If you’re new to editing, you’ll quickly learn that we toss around certain terms as if everyone was born already knowing them. Pass, for example. Or round. They sound interchangeable, but they’re not – and keeping them straight will save you from awkward client emails, scope creep and that awful why-is-this-taking-so-long? feeling.
Let’s break it down properly.
What is a pass?
A pass is one purposeful read-through of a manuscript – or one targeted sweep – where you’re focusing on a specific aspect of the work. That ‘specific aspect’ depends on the type of editing you’re doing.
And because editors generally offer either developmental editing, line/copy-editing or proofreading for a given project, your passes should match the service you’ve been hired for.
If you’re a line/copy-editor, your passes might look like this:
- A formatting/clean-up pass: Applying styles, tidying up inconsistent spacing, wrangling headings into submission and making the document behave like a civilised creature before you begin the real work.
- A mechanical pass: A sweep for global issues like spelling variants, hyphenation consistency, numbers treatment and so on. This is where tools like PerfectIt, macros, or Word’s built-in search functions can help (sort of) automate the most tedious bits.
- A read-through pass: This is where you go line by line, checking for clarity, flow, grammar, punctuation and continuity … polishing the prose and doing the really detailed work.
(And yes, you might do more than three passes depending on your workflow – everyone works differently – but each is still just one pass.)
If you’re a developmental editor, your passes might look a little something like this:
- A familiarity pass: Reading to understand the book’s overall story and shape, and to get the overall gist of what’s working, what’s making you narrow your eyes in concern and what’s making you scratch your head.
- A deep-analysis pass: Reading again, carefully, taking notes and/or creating a bookmap, making sure your impressions hold up and spotting patterns you missed the first time.
- An action pass: Applying your findings into coherent, actionable guidance, and writing up your editorial letter.
Whatever the service, a pass is focused. Intentional. One layer at a time. It helps you batch tasks or approach your analysis strategically.
What is a round of editing?
A round is the full exchange cycle between you and the author/client.
You receive the manuscript → you do your passes → you send it back.
That’s one round.
If the author revises and sends it back for more work, that’s a second round. Each round may contain several passes, but the round itself is the container: the complete loop of work and handoff.
Why this matters
Understanding the difference lets you:
- Explain your process clearly so clients know what they’re paying for.
- Set boundaries (‘That extra look you want is not included in this round, but we can absolutely schedule another.’).
- Price realistically – this is so much easier once you know what your personal working method looks like in terms of how many passes you do and how many rounds the project needs.
- Work more efficiently by separating tasks instead of trying to fix everything at once (a surefire route to burnout and overwhelm).
In short …
A pass is one focused sweep.
A round is the full editor–author/client cycle.
Once you start thinking in terms of layered passes inside neatly defined rounds, your workflow becomes cleaner, calmer and far easier to explain to clients.
As for how many passes your service should include (and what should happen in those passes) and how many rounds you should provide, hopefully this post has given you a few ideas, but for a more detailed breakdown, this is the kind of thing I talk about in my courses.
