You’ve put in the hard work; you’ve spent hours writing and polishing off your book baby; you’ve done a thorough read-through and maybe even hired some Beta Readers to give you feedback. Now, it’s time for the most exciting part of writing a book: the developmental editing phase!
Developmental editing (also known as structural editing) is the first stage of book editing, where a professional will help you look at the big-picture stuff, or as we like to call it, the bleeding, beating heart and soul of your novel.
We’ll help you overcome those plot holes you can’t seem to fix and help you dig deeper into characters who seem to have a mind of their own. We’ll help you see the overarching themes of your novel that you might not have even known existed while looking at whether the current structure of your novel is working well.
Basically, we’ll dive head first into the heart and soul of your narrative and draw out the beautiful, pumping veins of it so you can see what’s working and what needs work before it can become the masterpiece you hope it to become.
We’ll provide you with in-line comments throughout the manuscript, as well as an editorial letter.
Developmental Edit
Our developmental edit will unpack:
- Your book’s genre and if it currently meets reader’s expectations
- The structure of your story and if it is effective in how it flows together
- Each character’s story arc, development and uniqueness
- The themes within your novel and if they are conveyed effectively
- Your worldbuilding and settings
- And so much more!
I can’t wait to work with you!
How long will a developmental edit take?
Developmental editing is the most important kind of editing you should do for your book. Though it might seem like an easy feat, we dive into your book, taking it slow to really get to the crux of each scene, character, and chapter.
For this reason, we expect each developmental edit to take anywhere from 4-6 weeks. We will let you know our expected timeline when we quote you. 🙂
What genres do you edit?
We currently offer developmental editing for all genres aside from children’s books, non-fiction and memoirs. The reason we do not offer these genres is that we do not feel equipped with the knowledge of what works best within these genres.
We love working with all other genres.
Do you offer a developmental edit sample?
Yes!
However, please note: because developmental editing looks at the ‘big picture things’ (like how your characters develop over the course of your novel or how your themes work together to create a story your readers will love), a sample edit may not reveal too much to you (we won’t have read the full novel when we do it).
