What is developmental editing? (vs other kinds of editing)

​Completing the first or fifth draft of your story is already a significant achievement that you should celebrate! The next step is to have your manuscript professionally edited but you are not sure what kind of editor you need. This article analyses what developmental editing is and explains the difference between developmental editing and other kinds of editing.

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​This article analyses:
Developmental editing
Developmental editing vs coaching
Developmental editing vs line/copy editing
Developmental editing/ proofreading
Summary
Advice about editing

Developmental editing
Developmental editing (also known as structural, substantive or content editing) is the first step in the editing process and it solves the big-picture storytelling issues in your manuscript. It is the first kind of editing authors should look for after they have completed their first draft of their manuscript. 
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The developmental editor addresses the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses and can provide comprehensive feedback on the following issues:

• theme: The message that the story conveys. The lesson that the main character(s) learns at the end of the story changes their perspective about themselves or the world around them.  The theme must be universal, so that people regardless of age, gender, location and culture can relate to it. For example, the main theme of romance stories often is “love conquers all” where the main characters must overcome many obstacles and be happily together by the end of the story.

 

• plot and structure: One of the most popular story structures in fiction is the 3 act structure.  Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody are two of the most popular structure guides for fiction authors. The books analyse the 3 act story structure through 15 “beats”  that make up a complete and effective story.

 

• characters: Basic information about the main characters’ goals, motivations, and internal vs external (emotional vs logical) conflict. Information about their physical appearance, occupation, education, background and relationship with other characters in the story. 

 

• setting and timeline: Where does the story take place (e.g. in which country, city), the historical and seasonal time of the story as well as the history, culture and politics of the setting. The setting of the story needs to be believable and consistent. The author should avoid overly descriptive details of settings without context (info-dumping) and show why a particular setting matters to the story. 

 

• point of view: The number of viewpoint characters and their importance to the story. For example, romance stories have one or two POV characters, the main characters and the love interests of the story.

 

•  pacing: Slow pacing that causes the reader to lose interest in the story, unrelated, unnecessary or repetitive information that does nothing much to progress the story.

 

• scene and narrative summary (show vs tell): Balance between summarised scenes (unimportant events) and the most important scenes where the author shows in greater detail the events of the story.

 

• voice, tone and imagery: the characters of the story have consistent, effective and distinct voices, the word choices are appropriate to the genre and the time period of the story.

 

• genre expectations: For romance stories (e.g contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance), the development of the love relationship must be the center of the story. The main characters display physical attraction that creates physical and emotional reactions that evolve into romantic feelings by the end of the story.

​You can always ask for the professional services of a developmental editor but you can benefit most from the services​ of a developmental editor when:

• you are a new author and you are currently editing your first manuscript
• you have been revising your manuscript for so long  and you are too close to your story and don't know how to further improve it
• you're getting conflicting advice from beta readers
• you are getting rejections from publishers or agents and you sure how to fix the issues discussed in their rejections

If one of the above describes you, then you need a professional developmental editor to read your manuscript and help you unlock its full potential!

Developmental editing vs coaching
While developmental editors help authors refine their completed manuscripts, book coaches help authors from the first idea to the completed first draft.

Book coaches can have weekly or monthly sessions with the author to check on writing goals and provide them with commentary or notes about their next moves. 

The book coach can be an assistant to the author but they don’t ghostwrite or rewrite part of the story. Book coaches can work with an author for about 6 months to help them finish the first draft of their story. 
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Book coaches can help authors:

•  develop their characters and expand plot ideas

• develop consistent writing habits
• answer questions about the story and overcome writer’s block
• improve their skills and knowledge about the writing craft

Developmental editing vs line/copy editing
Line editing/copyediting is the second step in the editorial process. While developmental editing focuses on the big-picture issues of the manuscript, line editing/copyediting focuses on the finer details of a manuscript. 

 Line editors/copyeditors focus on improving sentence-level errors and go through your manuscript line by line.
Line editing/copyediting focuses on:

• grammar, spelling, syntax and punctuation
• sentence structure and flow
• word choice (consistent style, redundancies, confusing or unnecessary words)
• sentence coherence, clarity and tone
• inconsistent formatting
• readability

Developmental editing/ proofreading
Proofreading is the third and final step of the editorial process.

Proofreaders read the manuscript to catch grammatical, spelling, punctuation and formatting errors that previous editors missed during the editing process and ensure consistency in formatting and style throughout the story.

Summary
Developmental editing: It solves the big-picture storytelling issues of a manuscript (theme, plot and structure, characters, setting and timeline, point of view, pacing, voice, tone and imagery, and genre expectations). Authors should be looking for this service after they have completed the first draft of their manuscript.

Coaching: Book coaches help authors during the writing process, from the first idea to a completed first draft.

Line editing/copyediting: Editors go through the manuscript line by line and improve sentence-level errors.

Proofreading: Proofreaders check the manuscript one last time for minor typos and errors before the manuscript goes to publication!
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Advice about editing
Be open-minded about the process of editing. You are paying a professional editor to improve your manuscript. Listen to their feedback and be open-minded to their ideas.

​Prepare to rewrite certain scenes of your manuscript, rearrange scenes or sentences and make the necessary changes to improve your story and make it the best it can be.

But remember, at the end of the day, you are the only one who has the final word about your manuscript and you should only make the changes you feel comfortable!

Further reading
How to brainstorm your novel’s genre and main characters
How to write a romance novel using the 3-act structure
How to create a consistent writing routine

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About the author

​​​​Maria Georgiou is a professional developmental editor for romance authors. She specialises in editing contemporary romance, YA romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance and romantasy. She is a member of the EFA and ClubEdFreelancers. 
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