The Editors' Association of Canada defines 12 distinct editorial skills that your piece of writing may benefit from.
Personally, I find it difficult to stop at proofreading – my eyes are always on the lookout for how to make a piece better, and that's why I use the term editing across the board. Even when I'm editing, I'm often re-writing or restructuring something, which takes me into ghostwriting territory.
Here are some distinctions between ghostwriting (when you want to hand off the writing task completely) and editing (when you want to do it yourself, with support).
| Ghostwriting An extra pair of hands |
Editing (Proofreading) An extra pair of eyes |
|---|---|
| Gets you started | Takes over once you've finished |
| Offers my subjective opinion about how to best express your ideas in writing | Offers my objective application of an established style guide |
| Addresses general writing issues, marketing effectiveness and content choices | Addresses grammar, typing, spelling and readability issues |
| Sometimes involves research and creation | Strictly focused on the document in hand |
| Still needs proofreading/editing to address grammar, typing, spelling and readability issues | May identify the need for ghostwriting to address writing, marketing and content issues |
Don't send your writing off into the world all alone! Whether you need extra hands or eyes, I'd be happy to help!