Fix the foundations, then build the book
Developmental editing looks at the big shapes of your manuscript, from plot and character arcs to argument and chapter order, and gives you a clear, practical plan for a stronger next draft.
- Free initial consultation
- Clear written quote
- One point of contact
The ferry left at seven, and by the time Ada found a seat the coast had thinned to a pencil line. She checked the letter again, though she knew it by heart. She thought about her childhood summers at the house and the long walks on the dunes with her aunt, and the arguments, and the year everything changed. Her aunt had written two words, and nothing else.
Structure is invisible when it works and impossible to ignore when it does not.
Where the biggest improvements are made
This is the deepest level of edit and usually the first. Your editor studies how the story or argument is built: whether the stakes rise, whether each scene earns its place, whether a character's choices make sense, whether chapters arrive in the order a reader needs. Polishing sentences before these questions are settled often means polishing text that will later be cut.
You receive margin comments at the points where issues appear, plus an editorial letter that pulls the threads together and suggests specific ways forward. The editor will not rewrite your book for you. Instead you get options, examples and reasoning, so the revision remains your own work and you understand why each change helps.
What you gain with developmental editing
Developmental editing looks at the big shapes of your manuscript, from plot and character arcs to argument and chapter order, and gives you a clear, practical plan for a stronger next draft.
Plot and pacing
We track tension scene by scene, flag sagging middles and rushed endings, and suggest where to cut, combine or expand so the story moves at the right speed.
Characters that convince
Your editor looks at motivation, arc and consistency, noting where a character acts out of step with who they are or where a secondary figure needs more room.
Nonfiction argument
For nonfiction, we test whether the central idea is clear, whether chapters build logically, and whether examples and evidence support each claim for your intended reader.
A plan you can follow
The editorial letter turns dozens of observations into a short list of revision priorities, so you can open the manuscript knowing exactly where to begin.
Everything in the brief
The exact scope is confirmed in writing before work begins, so you always know what you are paying for.
- Novelists whose draft feels close but not quite right
- Nonfiction authors shaping expertise into a clear argument
- Writers planning a substantial revision before any line edit
- Full read with margin comments throughout
- Detailed editorial letter on structure and story
- Scene or chapter outline review where relevant
- Notes on point of view and narrative voice
- Prioritized list of revision tasks
- Video or phone call to discuss the edit
- Quoted option to review your revised draft
Four clear steps
- 1
Share your draft
Send the complete manuscript, a short synopsis and a note on what you are aiming for, including genre, readership and publishing route.
- 2
Editor matching
We pair you with a developmental editor who knows your genre and confirm the fee and delivery date in writing.
- 3
Big-picture edit
Your editor usually reads the book twice, once as a reader and once analytically, before writing margin notes and the editorial letter.
- 4
Revision plan
You discuss the letter with your editor, agree on priorities and start revising with a clear sense of what to tackle first.
No. Your editor diagnoses problems and suggests solutions, sometimes with a short example to illustrate a point, but the rewriting is yours. That keeps the voice consistent and means you genuinely understand the changes, which makes the next draft and the next book easier.
It helps to revise once on your own first, fixing anything you already know is wrong. After that, a developmental edit is well placed. If the draft is very rough, a manuscript assessment may be the more economical starting point, and we will tell you if we think so.
Developmental editing deals with the architecture: plot, structure, character and argument. Line editing comes later and works at sentence level on rhythm, clarity and word choice. Doing them in that order means you are not refining paragraphs that a structural revision might remove.
Fees are based on word count and the complexity of the book, since a multi-viewpoint epic needs more analysis than a tightly plotted thriller. Once we have seen your manuscript and synopsis, we prepare a written quote with the full fee and the delivery date.
Yes. For a series, your editor can also look at how this volume sets up or pays off threads across the wider story, and keep notes on world rules, timelines and recurring characters that later editors can use.
Let’s talk about your book
Share a few details and we will reply with practical next steps for developmental editing, and a written quote if you would like one.
- No obligation and no pressure
- We aim to reply to every enquiry within one business day.
- Your details stay private
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Tell us where your book is today. We will read your sample and recommend a clear, honest next step, with no obligation.