There are various levels of editing. Some people need developmental editing, some need copyediting, others need a proofread or format edit. Some editors do all types, some focus on one or two. I provide a copyediting and proofreading service. 

What's the Difference?

Developmental editing focuses on structure, checking if the story, the pacing, and the arguments are solid. It can involve rewriting of parts and can consist of a few rounds of back and forth between the editor and the author.

Copyediting does the fine-tuning, fixing sentence structure, correcting grammar, ensuring style consistency to specific style guides, formatting references and citations, smoothing out choppy transitions, and checking any figures and tables. This stage comes in only when the text is all there and no new chapters are to be added. 

Format editing is when someone lays out a book for print, embeds images in place, and sets the font style. Format editors do not touch the text or correct typos. They are purely design focused. 

Finally, proofreading is the absolute last inspection before print—it doesn't change the writing itself, but catches any leftover typos, missed punctuation, or layout glitches that slipped through. Proofreading is usually done using mark-up on PDF, on the absolute final copy that you intend to submit to a publisher or to KDP, with all images fixed in place.