When we write, we ask our readers to carry a load. Each sentence adds something to their working memory: the subject, the verb, the modifiers, the structure, the argument. For some readers, that load is light and easy to balance. For others, it competes with stress, fatigue, distraction, or the constant weight of systemic inequities. The heavier the load, the harder it is for the message to get through.

Proofreading is the last line of defence before a piece of writing meets its reader. By this point, the structure has been set, the style refined, and the sentences polished. Proofreading isn’t about rewriting or reshaping—it’s about examining the text after layout, once words and visuals are in place, to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.

By the time a manuscript arrives at copyediting, the heavy lifting is finished. The ideas are in place, the voice is established, the structure has been set. Copyediting comes closer, reading line by line, attending to the fine details. It doesn’t change the architecture of the house—it makes sure the doors close properly, the windows line up, and the paint runs smooth.

If developmental editing looks at the frame of the house, stylistic editing steps inside. This is where the editor moves from the big questions of structure to the finer work of flow—how paragraphs connect, how sentences carry meaning, how language sets the mood. It isn’t yet copyediting, where commas and consistency take centre stage. It’s the stage where the writing begins to breathe.

When most people picture editing, they imagine the fine-tuning that comes at the end: smoothing sentences, fixing typos, double-checking grammar. But editing begins much earlier than that. Before a manuscript can be polished, it needs to be shaped. It needs a structure strong enough to hold everything the writer is trying to say. This is the work of developmental editing.

Writers often come across the term manuscript evaluation/assessment—and pause. What does it mean? Is it just a lighter version of editing? Will it actually be useful? Or is it one of those vague publishing services that promises a lot and delivers little?