Why do authors need a developmental editor?

And why is it the most important edit for a draft manuscript?

If you’re writing a book, you’ve probably starting to research editors and how to edit your book. And if you’ve done any searches for editors online, you’ve probably seen that there are different types of editors, and now you’re feeling even more confused than before you started.

Editors generally agree that there are four levels of editing, and an author should pursue them in this order:

  • Developmental
  • Line
  • Copy
  • Proofreading

Most people in publishing agree that the developmental edit is the most important stage of the process. Readers are more likely to forgive a few typos than they are a book with poor structure, plot, or organization.

Why is a developmental edit so important?

A developmental editor is your first line of defense against the big picture, structural issues that can make or break a book.

These structural elements are a lot like the foundation and weight-bearing walls of a house. If the foundation is weak or the walls aren’t well-crafted, it doesn’t matter what style the house is or what color you paint it. It’s still going to be a poorly-built house.

Developmental editors make sure your book is well-built on a strong foundation. They’ll give you suggestions on how to make the book stronger while highlighting what you do well.

What your developmental editor delivers

Comments in the margins

Developmental editors will work directly in your manuscript, leaving in-line comments in the margin. We generally prefer to work in MS Word, and most editors will not want to work in a live document like a Google Doc. We rarely make line-by-line track changes, but we might move paragraphs around in your manuscript if we feel that will help your organization and flow.

Editorial Letter

In addition to leaving comments the margins, a developmental editor will also write you an editorial letter. Think of the editorial letter as a guide to the comments in the manuscript; it also provides you a big-picture summary of the developmental editor’s feedback. If you find a developmental editor who does not offer an editorial letter as part of their deliverables, they are likely not qualified to be doing the work.

The editorial letter usually has three sections:

  • A summary of your book.
  • A section highlighting what you do well.
  • A section of suggestions for what you might want to revise and improve.

Typically, the letter will go into detail about different elements of the book, and sometimes will combine the “what you do well” with the “what needs to be improved” in each section.

What your developmental editor looks for in fiction

Developmental editors make sure that your novel makes sense and feels real.

For fiction, a developmental editor will give feedback on the narrative elements of a story. Sometimes it’s easy to lose track of these elements when we’re writing, because the process of writing takes so much longer than the process of reading.

Logical plot

This might seem like an obvious one, but it’s really easy to lose track of the plot when we’re writing a novel, especially if we’re not working with a set outline. (For the record, there’s nothing wrong with writing fiction without an outline, but doing so usually means that you’ll have to do more developmental revising after you’ve finished your draft.)

Regardless of whether or not we’re “pantsing” or “plotting,” we can get really wrapped up in the drama of a single scene without considering how that scene fits into the larger narrative or how that scene helps propel the story forward.

Developmental editors make sure that the logic of the plot makes narrative sense. They also look for plot holes or any unfinished story lines that the author might not have tied up.

Developmental editors will also make sure that the plot matches expectations for the intended genre of the novel. A mystery starts with an unsolved crime (usually a dead body), and a romance should end with a happily ever after or, at least, a happily for now. If those conventions are missing, your developmental editor should point it out and give you constructive suggestions. It’s for this reason that it’s important to hire a developmental editor who specializes in your target genre.

Balanced pacing

Pacing refers to the speed at which the plot moves forward towards the climax, and this can vary depending on the genre.

Readers of genres like mystery and thriller might expect a book to move along quite quickly, while readers of literary fiction might be happy with a plot that moves a little more slowly. Even within a genre, every author paces their books differently, and it’s up to the developmental editor to determine if their pacing fits the genre and moves along with a rhythm that isn’t jarring or inconsistent.

In general, a developmental editor will look for a plot that continually moves forward without any lags or lulls. They’ll also ensure that faster-paced scenes are balanced with slower, more introspective scenes to let the reader breathe and sit in the narrative for a moment.

Related to reading for pacing, developmental editors will also make sure that every scene has narrative tension or conflict—the elements that compel the reader to keep reading to find out what happens next.

Dimensional settings

The setting is where the story takes place, and it can also refer to the singular place (a castle, a kitchen, a forest glen, a dark basement) in which a scene or a collection of scenes take place.

Sometimes writers focus so much on the characters and plot that they don’t really give the reader much about where these people live and where things are happening.

Developmental editors ensure that the settings feel lived in, complete with sensory details like smells and textures. They also help authors integrate characters into a setting, giving suggestions for how they can interact with the objects and places around them so the setting isn’t just “there.”

Of course, developmental editors also ensure that there isn’t too much description of the setting. This is especially important in genres like historical fiction where the author might want to show readers all their research and write out a detailed description that sounds more like an academic paper than a novel. That kind of detail can slow down the pacing, and would better serve the reader if it were integrated into the action and how the characters move through and interact with the space.

Realistic characters

Characters are at the heart of every novel. While they don’t have to be likable, they do need to feel believable. They need to act and react like real human beings with clear motivations, emotions, and feelings. If they aren’t human, but have human-like characteristics—such as sentient aliens or supernatural creatures like werewolves and fae—they should still have motivations, hopes, fears, and goals.

Each character should act and react in their own way, distinguishing them from the other characters. Their interactions need to feel natural and organic.

Do character interactions with each other and the setting feel real, or do they feel stilted? Does the author avoid stereotypes or cliched for characters from minoritized or marginalized backgrounds?

Organic dialog

Many new writers want to “feed” the reader important information about the plot through dialog. In these cases, the dialog won’t feel real; it will feel stilted and artificial.

The best dialog relies on what isn’t said, that tension between what the characters are thinking and what they choose not to say, especially in tense situations. We humans don’t usually say exactly what we’re thinking for a variety of reasons, usually dependent on our relationship with the person to whom we’re speaking.

If your characters are saying everything exactly as they’re thinking it, a developmental editor will give you suggestions on how to add more subtext and subtlety so the dialog feels more believable.

What your developmental editor looks for in nonfiction

The structure of a nonfiction book can vary wildly depending on the topic, genre, and target reader. That said, For nonfiction, a developmental editor will give feedback on:

Logical Organization

A developmental editor will ensure that the organization in a nonfiction book is organized in a way that makes the most sense for the target reader and is consistent with genre conventions.

For example, a self-help book usually includes a chapter in which the author introduces themself and their relationship to the issue, condition, or problem; this chapter also shows why the author is an authority on the subject matter. Then, the book might have a chapter on the history of the problem and various approaches by others to fix this problem and why those approaches haven’t worked or why they only work for certain people. After that, the book will include the author’s unique solution(s) to that problem and how the reader can apply that solution to their own life, usually with questions and activities to try at home.

Of course, a book might want to subvert expectations, but that should be made clear to the reader through the book’s title and in the introduction (something a developmental editor would look for!)

Relevant Information

Related to organization, a developmental editor will ensure that all the information presented in the book is related to the book’s central promise. They’ll read for tangents that might go off track, suggesting that they be put into text boxes or appendices, or perhaps saved for a future book. They’ll also make suggestions on what might need to be added to the book, meeting readers’ expectations based on what the title of the book promises.

Related to this, a developmental editor will ensure that the subject matter is at the appropriate level for the intended reader. If the book is meant for a reader who is familiar with the topic and subject matter terminology, then the author might want to skip over the basics and get right to the core material. If the book is for people new to the subject matter, then it will need to introduce key terms and meet readers where they are.

Cohesive Argument

At the heart of many a nonfiction book is an argument. Maybe it’s not a Debate Club-type argument, but the premise of a book is a kind of argument. Think of a self-help book, like, say,

The book needs to deliver on that promise. Does the the main claim made by the author make sense? Does the author defend their premise with concrete and believable evidence such as case studies, survey results, and research by subject matter experts?

Readable Prose

Subject matter experts often know and use vocabulary specific to their field of study or industry, but that doesn’t mean that this vocabulary is accessible for the target readership of their book. In fact, most academic and field-specific language is (in my opinion) unnecessarily complicated and a way to show one’s level of expertise or depth of study; it’s not meant to actually convey information in the most efficient or clear way.

A developmental editor will ensure that your writing is in the right style for your audience. If you’re writing for a lay-audience, we’ll suggest terms and rephrases that might be easier to understand. If you are writing for an academic audience, we’ll ensure you’re using the language that those readers expect.

What developmental editors don’t do

Developmental editors don’t go through your book line by line (that’s a line editor), or edit for style, grammar, or small technical inconsistencies (that’s a copy editor, although your line editor will also look for these things). They also don’t look for all the little typos, punctuation errors, or formatting mistakes that can linger in a manuscript (that’s a proofreader).

If your developmental editor sees that you’re making similar grammatical or spelling mistakes throughout, they’ll likely point it out to you in their editorial letter.

Just finished a draft? It’s time for a developmental edit!

If you’ve just finished a draft of your manuscript, and you find yourself making little edits and tweaks… it’s time for a developmental edit.

As a developmental editor, I specialize in:

  • Self-help
  • Mind/Body/Spirit
  • Health and wellness
  • Metaphysical and witchy topics
  • Performing arts
  • History, social sciences, and politics
  • High and epic fantasy
  • Low and urban fantasy
  • Historical fiction
  • Speculative fiction

I would love to work with you on your manuscript to help you prepare it for publication.

Reach out to me for your free 2000-word sample edit!

Why a developmental edit is so important for your book

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