Editing Vs Revising

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.

16 Comments on “Editing Vs Revising”

Teherah Apr 17, 2016 at 03:46 am

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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- Heena Rathore P. Apr 17, 2016 at 21:48 pm
  
  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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  - Teherah Apr 18, 2016 at 17:13 pm
    
    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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Mabel Kwong Apr 17, 2016 at 15:28 pm

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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- Heena Rathore P. Apr 17, 2016 at 21:52 pm
  
  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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phoenixgrey85 Apr 17, 2016 at 21:39 pm

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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- Heena Rathore P. Apr 17, 2016 at 21:55 pm
  
  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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  - phoenixgrey85 Apr 17, 2016 at 22:01 pm
    
    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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    - Heena Rathore P. Apr 17, 2016 at 22:31 pm
      
      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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      - phoenixgrey85 Apr 19, 2016 at 21:11 pm
        
        Curiosity. The writer’s best friend. 🙂
        
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swamiyesudas Apr 22, 2016 at 20:46 pm

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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- Heena Rathore P. Apr 27, 2016 at 12:04 pm
  
  Thanks a lot for your kind words and for visiting my blog 🙂
  
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  - swamiyesudas May 1, 2016 at 19:03 pm
    
    🙂
    
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