Editing focused on grammar, spelling, punctuation, and internal consistency to ensure your manuscript is clean and error-free.
A copy edit is the technical cleanup of your manuscript. It catches grammatical errors, misspellings, punctuation mistakes, inconsistent formatting, and factual discrepancies. A copy editor also enforces consistency: making sure your character's eyes don't change color between chapters, your timeline adds up, and your style choices (like whether you use the Oxford comma) stay uniform throughout. This is the editing stage where correctness and precision matter most.
Errors pull readers out of your story. A misplaced apostrophe or a character who's suddenly five years older than they were two chapters ago breaks the spell you've worked so hard to create. A thorough copy edit is what makes your manuscript feel professional and trustworthy. Readers may not notice perfect copy editing, but they will absolutely notice when it's missing.
Spell-check won't catch 'their' when you meant 'there,' or flag that your character drove a blue Honda in Chapter 1 and a red Toyota in Chapter 8. Copy editing requires a human eye for context.
Copy editing should be one of the last steps before publication. If you're still making structural or line-level changes, you'll introduce new errors that undo your copy editing work.
Copy editing focuses on correctness. Line editing focuses on style. A copy editor fixes your comma splices. A line editor rewrites your sentence for better rhythm. Both matter, but they serve different purposes.
Create a style sheet as you write, tracking character details, place names, timeline events, and your formatting preferences. This makes copy editing far more efficient and accurate.
Open a chapter of your manuscript and create a style sheet from scratch. List every character mentioned (with physical details and ages), every location, every specific date or time reference, and any unusual spelling or formatting choices you've made. Then read the chapter once looking only for inconsistencies with your sheet. You'll likely find at least one or two surprises.