A developmental edit is sometimes called a content edit, structural edit, substantive edit or story editing.
What is a developmental edit?
A developmental edit is a comprehensive all-in-one service. It looks at all the major aspects of your manuscript, like plot, arc, characterization, pacing, structure, and setting. It also keeps a close eye on your narrative viewpoint and tension, and helps make sure you hit all the right genre conventions at the right times.
Developmental editing is about polishing and strengthening your ideas, and making sure your manuscript lives up to it’s full potential. The goal is always to show all the work you’ve already done in the best possible light. I’ll work with you to make sure your story stays authentic and true to you.
When should I get a developmental edit?
Developmental edits are most valuable at the later stages of your writing process. To make the most of your developmental edit, your draft should be relatively strong and clean, but there’s no need to worry about grammar and typos.
A developmental edit aims to get your manuscript ready for querying or a copyedit.
What will my feedback look like?
A report (around 20 pages) that covers your manuscript’s overall strengths, weaknesses, and potential AND annotations (usually around 200) in your manuscript that highlight strengths and potential at a sentence and paragraph level.
The annotations will use Word’s comment-function, with highlights and notes in the margins. I won’t make any changes to your manuscript. I will never rewrite your words, and I don’t ghost-edit.
Looking for less? Try a manuscript assessment or coaching.