Developmental Edit
You have finished your manuscript and are ready to get feedback on how to revise your book and take it to the next level!
A developmental edit looks at the big picture—your plot, themes, setting, characters, packing, and other story elements—to assess whether it is all working together in a cohesive way for your future readers.
For non-fiction books, this is more typically called a “structural edit,” and looks at whether the material flows in a logical fashion, there are gaps in the logic or information presented, and if the manuscript is formatted consistently.
The bulk of your feedback comes in an editorial letter, which thoroughly analyzes your manuscript for what is working well and gives examples and suggestions for the revisions. After you have had a chance to review the editorial letter, I offer a 1 hour follow up call to chat about any questions you have.
A typical developmental edit with me includes:
- A developmental edit review
- An in-depth editorial letter
- A one hour follow-up meeting to answer questions
Line Edit
You have done a developmental edit (or have very thoroughly worked through the various story elements on your own) and are ready to get down into the writing weeds.
A line edit looks at issues like overall flow, clarity, grammatical choices, and consistency on a sentence and paragraph level to make sure that your readers aren’t rattled by inconsistent tenses, odd or anachronistic word choices, or a character that suddenly changes their name!
This is also where we begin establishing a style sheet to keep track of your style choices and specific preferences. This helps me and your future proofreader maintain consistency!
Most of my editing suggestions will come in the form of tracked changes and comments within the manuscript itself, and you will also get an editorial report that summarizes big picture recommendations and changes I have suggested.
A typical line edit with me includes:
- An initial line edit review
- A second review to edit new material
- An editorial summary
Copy Edit/Proofread
You’ve got a completed book on your hands, and really just need someone to go through and double check for spelling and grammar accuracy, missing commas, and wayward periods!
A light copy edit or a proofread is the final editing step before sending your book out into the world, and is usually your final chance to catch errors before a reader finds them.
Because you have already done a line edit, the main goal at this stage is addressing basic grammatical errors, punctuation, consistency in formatting, and conformity with the style guide and style sheet (if there is one). If you feel that more needs to be done, you probably should consider a line edit before a proofread.
My edits will come as tracked changes and comments in the manuscript itself, and an editorial summary of the general changes I’ve suggested.
A typical light copy edit/proof with me includes:
- One round of edits in Word or PDF
- An editorial summary
