Many times, new writers and authors are faced with the age-old dilemma where they have to revise and edit their manuscripts. But only some of them really know the difference between the two.
In this short article, you’ll find the basic difference between “editing” and “revising” that will help you differentiate between the two easily.
Editing:
Editing involves minor changes that polish your manuscript technically by focusing on the following:
Sentence structure Punctuations Spelling mistakes Typos Grammatical errors Pointing out mistakes in the already revised text
While editing, the overall story remains the same. Here, fixing sentence structure is the priority.
Revising:
Revising involves major changes that refine your manuscript mechanically by focusing on the following:
Rewiting exsisting thoughts in a better way Adding new thoughts Adding new necessary details Deleting unnecesarry details Refining the story flow Enhancing character development Using better words and phrases Rewriting paragraphs to make them better Clarifying ideas Enhancing plot growth
While revising, the overall story changes as per requirement. Here, fixing the story as a whole is the priority.
Your links are so helpful. I like writing but I never wanted to share it. After a run in with a dodgy publisher I was forced to publish before they did. It’s odd but I don’t entirely regret what has happened to me because I know many have faced the same experience. Also I finally get to say I have a hobby, which is great. Have a nice weekend. 😊
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Thanks a lot, Teherah!
And that’s wrong, what happened to you! Did the published release that book? Or did you beat him to it?
Publishers can be real a**ho**s!
But I’m glad that you take it positively now. Good for you 🙂
You too have a great weekend!
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I beat them to it but it meant the editing was quick and revising nonexistent lol 🙈.
I hope to take my own sweet time next time. I contacted their local courthouse to get my money back. The threat of seeing me in court was luckily enough for them. Definitely a very annoying experience, I’m just glad it didn’t stop me from writing.
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This is such a great distinction, Heena. Revising certainly sounds like a lot more work than editing. But when it comes to writing a book and even blog posts, both need to be done. I am currently revising the draft of my first book – I am looking at putting in new ideas and anecdotes within the chapters. Along the way, I’m also picking up grammatical errors and typos…so in a way, editing and revising go hand in hand 🙂
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Thanks, Mabel! And I agree with you, both, editing and revising, go hand in hand. I also work on both the aspects together in one go while polishing my manuscript.
Thanks for reading this post 🙂
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That’s a helpful distinction. So many of these words are used interchangeably at times, that it’s hard to understand the differences between them.
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Thanks, Phoenix! To be honest, I feel the difference actually comes into play when the manuscript is sent to the editor, because they only edit. Otherwise, while one works on the book, both editing and revising are done together only. Without consciously knowing if it’s editing or revising.
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That’s true. But I’m a word-geek and like to know what each one means and where to apply it. 🙂
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Yeah, that’s always a good thing, especially for writers. Initially I was always confused in both these terms. But then curiosity took over and dug a little deeper and finally figured it out 🙂
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Curiosity. The writer’s best friend. 🙂
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This was all good to know, my Dear Heena! Especially the one that ‘Editors’ merely Edit. All the Best, and Love and Regards. 🙂
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Thanks a lot for your kind words and for visiting my blog 🙂
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🙂
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