Copy editing versus comprehensive editing

I read  Anne Wayman’s article recently describing the four types of editing. She names copy editing, proofreading, substantive editing, and developmental editing. Overall I agree with the substance of the definitions of the edits, but I wanted to make a couple of points (in far more depth than a mere comment would allow) about copy editing and substantive editing.

Copy editing

Copy editing covers a wide variety of tasks. Although the editing services agreement that I use breaks the tasks down into three levels, they can be further subdivided into 9 levels. I really don’t recommend it, as it’s exhausting to even read the descriptions. Here is the language from my editing services agreement describing the levels of edit:
Light Edit. The document will be checked for faulty spelling, grammar, and punctuation; incorrect word usage; correct cross-references; consistent spelling, hyphenation, numerals, fonts, and capitalization; and proper sequencing (such as alphabetical order) in lists and material.
Medium Edit. In addition to all light editing tasks, medium editing involves checking for incorrect or unclear terms or statements; making minor changes to sentences and paragraphs in order to achieve parallelism and change passive voice to active voice; and ensuring consistency in multi-author documents.
Heavy Edit. Heavy editing involves all tasks of light and medium editing. Additionally, heavy editing looks at the overall flow and structure of the document and its parts.
Obviously, lighter edits lower the costs involved. There are many cases, though, where I would do a disservice to the client if I didn’t recommend a heavier edit. In particular, letting research papers or other scientific documents pass with unclear statements would be almost painful.

Substantive or comprehensive editing

Hiring a substantive editor is the best way to ensure that your document actually achieves its purpose. A substantive editor looks at the purpose of the document for the intended reader and edits the document accordingly. For example, an employee manual fails if it doesn’t impart the company’s principles and procedures to the employees.

All editing is a little comprehensive

I don’t believe copy editing can be done without an eye toward the overall usage of the document. It would be virtually impossible for me to perform a light edit of a document on elephants without noticing that it only talked about zebras, and I would feel compelled to point that out. However, if you really want to know what your document needs, the best way to find out is to ask your prospective editor. If it looks solid, he or she will tell you so. If it needs a heavier edit to achieve its purpose, you might as well find out from someone who can help you fix it.