Editing vs. Proofreading: What’s the Difference? 

Let’s establish a few key points from the jump. 

• Point #1: You need to edit and proofread your work. Mistakes, typos, and errors make your professional writing less, well, professional, so it’s key to double-check all writing before hitting “publish.”
• Point #2: AI is not perfect at editing and proofreading (cue shocked face). Even though Grammarly and other options are good, they’re not good enough. And, if you’re using AI to generate your writing, you need to edit it to avoid the traps of bad AI writing. 

So, editing and proofreading are necessary for good, professional writing. 

(Nod your head so I know you agree.)

This leaves many people saying, “Yes, I agree with you! And yes, I want to edit and proofread my work so it’s amazing and high-quality! But just what are the differences between editing and proofreading? And how do I know what I need?”

Great question, I’m glad you asked. 

Here are the key differences between proofreading and editing, plus the subcategories of developmental and line editing. The goal is to offer an overview of each time and some tips on how to know what you need and when you may need to hire a professional for help. 

Editing vs. Proofreading: Know the Differences

Editing and proofreading are both essential steps to revising a piece of written work, whether it’s a full-length novel or a social media caption. 

Editing is the first step. The goal of editing is to improve a text by changing it, whether a little or a lot. There are typically many rounds of edits for longer pieces, and they can be one of two types: 

• Developmental editing (or structural editing): This focuses on the big picture things like story, flow, context, character development, order of events, theme, structure, and general content. This is editing at the page or chapter level of a piece of work. 
• Copy editing (or line editing): This zooms down onto the paragraph and sentence level of writing, looking for clarity, word choice, explanation, and accuracy. 

Proofreading is the final step. After you’ve done your rounds of edits, you move on to the final polish—proofreading. The goal is to catch and rectify errors or mistakes rather than changing the actual content. 

Simple enough, right? 

Yes, but the lines get blurred because each piece of work doesn’t require a step 1, 2, 3 process. While a full novel may follow the structural edit > copy edit > proofreading flow, shorter pieces of writing may not. For example, when I review this article, I’ll edit for content and accuracy at the same time. 

Another reason things get confusing is that professional editors and proofreaders handle things differently. For example, you may hire a proofreader for that final polish, but—as a value add—they also point out the places where you didn’t define terms correctly. This is typically out of the scope of a proofreader’s work, but in the interest of making your content better, they add comments as well. 

Finally, other things like alpha or beta reading and sensitivity reading also get thrown in the mix. These stages are often reserved for novels and full-length books, and are meant to get feedback on the writing without necessarily making corrections. 

For these reasons, it’s important to know what type of revisions you need and when it may be appropriate to hire a professional to help. 

When to Hire an Editor or Proofreader

Whether you’re going to self-edit or hire a professional depends on the type of writing and your goals. 

For long-form content, published content, or money-making content (think books, lead magnets, or final reports), consider investing in a professional editor and proofreader. Guiding principles: 

• The more complex the piece, the more important it is to get different people looking at it at different stages, i.e., hiring someone for the developmental edit, copy edit, and final proofread. 
• If your budget doesn’t allow you to hire separate people, figure out where you need the most help and invest there.
• Put time in between each phase of editing. Coming back to something with fresh eyes after a period away is key to the process. 

For short-form content or quickly-consumed content (think blog posts, social media captions, or emails), consider either self-editing with the right tools OR working with a professional. 

• Install Grammarly or use another spellcheck option. This captures tons of simple mistakes that you can clean up yourself as you self-edit. 
• Consider the audience and intention of the piece of work. If important stakeholders are seeing it, you may want to get a professional to look over things and make sure it’s ready to go; it may be appropriate to hire someone who does a mix of copy/line editing and proofreading, rather than breaking it out into distinct phases. 
• Where time is an issue, outsource your editing and proofreading to a professional—they’ll take care of it! 

If you decide to work with a professional editor or proofreader, be clear on the scope of work you’re hiring them for. Are they only looking at the big picture (developmental editing) or will they get down to the nitty-gritty commas and typos (proofreading)? What’s most important to you? Getting clear on this ensures there’s no confusion for either party. 

This is not exhaustive advice, but I hope it helps steer you in the right direction. Know the differences between editing and proofreading, consider what work you may need, and then decide if you’ll do it yourself or hire a professional. 

And—would you look at that—I offer line editing and proofreading services. Get in touch with me if you have a project that needs a fresh set of eyes on it! I have also worked extensively with AI-generated work, and can help elevate your content to sound like you, not a robot. 😉