Editing vs. Interior Layout: What’s the Difference?
Editing and interior layout are both essential steps in preparing your book for publication but they serve very different purposes and happen at different stages of the process.
What Editing Is
Editing focuses on the content of your manuscript.
Depending on the service, editing may include:
- Improving clarity, flow, and readability
- Correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation
- Strengthening sentence structure and word choice
- Ensuring consistency in voice, tense, and point of view
- Checking dialogue formatting and paragraph breaks
- Addressing plot holes, pacing issues, or structural concerns (for developmental edits)
Editing answers questions like:
- Does this sentence work?
- Is this scene clear and effective?
- Does the story flow logically?
- Are there grammatical or mechanical errors?
Editing is an interactive process that often includes comments, suggestions, and tracked changes. It happens while your manuscript is still flexible and open to revision.
What Editing Is Not
Editing does not:
- Design your book interior
- Choose fonts or trim sizes
- Prepare files for upload to retailers
- Lock text into its final layout
What Interior Layout Is
Interior Layout focuses on how your finished text looks on the page or screen.
Layout includes:
- Page size and trim setup
- Margins, line spacing, and paragraph indents
- Font selection and hierarchy
- Scene break symbols
- Headers, footers, and page numbers
- Ensuring files meet platform requirements (Amazon, IngramSpark, etc.)
Layout answers questions like:
- Does this look professional?
- Does this meet publishing standards?
- Will this display correctly in print or ebook form?
Interior Layout is a technical and visual process, not a content-based one.
What Interior Layout Is Not
Layout does not:
- Fix grammar or typos
- Rewrite sentences or scenes
- Provide story or content feedback
- Catch developmental issues
Interior layout should always happen after editing is complete.
During editing, text constantly moves around. Paragraphs are added, removed, rewritten, or rearranged. Laying out a manuscript too early means those changes will break spacing, styles, and layout, often requiring the interior designer to redo large portions of the work.
Why This Distinction Matters
Confusing editing and interior layout can lead to:
- Extra costs
- Delays in your publishing timeline
- Misaligned expectations
- Rework that could have been avoided
Each service requires a different skill set and both are necessary for a polished, professional book.
As a general rule of thumb, think of editing as anything that has to do with the text itself, and interior layout as anything to do with the overall appearance and aesthetic of that text on a page.
If you’re ever unsure which service you need, our team is happy to guide you to the right next step based on where your manuscript is in the process!