Proofreading is the last stage in the editing process, and it serves a very specific purpose: catching errors that remain after all other forms of editing have been completed. By the time a manuscript reaches proofreading, it should already be structurally sound, clearly written, and carefully edited at the sentence and consistency levels. The story should work, the language should read smoothly, and the technical details should already be aligned.

Not every book uses sensitivity readers, and it is not considered a mandatory stage in the same way as proofreading or copyediting. However, more traditional publishers and independent authors are choosing to include it as part of their workflow—especially when a manuscript explores identities, cultures, or lived experiences outside the author’s own background. Sensitivity reading is best understood as a specialized review focused on representation, context, and unintended im

Fact-checking is one of the most important stages in the editing process for nonfiction writing, memoir, historical work, and any manuscript that makes claims about the real world. Unlike fiction, where consistency is primarily about maintaining internal logic within an invented world, nonfiction carries an additional responsibility: accuracy. Readers are not just engaging with a story—they are engaging with information that is presented as true.

Consistency editing—sometimes called continuity editing—is one of the less visible but most important layers of the editing process. It ensures that the internal details of a manuscript remain aligned from beginning to end, so the story feels stable, believable, and coherent. Unlike developmental editing, which focuses on structure, or line editing, which focuses on sentence-level clarity, consistency editing is about continuity across the entire book.

Substantive editing is one of the most misunderstood stages of the editing process. It often gets lumped in with developmental editing, and in many publishing workflows the two even overlap. But there is a useful distinction that helps writers understand what is actually happening to their manuscript during revision.

Before a manuscript becomes a book, it has to become a story that actually works. That is the role of developmental editing. It is the first major editorial stage, and in many ways, it is the most important one. This is where you stop thinking about sentences and start thinking about structure. You are no longer asking, “Does this sound good?” You are asking, “Does this story hold together at all?” At this point in the process, a manuscript is not a finished product.