Welcome to the Service Spotlight, where we’ll be exploring the editing services that will help you transform your manuscript into an unforgettable story. Today, we’ll be discussing Developmental Editing.
When you choose Developmental Editing, you’ll receive detailed feedback on big-picture elements of your novel, such as plot structure, character development, theme, dialogue, pacing, setting, and more. Analyzing these components requires a bird’s-eye view, so I will read your entire manuscript and provide feedback based on that comprehensive perspective.
Roughly four to eight weeks after you submit your manuscript (depending on its length), you’ll receive in-text comments through Microsoft Word Track Changes. You’ll also get a ten- to twenty-page Editorial Letter that summarizes overall comments on your story.
To reap the greatest benefit from Developmental Editing, make sure to clearly communicate your purpose, genre, audience, and other details about your story. That way, I can make comments that help you reach your goals for your book.
Editing a novel is like building a house. You want to ensure that the foundation is stable before you paint the walls, and you want to paint the walls before you hang pictures.
Likewise, Developmental Editing enables you to resolve plot holes and character inconsistencies before you focus on the details of prose, grammar, and sentence structure. After all, you wouldn’t want to polish each sentence of a chapter before you determine whether that chapter is necessary to the plot.
An in-depth round of Developmental Editing also reveals common patterns in your writing. If your editor consistently praises your strong prose or realistic characters, you can work on amplifying these strengths. Conversely, if many of your editor’s comments address meandering scene structure or wooden dialogue, you can intentionally strive to improve these areas.
Discovering your writing tendencies prepares you to polish your strengths, refine your areas of improvement, and continue expanding your skills.
Before you invest in Developmental Editing, revise your manuscript as much as you can on your own. Use writing resources, beta readers, and critique partners. When you submit your best work to a professional editor, you’ll save time and money.
In The Artful Edit, veteran editor Susan Bell explains, “When writers learn how to better edit themselves, editors will not be out of jobs; rather they will be working with texts at a more advanced stage, and their work will be less an act of excavation than one of refinement.”
Once you’ve polished your novel as much as you can, your editor can help you enhance your manuscript to an even greater degree. Whether you’re pursuing traditional or independent publishing, Developmental Editing provides the tools you need to create a manuscript of which you can be proud.
If you’re ready to polish your manuscript with a round of Developmental Editing, contact me to request a sample edit today. I would be honored to help you develop a story that resonates with readers!
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.