Line editing

What is it?

It’s a kind of stylistic editing. The aim is to help you to improve the tone, flow and structure of your writing, focusing on the way you use language to communicate to the reader, so you’re saying what you want to say clearly and confidently.

I do this by editing the content, writing style and word use at the sentence and paragraph level, making sure that the text reads well and gets the meaning and message across.

What’s involved?

Here’s a good idea of what a line edit might focus on:

• Line-by-line analysis and rewriting to enhance the tone, rhythm and language choice, keeping the intended readership in mind

• Reorganising and tightening to avoid repetitive structures, ambiguity and long sentences

• Making sure the story details and descriptions are clear and consistent

• Making sure the narrative voice and dialogue are distinct and realistic

• Avoiding overused metaphors and cliched expressions, words or sentences

Will it affect my writing voice?

No. The aim is to tune into the way you write and use that as a baseline for the editing. Everything is brought into line with the way you want to be heard and express yourself.

Isn’t line editing part of copy editing?

Yes it can be, and often is. But sometimes putting aside the styling and correctness of a text to dive into the expression and tone is what is required, and it helps to think of it as a separate job. It also gives you some flexibility in how deeply you want me to edit the text, so I can focus on either copy editing or line editing, or do both at the same time, as required.

How can I find out more?

You can get in touch to talk about your needs and request a sample edit. I’ll gather some information from you and complete an edit on a short section of your text, returning a marked-up document along with any other documentation. It’ll give you a good idea of what a complete line edit will look like, and help you decide whether I’m the right editor for your project.