Is your hero engaging enough to burrow into your readers’ hearts and is your villain dynamic enough to get under their skin? Does your plot bring tension and emotion to every page? Is your story well-formed enough to stick in your readers’ minds for months after they read the last word?
Think of your story as a house. The plot, characters, conflicts, and goals within the story make up the structure of the house—the foundation and the frame. Your writing on a line level is the siding, and the polish you put on your grammar, spelling, and punctuation is the paint job. It doesn’t matter how much work you put into the siding and paint, if the structure below is flawed, the house isn’t going to look good.
The same is true of your story. If your character development, plot points, and other structural elements aren’t in place, no amount of work on a line level is going to save it.
Perfecting the structural elements of your story is exactly what my Developmental Edit is meant to do.
What Does This Service Include?
- Developmental Edit of Your Submission. This edit focuses on large-picture elements. I use comments to point out areas of the story that are working and those that aren’t working and include helpful tips and directions for improvement. I will also include a one-page summary of my overall notes with recommendations to make the piece stronger. This is a per-word service, meaning you can submit as many or as few pages as you want.
My Developmental Edits focus on the five pillars of story creation:
- Intention
- What is the story about at the most basic level and is this intention carried throughout the pages?
- What is the theme(s) and is it well represented throughout the story?
- Build
- Is there a clear narrative arc?
- Do you hit all the necessary plot points to retain pacing and heighten the stakes?
- Is tension present and building throughout the story?
- Do you use foreshadowing, symbols, and motifs to deepen your writing?
- Character
- Are the characters well-developed?
- Do they feel authentic and dynamic?
- Do they have clear goals and motivations?
- Is there a clear internal and external arc for all main characters?
- Setting
- Do setting descriptions enhance the story and help build mood and atmosphere?
- Do you embrace sensory language from all five senses to immerse your reader?
- Narration
- Is the point of view you’ve chosen appropriate and consistent?
- Are tone, style, and voice apparent in the prose?
Who Is This Service For?
Developmental editing is a service all stories can benefit from. It is best done early on in the writing process, preferably after the finished manuscript has been revised based on beta reader feedback but before starting line-level edits.
Issues brought up during developmental editing often require reworking of scenes or, sometimes, the entire story. This is why I recommend doing this type of edit early on in the process. It is most effective for completed sections of your story, such as the first act, the first half, or the entire manuscript.
If you are looking for very early feedback on your story (before you’ve even started writing, for instance), I recommend looking at my Concept Evaluation service.
How Much Does It Cost?
This service starts at $0.018 per word.
Most manuscripts qualify for this starting rate, however, stories with extensive structural issues may require a higher fee. This fee will be discussed and agreed upon before work begins.
The fee includes in-doc comments on big-picture issues as well as a one-page summary of what’s working and what needs attention, as well as my suggestions for improvement.
Interested In a Developmental Edit?
To learn more about this service or to sign up for a Developmental Edit, please contact me today.