Developmental Editing

What can I expect from a developmental edit?

Developmental Editing may also be referred to as story editing (for fiction or creative non-fiction in particular), book editing, substantive editing, manuscript editing, structural editing, or content editing. It is the ‘big picture’ evaluation of the structure and content of a story or a text, and should be sought after the completion of the first draft and before line editing.

The deliverables for a developmental edit are similar to that of a manuscript evaluation at the most basic level—both provide you, the author, with a comprehensive editor’s letter that includes an analysis of craft elements as well as detailing what’s going well, what’s not going so well, and other general areas for potential improvement throughout your manuscript. The developmental edit goes beyond the editor’s letter, however, with deeper detail about the structure, characters (the dialog and development of), pacing, and overall narrative flow of the manuscript. The result is an in-depth editor’s report relayed in conjunction with an extensive array of margin remarks and in-line recommendations placed throughout your manuscript. This combination gives you a roadmap for what sections we believe you should focus on. We want to empower you as you begin to work through the process of revising and refining your manuscript.

Our editor’s primary goal is to help you bring your manuscript to publishable, or near-publishable, quality. The report and editor’s notes throughout your manuscript will provide suggestions for improving your manuscript to reach this quality. We do this by addressing potential concerns with structure, point of view, scene and character development, descriptions, narrative voice, dialog, plot, consistency and accuracy (especially relevant points for hard science fiction and historical fiction works), genre conventions, theme, pacing, emotional resonance, and reader engagement. You can review a more granular explanation about these elements in the “What do developmental edits address?” section below. 

In addition to these elements, we will include reader response notes (from the perspective of a first-time reader) and editorial feedback comprising minor line editing, copyediting, and proofreading notes for recurring issues such as passive voice, tone, readability, complexity, etc. The editor’s report will also include a story structure breakdown (see what is story structure for a great explanation) using the method you specify. If you don’t specify a method, we’ll provide the breakdown using the Story Circle method (or Embryo) popularized by Dan Harmon, or the most appropriate story structure for your manuscript.

A developmental edit takes a step back from your manuscript to analyze these writing and storytelling techniques with a wide lens. The feedback, direction, and suggestions provided throughout your manuscript will use the “Track Changes” feature in Microsoft Word (or highlights and comments for manuscripts in Adobe PDF format). These comments will provide further context and clarity on how you can move through your revisions to improve specific areas within the manuscript. While there will be the aforementioned line-level suggestions at times, a developmental edit is more focused on the whole of the work taken one chapter or paragraph at a time. Therefore, the best time to request a developmental edit is when you have brought your manuscript to the best possible version you are able. 

What do developmental edits address?

You and your editor are striving for the same result: to make your book the best it can possibly be.

The developmental edit delves deep to discover the inner workings of a manuscript, providing an in-depth and comprehensive critique alongside specific suggested changes within the manuscript, and the reasoning for those changes in each instance, thus beginning the process of reshaping your manuscript. This is a collaborative and ongoing effort between author and editor—an ongoing relationship throughout the developmental editing process with editor feedback and discussion. Follow-up questions about the direction or range and applicability of suggestions to other aspects of the work are part of the developmental editing process, whereas major rewrites or additional added content are not.

Your manuscript will be returned with comments both in the margins and in-line. These comments may address:

• Sentence-level issues
  • Sections where dialog, description, or structure could be improved.
• Broader concerns
  • Telling vs. showing, lengthy monologues, and the under- or overuse of dialog tags that can impact how a reader interprets a scene.
    • Specific instances where suggestions for revision will be provided in addition to the explanations in the editor’s report.
• Word choice and phrasing
  • Ineffective words or phrases, weak language, and overuse of adverbs, for example.
• Dialog and Scene descriptions
  • Excessive dialog for information dumping, or scenes lacking descriptive and grounded language
    • The use of concrete language so the reader can attach the scene to reality—a cracked green glass ashtray, for example
• Structural Suggestions
  • Sections that might benefit from being moved to another location in the chapter, or another chapter entirely.
    • This considers sentences, paragraphs, and even whole chapters.
• Troublesome Scenes
  • Recurring issues within scenes could point to a difficulty that we can address, such as observations about potential causes and suggestions for resolving or dealing with said difficulty
• Character Issues
  • Are there too many characters? Are they introduced too quickly?
    • Sometimes two characters are present where one would be more impactful. Sometimes a character exists with little payoff.
  • Will readers be able to connect to and care about each of the characters, either positively or negatively? 
    • We refer to this as emotional resonance—the ability for the character to generate an emotional connection with the reader. 

The comments and in-line suggestions are a direct line for your editor to pinpoint where and how you could improve your manuscript, especially when considered alongside the commentary in your editor’s report. As preparation for the editor’s report, an editor will scour your manuscript for occurrences of the following elements to which you will receive analysis, critique, and suggestions:

With a developmental edit your editor will scour your manuscript for occurrences of the following elements throughout your manuscript, to which you will receive analysis, critique, and suggestions:

Readability: This is just as much about sentence structure, style, and authorial voice as it is about content. Your editor will consider the following questions through a readability lens (non-exhaustive) while they are reviewing the manuscript:

• If the text is hard to read or understand, why? What can be done to improve the narrative here?
• Is the plot incoherent? Where? How can the story be modified to help provide clarity?
• If there is an excessive use of dialog tags, where? How can the overuse be addressed throughout the manuscript?
• Is there an abundance of complex (and thus, potentially convoluted) phrases in the sentence structure? 
• How much of the narrative contains multiple comma-separated (and thus, convoluted) phrases in a sentence?
• Is passive voice overused? Are there occurrences of passive voice be strengthened by using active phrasing?
  • Or could any instances be strengthened while keeping the passive voice intact?
• If there are issues with grounding (in time or place) within the dialog, how could that be addressed? 
• If the reader doesn’t become fully engaged by the story, how could this be addressed?
• How many words are in each sentence, paragraph, chapter, and the manuscript as a whole? How varied is sentence length within a paragraph, scene, or chapter?
• If there are chapters significantly shorter or longer than the rest, why? Is there a craft reason? If not, is there a way to address it?

Narrative Arc: This is also commonly called the “story arc,” and includes plot, characters, and settings, among other elements. Your editor will look at the structure and framework for the story, and though you don’t need to follow any specific style of story structure (and there  are so many), there is a general arc that (almost) every story progresses through. In the completed evaluation report, your editor will address the following:

• • Do the structure and framework of the story make sense? If not, is there a more apt structure and/or framework?
  • Does the general arc of the story fit the ascribed genre?
    • If not, do the genre-bending elements work? Is the story genre-defying?
  • Is the framework complete—exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution?
    • The story is not required to follow these elements, but this makes it much more difficult to resonate with the reader.
  • Do the structure beats flow smoothly?
    • However the story unfolds, the beats must flow from one to another smoothly—if the reader becomes confused or lost within the narrative, they could put the book down and not pick it back up.
  • Is the sequence of events sound?
  • Are the chapters of a comfortable length?
    • This is not simply a wordcount concern. For example: is the end of a chapter stilted, or do the transitions falter?

Flow and Pacing: This is where the chapters come together. Flow in this case is movement from chapter to chapter, where the term “movement” applies to characters, scenes, time, space, and place. Pacing is the overall timing of those movements through each chapter and the narrative proper. This section will have your editor investigating:

• • Is character dialog and action grouped logically?
  • Do paragraph and chapter transitions flow easily with the narrative?
  • Are the chapters organized logically—whether chronologically or otherwise?
  • Is there enough tension throughout the story?
  • Does the tension build appropriately for the narrative arc or arcs through each chapter?
  • Does the tension build through and for each chapter’s event(s)?
  • Are there points where tension building gets interrupted because of a misplaced scene break or POV shift?
  • Is there an ebb and flow to the pacing of the narrative?
    • There should be a sing-song like nature within the narrative, where the pacing slows or speeds up as it proceeds, like waves.
  • Does the pacing work for the story—is the story being told too quickly, or too slowly?

Plot: The sequence of events, and the cause and effect relationships between those events. Plot is (generally) chronological. Your editor will focus on the following elements in this area:

• • Is the opening scene gripping? Does it generate immediate intrigue?
  • Are the presented facts contradictory to the world, or do they assist in the reader’s immersion?
  • Does the plot follow genre conventions?
    • Or break those conventions in a logical manner?
  • Does the story introduce inconsistencies? If there are plot holes, how can they be remedied?
  • Are the plot(s) and story supported by the setting?

Characters: This section deals with the way each character interacts with both the world around them and the other characters in the story. Overall, character assessment focuses on how well they are developed, how effectively they contribute to the plot, and how engaging they are for the reader. In this area, your editor will focus on the following:

• • Are the major and minor characters fleshed out?
    • Do they have their own personalities, voices, thoughts, etc.? Do they have clear motivations, flaws, desires, and fears?
  • Do the characters act in a way that aligns with their background, personality, and the story’s context?
  • Does each character have their own internal struggles that inform their decisions and promote their growth (or incite their deterioration)?
    • Does their change feel forced or sudden, or is it well-paced?
  • Do character’s arcs tie up their narrative threads? Do they leave room for further development if necessary?
  • Does each character have their own manner of speaking, thinking, or behaving? Can they be identified without needing dialog tags or descriptors?
    • Quirks, habits, expressions, mannerisms, etc.
  • Do character inter-relationships have impact? Are they believable? Do they reveal character traits or move the plot forward?
  • Are characters other than the protagonist more than cut-outs or caricatures?
    • A great resource for antagonist complexity and depth is How to use Antagonists in Your Story: The Right Way and the Wrong Way by K.M. Weiland
  • Does the antagonist challenge the protagonist in meaningful ways? Are their interactions meaningful to the story?
  • Do the characters remain consistent in behavior and reaction throughout the story, or do they change without cause?
    • This can be a character trait/flaw, but it must be easily identifiable to the reader.
  • Do all the characters create reader connection, whether through empathy or fascination? 
    • While this is pertinent to all major, minor, and key characters, it is of paramount import for both the protagonist and the antagonist.
  • Do the major, minor, and key characters create emotional resonance with the reader? Do they make the reader care about them throughout the story?
    • Emotional resonance means more than just connection. Do the characters evoke strong emotions—positive or negative—enough so the reader cares about the story’s outcome?
  • Does the story reveal enough character backstory to understand their motivations without overwhelming the narrative?
  • Does the backstory of each character enhance that character’s depth without slowing the pacing or feeling like excessive exposition?

Additionally: These additional points will be assessed throughout the manuscript evaluation and addressed in the resulting report.

• • Does the manuscript engage with genre conventions effectively?
    • This is for the story as a whole, and not restrained to the plot alone as presented above.
  • Does the manuscript adhere to its desired target audience?
  • Is the manuscript positioned well for its target audience?

What to Expect in the Comments Section

While there are no strict rules for what we include in these comments, and the specifics change with each writer and each book, we see these comments as a way to start a dialogue with you. They allow us to highlight sections of the book and suggest improvements. Here are some common types of comments you might find:

• Sentence-Level Issues:
  • Highlighting sections of text that need more description or where sentence structure could be improved.
• Wider Issues:
  • Addressing broader concerns also discussed in the editor’s report, such as instances where you might be telling rather than showing. We provide detailed explanations in the report and use comments to highlight specific sections where these issues occur.
• Word or Phrase Choices:
  • Pointing out words or phrases that may not be effective or that could be improved.
• Structural Suggestions:
  • Indicating sections that might benefit from being removed or moved to a different part of the book.

Comments are a granular way for your editor to show you where and how you can improve your book. However, they should not be considered in isolation. Along with embedded comments, you will also receive a detailed, multi-page editor’s report that addresses broader themes and issues within your manuscript.

The Editor’s Report

The editor’s report is a valuable tool in the developmental editing process. It is a walkthrough of your book from your editor’s point of view—an overview of issues and concerns, of what is being done well and could be applied to other portions of your manuscript. It provides a kind of “landing zone” for where you can begin with your own edits with the guiding lens of your editor’s commentary. This is more in-depth than the embedded comments, and comes with an introductory general section followed by chapter-by-chapter comments that address specific points and issues throughout each chapter and paragraph. We craft each of these chapter sections issue by issue, with an explanation of what might be troublesome about this specific issue, where the issue occurs (both within the chapter and in other chapters), and finally we provide an example solution for each.

For example, if we believe your novel has character development issues, we will identify the causes, provide reasoning, and potential solutions. The causes for this could be two separate characters that would be more fleshed out as a single character, or sometimes one character that would be more impactful as two.

The goal with an editor’s report is to help the author with understanding the issues within the manuscript and provide guidance on how to address these issues. We provide examples and explanation on why the issue is an issue, with actionable advice for addressing each as it occurs.