Developmental editing focuses on the big picture of your story. For fiction: is the plot fulfilling and meaningful, do the characters have motivation and depth, is the timeline coherent and fitting? For non-fiction: are the arguments logical, are the theses clear, is the evidence relevant? For all books: does the book take the reader on a journey, and is that journey compelling? Developmental editing is done first, because a book can be excellently crafted at the sentence level, but it will still feel lifeless if the big picture is neglected. And, on the same vein, readers are willing to overlook many flaws at the sentence level if the story is compelling enough.

Copy editing (or copyediting, depending on who you ask—and copyeditors care about this sort of thing) focuses on the details of how your story is executed. If developmental editing is the what, copy editing is the how. For fiction: are all the character names spelled consistently throughout the story, is non-standard dialogue represented respectfully, are the details of setting and character consistent from chapter to chapter? For non-fiction: are all the sources cited correctly in a consistent style, are technical terms defined and used appropriately, is the appropriate register of speech being used for the target audience? For all books: are all the sentence fragments intentional, are the conventions of American English consistently applied, have homophones been correctly identified? All of the small details, from punctuation to spelling to grammar to style, are addressed in a copy edit. A developmental edit ensures the story is compelling; a copy edit ensures it is polished.

Formatting and typesetting refer to preparing a clean manuscript for publication, usually in both ebook and print form. For fiction: are the chapter header styles consistent and appropriate to genre? For non-fiction: are the images, figures, and citations appropriately formatted and cross-referenced? For all books: are the font, line spacing, and margin size appropriate for the genre? Is the author name, book/chapter title, and page number applied correctly in the header/footer? Are there any orphaned words hanging past the end of a paragraph, or any widowed lines hanging past the end of a page? Does the table of contents accurately reflect the contents of the book? Formatting and typesetting are done after all edits are finalized, as any change at this stage can require significant adjustment.

Proofreading is the final check, after the manuscript has been formatted and typeset into proofs, to ensure that no error goes to print. This is the stage where everything is double- and triple-checked with a fine-tooth comb to identify anything that could have possibly been missed at the earlier stages. It is impossible to guarantee an error-free manuscript, but this is the step in the process where errors are most ruthlessly hunted.

Tutoring and coaching are traditionally seen as services for students or people who are struggling with a subject, and while that can be true, that is not the limit. Anyone who wishes to improve their writing craft can seek a tutor or a coach to identify their strengths and weaknesses and provide a plan for improvement. All of the services listed above aim to improve a specific story, but the same techniques and principles can be applied to the craft of writing in general. Often this takes the form of critique, where a sample work is supplied, feedback is provided, and the work is revised and submitted for further critique. The feedback in these sessions is geared toward improving the author’s overall craft, not just the story at hand, and the knowledge gained is applied to future works.