Developmental editing services
What you receive
annotated manuscript
Your manuscript, lightly annotated with my immediate thoughts while reading. These notes will be focused on the flow and effect of the writing.
structure and character layout
An excel sheet that provides a layout of all of your character arcs, plots, conflicts, and an analysis of every scene.
Editorial essay
A longform document that examines the characters and structure, and provides overall feedback and suggestions.
Then…
We will have a follow-up conversation to go over each of the 3 documents and my suggestions, and to discuss any questions you have about the edit. This can take place via email or on a 30-45 minute call together.
The price of an edit is $.027 per word of the manuscript. I will send these documents to you within three months.
My preferred genres are young adult and middle grade, adventure, coming of age, romance, fantasy, dystopian, realistic fiction, and LGBTQ+. I can edit first chapters, short stories, novels, and novellas.
If you are unsure whether your manuscript is a fit for me, please reach out and we can discuss it together!
There are many types of editing. You may be familiar with line editing, copyediting, and proofreading, all of which take place after the story has been developed, written, and polished.
Developmental editing takes place at the earlier stages, when the story itself is still being developed. The goal of a developmental editor is to help the author strengthen their story as a whole, while preserving and enhancing the vision for the book.
As your developmental editor, I will look at:
Characters: Do the characters have clear goals and needs? Do their actions and reactions feel realistic? Are they interesting people to read about? What are their flaws and how do they overcome them?
Plot and Conflict: Are there plot holes? Do the plot lines make sense on a logical level? Are the resolutions for the conflicts earned?
Pacing: Too fast, too slow? Not enough details? Too many details?
Tone and Voice: Are the tone and voice effective for portraying the themes and meaning? Is the reader too close or too distant from the protagonist(s)?
Narrative Structure: Where might the reader get confused? Is tension effectively developed throughout the story? Will the book be a page-turner?
What is developmental editing?
Sure, you can have your friends and family give you feedback on the book. That will be helpful for getting information about how a reader might react to your story.
But will your friends and family know how to analyze the structure? If something feels wrong, will they be able to tell you why and how to fix it?
A beta reader is an excellent resource for authors who want to get an idea of how their readers will interpret their book. But a developmental editor does much more than beta reading. A good developmental editor understands structure. They will not only analyze why a scene or character arc doesn’t work, but will also be able to advise on how to fix it.
My goal is to provide constructive and comprehensive feedback, so you can have the tools to edit your story and progress onto the next step towards publishing.
Why hire an editor? Can’t I just have my friends and family give me feedback?
It might be the right time to hire a developmental editor when you…
Have an early draft that is not fully finalized, and you are open to changing structural elements such as plot.
Need someone to give an objective analysis of the structure and where it could be improved.
Feel stuck with the story and don’t know how to fix it.
How do I know when it’s time to hire a developmental editor?
It might NOT be the right time to hire a developmental editor if…
The story is complete and you’re unwilling to make any structural changes.
You’re looking for someone to help with sentence structure, the flow of paragraphs, or grammar.
You’re close to publication or querying and don’t want to spend more time writing.
More questions? Head over to the contact page and send a message!