POLISH YOUR MANUSCRIPT
You want your words to make an impact. For that to happen, it’s crucial that your readers really understand what you have to say–and how it can benefit their lives.Â
This is where developmental editing helps the most.Â
Is your meaning coming through loud and clear? Is it obvious to the reader how your story relates to her life? What about the narrative flow from chapter to chapter–does it all make sense and move along smoothly? Is your voice in the book welcoming and inviting, and does it sound consistent throughout?Â
Or maybe you’ve already got 10,000 words written and now you’re trying to figure out how to make it into a book you’d be proud to publish. What needs to be added? How can you flesh out the ideas to make this a compelling message?
These are the types of questions I’ll look into as I help shape your content and story into a text that doesn’t just relay information, but one that also inspires and moves your reader while keeping them glued to the pages as they learn from you. Â
During the developmental edit, I take a “big picture” look at the manuscript and examine how well it holds together and expresses your message.Â
I assess for logical flow, gaps in content, redundancies, consistency in style and tone, vocabulary and any organizational or content-related points. Changes made during this stage make the difference between a disjointed message lacking true coherence and a concise, powerfully crafted one that leaves readers transformed and excited to share your book with others.Â
Here’s how the Developmental Editing process works:
The Developmental Edit provides a comprehensive assessment of how the book works as a whole, how the ideas fit together and what needs to change to make it stronger.Â
As your developmental editor, I will read through every word of the final manuscript and provide in-text comments and feedback using Word’s track changes function. You’ll also receive an “editorial letter” (usually 10-15 pages long) that offers specific suggestions, chapter by chapter, to improve and sharpen the work. You can choose to revise based on the feedback or have me rewrite the manuscript for you (that is, ghostwrite it). Once the revision is done, we’ll meet again to go over any questions you have at that time.Â
Once the developmental edit is complete, your manuscript is complete and ready for the final step before submitting to a publisher (or before you self-publish). Â
Because this is a custom edit and it depends on where you are in the process and the length of your manuscript, please book a call so we can discuss how best to move forward for you and your book.
Still have questions? Email me at [email protected]
