All About Developmental Editing
Ollie Ander
Is probably just a couple cats in a trench-coat—the hair shedding and sunlight napping are highly suspect.
The first draft of any good story is bound to have a few pesky plot holes—it comes with the territory of being a complex piece of writing! As frustrating as they are to find, it’s always more favorable than handing your work out to readers and learning about one from them. So what’s the best way to avoid that unfortunate outcome? If you’re struggling to bring a manuscript together, you should look into hiring a developmental editor.
What does a developmental editor do?
A developmental editor will look at your manuscript’s structure to determine the effectiveness of its execution, and whether any restructuring is needed. A developmental editor may propose scenes or information be moved from one section of the manuscript to another. For the sake of cohesion, they may also request that the author cut or write more, and where those additions are necessary.
Developmental services are applicable to fiction and nonfiction writing. In fiction, focus is paid to the plot progression, whereas in nonfiction developmental edits are a matter of checking whether the information’s delivery is thorough and timely as to facilitate a seamless understanding of the content.
Compared to other forms of editing which narrow in on line flow or word choice, developmental editors look at manuscripts as a whole: the big picture.
Why should you hire a developmental editor?
For fiction writers, developmental editors offer peace of mind over potential plot holes. Authors spend so much time on revisions of their work that details can slip through the cracks. Even though you may have an explanation for a sequence of events, discernability of that reasoning may not translate to readers as well as you think. With any type of manuscript (fiction or nonfiction) a developmental editor will point out problem areas, and offer suggestions.
Not every manuscript requires a developmental editor. They are not as standardized to the publishing process as other services (line editors, for example). Authors or their agents tend to hire developmental editors only when there is a glaring need for them: when something about the manuscript isn’t working, but the task of addressing it is far too big; a problem inherent to the structure rather than cosmetic (ie. the style of writing). Developmental editors are a costly extra step, and not often hired without cause.
When should you hire a developmental editor?
A developmental editor should be introduced to a manuscript as soon as a structural problem is identified. For some, that’s not until they’ve completed a few rounds of drafts and can’t manage to bring things together the way they intended.
Although the need for a developmental editor may not arise until you’ve gotten to the beta reading stage, you can enlist one even before you’ve started writing. Some authors hire a developmental editor preemptively to help them through the outlining process. If you are writing a complex series, you should negotiate working with an individual developmental editor so they're already familiar with the content upon each new installment.
Regardless, developmental edits should take place before other forms of refined edits (copy, or line edits). Applying developmental edits can require major manuscript alterations, which would affect, or even undo, any line-specific edits.
Where can you hire a developmental editor?
Although editors can be found on freelance websites like $ Fiverr$ , since developmental editors are such a large expense (regardless of where they’re acquired), I’d suggest investing in one with more notable credentials—over just any editor you can find.
Unlike other editing service professionals, developmental editors need more than just proficiency with language: they need experience and a thorough understanding of the underlying structure of effective storytelling. There is less competition to have lower prices or higher turnover rates than other sects of editing services because developmental editors aren’t applicable to every case, and the process of working with them requires a lot more communication—there’s no objective way to fix a story beat like there is to use a comma.
Seek developmental editors through vetted organizations such as: $ ACES: The Society for Editing$ , $ Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading$ , $ Northwest Editors Guild$ , $ Editors of Color Database$ , or $ Reedsy$ . Although skills dealing with story structure can be generalized, it is prudent that you ask your developmental editor their preferred genres to work in, as the expectations and pacing of every genre are a little different.
If you feel as though hiring a developmental editor is a step more than you need, then perhaps you’re ready to move onto the finishing touches for your manuscript? Although developmental edits are optional, every professionally driven writer should consider enlisting a line editor or copy editor—but which?
Here’s an in-depth article on $ everything you need to know about copyediting $ to help make your publishing decisions all the more informed!
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