What is Developmental Editing?
Developmental editing, also known as substantive editing, is the first step in publishing your book after you have finished at least the first draft of your manuscript. This stage of editing is meant to examine the entire manuscript, helping to refine your ideas, ensuring the structure of the story and narrative are solid, the dialogue sounds natural, to fix any inconsistencies with plot and characters, and propose solutions for any issues noted.
Developmental editing focuses on:
- keeping your voice and tone consistent - the genre you are writing in - pacing (e.g. rushed scenes) - scenes that lack necessary tension - any changes to the structure or narrative - organization of the story |
- any big picture issues (e.g. plot holes) - incomplete scenes - out of place or implausible parts - if you need to elaborate on some details - repetitive sections - character development, interactions and dialogue |
What should you expect to pay for developmental editing?
*STANDARD EDITORIAL RATES |
OUR EDITORIAL RATE |
Please note: This price does not include line editing, copyediting or proofreading.
To combine services see our Content Editing and Comprehensive Editing Bundles.
To combine services see our Content Editing and Comprehensive Editing Bundles.