There are different types of editing: structural or developmental editing, line or copy editing and finally proofreading. The less polished your book, the more the editor will have to do, and the more it will cost. After you complete the first draft of your book, the editing work begins; revising and rewriting, polishing as much as possible, printing off your book and reading in hard copy to find mistakes you can’t find on the screen.

Get your book into the best possible shape before looking for an editor and then compare prices. Lettertec works closely with some of Ireland’s most accomplished editors, and many of our authors have benefited from their advice and guidance. If you would like to work with one of our editors, get in touch and we will put you in the right direction.

We looked at the different types of editing previously, but to recap: A developmental or structural edit looks at the book’s overall structure and premise. If your book is fiction, the editor would assess aspects such as character development and plot, if non-fiction, clarity, quality of argument and so on. You can expect to have to rewrite parts of your book after a developmental edit.

A copy or line edit looks at language and imagery as well as grammar, spelling, punctuation and consistency.

A proofread is the final round of editing, ensuring there are no typos, and that grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct. The proof-reader will check running heads (the information at the top of each page), whether the contents page matches the text, and whether images are placed correctly with the right caption. While we advise using professional editors, there is also a lot of editing you can do yourself. Use the Word spell check tool and download the free version of Grammarly to check your work before you send it anywhere.

Here are our top tips to get your book into the best shape possible before your editor starts work:

• Get someone else to proofread for you

• Always get someone else to proofread your work; you are blind to your own mistakes!

• Print it

• People read differently on screen and on paper, so print out a copy of your book. It might help to use a different font or coloured paper to further show up mistakes. Using a ruler to check each line is helpful. If you read aloud, your ear might catch errors that your eye has missed.