offer thatagency to someone else by hiring
(26:25):
a line editor.
choose to do so, make sure thatyou vet your line editor
carefully.
Choose someone you can trust,the kind of editor who can work
magic and make your story morefully yours.
And even so know that you havethe capacity and the power to do
this.
You've got what it takes to beyour own best line editor.
(26:48):
You can make your storyexcellent.
The key.
Is to dig deep into your story'score.
do the deep developmental workto understand why your story
matters on every level from thebiggest big picture to the
smallest beat in a scene.
And then use that as your guidefor every line level change to
(27:14):
see what that developmental toline translation looks like.
Be sure to grab my samplefeedback@alicesubthough.com
slash 83.
I wholeheartedly believe thatyou can do this and that you'll
be so freaking proud of theresult.
Happy editing.
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