After developmental edits
Use Wise Wombat once major changes are in place and before fine-grained polish begins.
Wise WombatRevision timing
Continuity checking before copyedit
Run a continuity pass before copyediting so story logic problems are resolved before sentence-level polish begins.
Wise Wombat
Continuity diagnostics
- Best after developmental revision
- Protects copyedit time from avoidable story logic fixes
- Useful again after major post-editor revisions
Answer
Short answer
Continuity checking usually belongs before copyedit. If a timeline, character fact, or scene order needs fixing, the change may alter paragraphs that a copyeditor would otherwise spend time polishing.
Comparison
Compare the revision fit
Criteria
Continuity pass first
Copyedit first
Best for
Story logic, contradictions, missing handoffs, and continuity artifacts.
Grammar, style consistency, sentence clarity, and mechanical polish.
Risk reduced
Prevents polishing text that may need structural changes.
May uncover wording issues while deeper contradictions remain.
Author workload
Fix larger continuity problems before line-level review.
May require re-copyediting after story fixes.
Wise Wombat role
Find evidence-backed continuity issues before copyedit.
Rerun after edits if the copyedit or author revisions changed story facts.
Order
Clean up story logic before polishing sentences
Copyediting is most efficient when the draft's underlying facts, scene order, and unresolved references are already stable.
Before production
Run a final diagnostic pass after large late-stage changes, especially if scenes moved.
With human editors
A continuity report can help authors bring cleaner questions to an editor instead of a vague sense that something is off.
Private drafts
Built for work authors are not ready to share publicly.
Wise Wombat keeps manuscript projects behind authenticated workspaces and focuses on author-controlled review.
Authenticated workspaces
Private manuscript projects
Evidence-backed findings
FAQ
Common questions
Should continuity checks happen before proofreading too?
Yes. Proofreading is late-stage quality control. Continuity issues should be resolved earlier whenever possible.
Can I run a continuity pass after copyedit?
Yes, especially if the copyedit led to author revisions. But the first pass is usually more valuable before copyedit.
Does Wise Wombat do copyediting?
No. Wise Wombat focuses on manuscript continuity diagnostics rather than grammar or line editing.
Keep reading
Related guides
landing
Novel continuity editor
Use Wise Wombat as a focused continuity-editing pass for novel drafts before beta readers, copyedit, or publication prep.
landingTimeline checker
Find impossible dates, ages, elapsed time, travel time, recovery time, flashback confusion, and scenes that appear out of sequence.
comparisonContinuity vs editor
Understand the difference between a focused continuity checker and a broad AI book editor before choosing the right revision tool.
Try it
Start free assessmentRun a continuity pass on your own draft.
Start with the free assessment, then upgrade when you need the full diagnostic suite across revisions.