Action beats are a replacement for dialogue tags to show the action the character takes during or after speaking.

Introductions are a crucial part of most nonfiction books (and some fiction books). Introductions talk about the subject material and give the reader any background information they may need before diving into the book. This way, you can start chapter one with the actual chapter one content rather than explaining terms and concepts in chapter one needed throughout the entire book.

Point of view is the perspective from which the story is being told. Your choice of point of view can really change your story, so it’s important to make an educated decision. (This post isn’t going to go deep into all the points of view—because there are a lot—I’ll just touch on the top four most popular and most general.)

It may seem easier and cheaper to have an all-in-one editor, this way you get all the editing done in one go. Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do this.

There are several types of book editors that do different jobs and come at different stages. You’ll want to hire them in the correct order, otherwise someone’s word (and your money) will be for naught. Let’s go through the four main types of editors and what they do!