Developmental Edit

Boiled down, the developmental edit is the big-picture stage of editing. It covers characters, plots, POV, pacing, beats, world-build, and some writing style analysis, but does NOT cover individual lines/sentences, nor does it cover the copy (grammar + punctuation + spelling).

While similar to the manuscript evaluation, it goes into much more depth, takes much more intense work, and takes significantly longer. It will include more direct advice and suggestions for how and why to fix most things.

In short:

If you are writing a book that you want to be really well written with an addictive plot and truly loveable (or hateable—I don’t judge) characters, you need fresh, well-trained, and ruthless eyes to look over your manuscript. Even the BEST authors get a developmental edit.

To be fair, a developmental edit may fall under the purview of some agents or publishing teams and it may be called different things, even just “editing.” HOWEVER, no author, no matter how amazing they are, is going to be able to read their manuscript from the perspective of both the ideal reader and the editorial perspective.

Assuming you’re an author with your sights set on a fan following, pre-orders out the wazoo, publishers coming to you, and a collection of very well-written books to display on your bookshelf, I HIGHLY recommend a developmental edit. A really good one.

It is NOT a bad thing; it does not mean that your writing is bad or that you can’t write amazing plot or characters. A good developmental edit—or any hired editing service—simply improves the quality of your book, and by proxy, your craft skills.

Read my in-depth blog post on “Why Your Book Needs a Developmental Edit” and “How to Find the Best Developmental Editor for You” by clicking the links. If the links take you to my blog page in general, it is because the article is still under revision, so check back soon!

If feedback from either (or both) your beta readers and manuscript evaluation encourages you to develop or rework your story or characters in more than one area, it is time for a developmental edit.

Some indicators look like: readers/editors tell you that pieces are missing, something doesn't make sense, the story drags in multiple places, the world-build or a character falls flat... etc.

Some books need more outside help than others.

Some authors have been at things awhile and already know what they need or how to fix problems referred to in an evaluation.

Alternatively, some very experienced authors also know that a developmental edit can be the most valuable phase of editing and that receiving third-person advice and help for their story is absolutely worth it (and it can save a number of foreheads from banging into desks!).

The developmental edit is an in-depth edit meant to massage out most truly painful areas of the current draft so that it is ready for a finer-toothed comb in the next stages of editing.

If you're not sure you need a ton of help, but know you need some, then book the manuscript evaluation so that you can be advised on which step of the process your current draft is ready for.

To do a story, and an edit, true justice—it is better to focus on one piece of the puzzle at a time. When different phases of editing are combined, they might be less costly in the short-term, but if big, structural or developmental changes are made after a line has been edited—it will likely need to be line edited again. It is often unfair to a manuscript, its author, and its editor, to combine these steps because it can create more work, and be more costly, in the long-run.

"This particular phrasing is very well done! I see your unique style shining through in these parts where character A ruminates over [_] situations. It's quirky, endearing, and engaging!"

"Use the flashback I suggested cutting from chapter 8 here to emphasize the character's reason for doing what they are about to do. I suggest adding [_] to challenge character C following the flashback in order to prompt the consideration of both options he faces and to show his character growth from the guy who never considered things prior to [the flashback + aftermath] to the guy who, now, cares about the consequences and his impact on character B. Great opportunity for character development!"

All changes or suggestions will be made in Word Docs with track changes enabled (in some cases a different program like GoogleDocs may be used, but please discuss this with your editor as Word is by and large the most preferred platform).

A developmental edit goes into so much depth that it includes a much longer and more detailed editorial letter (it is often an expansion upon a previously completed editorial letter if both stages are performed by the same editor). Expect to learn or refine some craft skills when reviewing your developmental editor’s suggests.

The edit also includes ample in-text commentary (likely hundreds of comments throughout) about where and how to fix identified issues. It will include advice and suggestions written to directly help the author understand and fix the identified problem areas. With the author's permission, the editor may also do some of the rearranging for the author (either small scale, large-scale, or both).

If you want your editor to make the changes they suggest in their editorial letter themselves, discuss this with them. For an extra fee, they may be willing to do so after discussing their suggestions with you.

IN GENERAL, most copy editors—including myself, can reasonably edit 2-5 pages an hour. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the genre, gravity of the material, and density of work necessary.

This means, that for an editor who has ~20 hours/week available to edit your book, for an 80k word book, it will take 4-8 weeks to receive your completed edit from the time work begins on it (not necessarily from the time a contract is signed). Timeline will be discussed during your free consultation.

See more about how I determine overall cost and what your options may be by clicking on the “price and contract guide” in my website footer, and/or by discussing my process and your desires with me during your discovery call. My extremely detailed price, contract, and timeline guide will also be made available alongside the final contract so that you have all the details you desire prior to beginning work with me.

Short answer: no.

Better answer: No, but some editors may add some formatting, depending on the editing phase, but most will do no more than add paragraph indentations, chapter numbers/titles, or add page numbers. These will be purely for their own ease of movement within and editing of the document. These changes are generally made with “track changes” on, so that they can be undone if the author prefers. However, unless an editor is being specifically hired to format a document, they will do no more than what is necessary for them to edit to the best of their ability.

Formatting is a separate phase of the editing/publishing process and some editors offer special packages just for formatting. If you need recommendations, I may be able to help!