Whether your piece needs to be copy edited or proofread essentially depends on what stage your piece is in. When you’re happy with what you’ve written but want to be sure it reads well, will be clearly understood, and is grammatically sound, you should have it copy edited. A copy edit will correct issues of grammar and sentence structure – like an awkwardly worded sentence or a comma splice. When you’re ready for your piece to go to print, to production, or live online but want to be sure there aren’t any rogue typos, you should have it proofread. A proofread will flag any missed grammatical or formatting but won’t make changes to sentence structure or content.

In order for your message to be received – whether that’s the words on your website, the description on your product, or the chapters of your book – your writing needs to be accessible, engaging, and clear. Often, when we spend so much of our time writing, it can be challenging to step back and see our writing objectively, or from the perspective of our audience. Editing is important because it ensures that your writing is as clear and coherent as possible. Editing also ensures that your writing is free of errors that can not only trip up a reader but can make you seem less credible. A lot of editing work is invisible – if a piece is well edited, you shouldn’t notice any errors or discrepancies in the writing. You can read more about the benefits of an editor here.

This really depends on the experience of the copy editor and the state that your writing is in! If a writer hasn’t taken the time to look over and revise their own writing, it may have more errors than if they have read through it a few times. Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule for how long a copy edit takes – it truly depends on the writer, the editor, and the state of the writing.