Copy editing is the pass that makes a manuscript correct and consistent: grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage, continuity of names and facts, and adherence to a style guide. It sits between line editing (which works on how the prose sounds) and proofreading (which catches what slipped through after layout). Authors pay for the wrong one constantly, so here is what each actually fixes, in plain terms, with the prices each commonly runs for a full-length novel.
| Pass | What it fixes | What it leaves alone | Commonly runs (80k-word novel) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line editing | Sentence rhythm, clarity, word choice, filter words, repetition, paragraph flow — the sound of the prose | Plot, structure, factual consistency, typos | $800–$3,500 |
| Copy editing | Grammar, punctuation, spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation, usage, timeline and name consistency, style-guide compliance | Voice and rhythm (unless something is actually wrong), story problems | $1,000–$3,000 |
| Proofreading | Residual typos, doubled words, missing punctuation, layout errors, bad breaks — on the formatted book | Everything above; a proofreader is not supposed to rewrite | $300–$1,500 |
Per word, copy editing commonly runs about $0.012–$0.04, with fiction at the lower end and heavy, rushed or non-native-English manuscripts at the top. Proofreading commonly runs $0.005–$0.02 per word. The full picture of every edit and when to buy it is in developmental vs line vs copyedit.
A good copy edit on a novel is more than a grammar check. Expect the editor to:
What a copy editor does not do: tell you the middle sags, rewrite flat dialogue, or fix a heroine whose motivation vanishes in act two. Those are developmental and line-editing jobs, and they have to happen first — copy editing a chapter you later cut is money burned.
The two overlap in practice and many freelance editors sell them as a combined "copy and line edit". The clean distinction: a line editor asks "is this the best way to say it?"; a copy editor asks "is this correct and consistent?" If an editor quotes you a copy edit and starts restructuring your sentences, you are getting (and should be paying for) a line edit. If you are quoted a line edit and get back only comma fixes, you have been short-changed.
Line-edit note: "Three 'suddenly's in two paragraphs — the word is doing the work the sentence should."
Copy-edit note: "Character is 'Jon' here, 'John' in ch. 4, 7, 12. Style sheet says Jon — changed throughout."
Proof note: "Widow at top of p. 212; doubled 'the' p. 218 line 4."
For a traditionally published book, the publisher pays for all three. For an indie book, the commonly recommended minimum is a copy edit plus a proofread on a manuscript you have already self-edited hard for story and prose. Skipping the copy edit is the single most common cause of one-star "needed an editor" reviews; skipping the proofread after formatting is how the copy editor's clean file still ships with layout typos.
The cheap way to cut the bill: get the prose clean before a human copy editor touches it. Software catches the mechanical share of errors. Authors Starport's Line Editor first builds a Style Sheet from your own manuscript — names, terms, spellings, the consistency layer a copy editor would otherwise bill hours to assemble — then returns a tracked-changes Word file you accept or reject. The human then works faster, on a cleaner file, at the lower end of the ranges above. Before any of it, the free Reader-Ready Scorecard tells you whether the book is ready for paid editing at all; the order of operations is in the self-editing checklist.
The Reader-Ready Scorecard grades your full manuscript on nine craft metrics, benchmarks it against professionally-edited books, and tells you exactly what to fix first. Free, in minutes.
Get your free Reader-Ready Scorecard →Copy editing is the editorial pass that makes a manuscript correct and consistent: grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage, capitalisation and hyphenation, plus continuity of names, facts and timeline, all applied against a style guide such as the Chicago Manual of Style. It happens after developmental and line editing and before proofreading.
A line editor works on how the prose reads — rhythm, clarity, word choice, repetition. A copy editor works on whether the prose is correct and consistent. Line editing changes sentences for effect; copy editing corrects errors and queries anything that might be a deliberate choice. Many freelancers combine them, so check which you are being quoted for.
Copy editing happens on the manuscript and fixes errors and inconsistencies throughout. Proofreading is the final check on the formatted, typeset book, catching the residual typos, doubled words and layout problems that survived or were introduced during formatting. A proofreader is not meant to rewrite anything.
For an 80,000-word novel, professional copy editing commonly runs $1,000–$3,000, or roughly $0.012–$0.04 per word, with clean genre fiction at the lower end. Proofreading commonly runs $300–$1,500 and line editing $800–$3,500. Rates vary by editor experience, turnaround and how heavy the manuscript is.
Software reliably catches the mechanical share — typos, doubled words, many punctuation errors, inconsistent spellings — and a manuscript-grounded tool can also assemble the style sheet of names and terms. It is the cheapest way to shrink a human copy editor's bill. The judgement calls, such as whether a fragment is voice or error, and the legal or factual flags, are still best done by an experienced human.