Developmental Editing
From £860.
Our developmental editing service combines the report included in our manuscript assessments with detailed, in-text editorial feedback left in the margins of your manuscript. Developmental editing is ideal for authors who are serious about securing a major publisher.
Our most comprehensive & in-depth editorial service.
A developmental edit goes one step further than a manuscript assessment by providing extensive and detailed in-text feedback, in addition to an editorial report covering the strengths and weaknesses of your novel.
We specialise in all genres of fiction and writers of all levels are welcome.
What is our developmental editing service?
Everything you need to take your novel to the next level and achieve publishing success.
Your developmental editor will leave comments throughout your manuscript, addressing the strength of your plot, structure, characterisation, marketability, and writing style. These comments will be accompanied by a report of at least 3,500 words, detailing how your novel could be improved upon.
Which Aspects Of Your Writing Will Developmental Editing Address?
Genre
Have you correctly identified your novel’s genre? Would a publisher know where to place it on a bookshelf? Is your story consistent with the expectations of your genre? Where you deviate from expectation, is this purposeful and appropriate? Have you included over-used tropes?
Your developmental editor will help you ensure that your story is grounded in its genre, without diluting its originality.
Story
Is your story structurally sound and robust? Is there a causality to the events of your plot? Does your novel feature layered conflicts, with plausible obstacles for your characters to face?
In long-form texts like the novel, the believability and consistency of your story can be compromised. Your developmental editor will untangle your plot’s individual threads and help you create a credible events sequence.
Character
Are the characters in your novel three-dimensional and authentic? Are they recognisable and distinctive? Do they each have a clear character arc and journey, demonstrating change or growth throughout the plot?
Your developmental editor will help you ensure that your characters have drive and purpose, and that they effectively serve the book’s story, not only you as the author.
Dialogue
Are your characters’ personalities reflected in the way they talk? Do the differences between your characters shine through in their speech? Does dialogue serve a purpose, providing backstory, progressing plot, and acting as a vehicle for meaningful character insights?
Dialogue is an especially challenging aspect of storytelling; your editor can help you access its full potential.
Point-of-View
Does your manuscript’s point-of-view work and make the most of your story’s potential? Could the story be better executed and more engaging if you used an alternative point of view? How limited should the narrator’s awareness be? Is the narrator’s reliability, or lack thereof, effective and appropriate?
Point-of-view can radically alter a story; your developmental editor will guide you in making the right choice for your novel.
Pace
Does your manuscript hold your reader’s attention from start to finish?
Is there a natural ebb and flow of pace that reflects rising and falling tension, as well as the build towards the novel’s climax? Is there a natural and engaging flow to your story?
Your developmental editor will help you hammer out any pacing issues, to ensure that your manuscript is neither rushed nor lagging.
Structure
Is the story structurally sound? If you use non-chronological storytelling methods, does this cause confusion for readers? Could structure and chronology be experimented with to create greater tension and intrigue?
Your developmental editor will help you eliminate structural issues and leverage the possibilities of structure to improve your novel’s grip on the reader.
Style
Is the writing style appropriate to the audience and the genre? Are there any inconsistencies or repeated mistakes that you could address?
Do you have a strong and marketable authorial voice that’s distinctive?
Your developmental editor will identify these stylistic issues and provide recommendations for addressing them in your next drafts.
Technical Elements
Are there consistent grammatical or sentence-level errors in your manuscript? Are there any technical elements of your writing that need to be corrected or improved upon?
Many aspiring writers have “bad habits” in their writing that they aren’t even aware of. Your developmental editor will address these in their comments and guide you in correcting them to improve your writing’s overall quality.
What our customers are saying about us…
★★★★★
"Our literary consultant drew on a wealth of experience to deliver a manuscript review that was comprehensive, intelligent, enlightening and—most importantly—useful. Their in-depth knowledge of structure, pacing, characterizations and the elements that compose a dramatic narrative allowed them to distill exactly what was working and what was not working in the draft we presented to them. The result was a detailed and engaging feedback document that will serve as a roadmap for the next draft. We are thrilled with the service we received!"
Nathan. T., @ NJT Consulting
The Benefits Of Developmental Editing
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Combine an editorial report with in-text feedback
Our developmental edits go one step further than manuscript assessments by providing detailed in-text feedback to accompany your report.
This feedback can help you address more specific in-text issues, like stylistic problems, inconsistencies, redundant scenes, and much more.
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A comprehensive report of at least 3,500 words
We don’t like to feel constrained by word count. While some developmental editing providers issue reports of between 1,500 and 2,000 words, we find that reports of this length risk limiting the comprehensiveness of our assessments.
Our reports are significantly longer and are typically around the 3,500 word mark.
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Reduce editing & redrafting time
Many novels undergo several complete redrafts before the author considers submitting to literary agents. During this process, the initial plot changes dramatically.
With a developmental edit, you can identify and resolve the foundational problems with your story, massively reducing the time spent editing and redrafting further down the line.
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Increase your chances of being published
Our developmental editors have extensive experience of the publishing world and an informed understanding of what publishers and literary agents are looking for in a manuscript.
Our developmental edits are geared towards not only making your novel attractive to readers, but also to agents and publishers.
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Ascertain & improve commercial viability
If you have your heart set on being published traditionally, it is essential that you have an awareness of where your book fits in the current market.
Our developmental editors can help you determine if your book is commercially viable as it stands and guide you through the process of improving it if it isn’t—without limiting its distinctiveness or its potential to make waves.
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Get inspired & overcome obstacles
If you’re feeling aimless, stalled, or disheartened by obstacles to your writing and editing journey, our manuscript assessments will lend you a clear sense of direction and purposefulness.
All our advice is actionable and accompanied by manageable suggestions for your next steps. We even give the odd bit of homework, which usually involves recommending TV, films, and books for you to study.
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Absolute confidentiality
We speak to many writers who have reservations about sharing their work and are understandably anxious about the confidentiality of their ideas.
We make privacy a priority—and to that end, we’ve signed an NDA that applies to every purchase made with us. This makes us, and all our consultants, legally bound to confidentiality. In other words, we can’t share your ideas or your manuscript with anyone!
Buy Now, Pay Later
With our flexible payment plans.
We’re committed to making our editorial services as accessible as possible. To that end, we’re always looking for new ways of helping authors manage the cost of our assessments.
We've partnered with PayPal so that eligible customers can split the cost of their purchases across 3 months—entirely interest-free. Choose PayPal at checkout, then ‘Pay in 3’ when prompted to complete the purchase on the PayPal platform.
Developmental Editing FAQs.
Can I see an example of a developmental editing report?
You sure can! You can download and view real reports, including a developmental editing report, that we delivered here. For the sake of confidentiality, we’ve completely anonymised the reports, changing character names and even elements of the plot.
How do I know my ideas won’t be stolen?
We’ve signed an NDA that applies to every purchase made with us. This makes us, and all our consultants, legally bound to confidentiality. In other words, we can’t share your ideas or your manuscript with anyone!
Can I speak to my developmental editor?
To ensure that your initial report is entirely objective, we act as intermediaries between you and your developmental editor, passing on any questions. If you’d like to speak to them after your edit is complete, you can book a consultation.
Do you have genre-specific developmental editors?
Yes! We source professional editors and literary consultants with varied backgrounds so that we can provide edits across all genres of fiction. We will match you with a developmental editor who has a particular interest in your genre (and experience with it).
Who are your developmental editors?
We are extremely picky about the developmental editors we choose to work with. When taking on new editors, we look for individuals with high-calibre experience in publishing and editing, with many coming to us from major publishing houses.
Can anyone use the PayPal Pay in 3 service?
Sadly, we have no control over whether PayPal approves your request to use Pay in 3. This is subject to certain eligibility requirements, which you can read about here. If you contact us, we may be able to discuss alternative flexible payment plans.