Fix the story before the sentences.
Developmental editing looks at the whole book at once — structure, pacing, character and narrative flow — and tells you, plainly, what is working and what is holding it back.
Polish can’t save a structure that doesn’t hold.
A sagging middle, a character whose choices stop making sense, a reveal that arrives three chapters too late — readers rarely name these problems. They just stop reading.
Developmental editing is the edit most authors skip and the one that has to come first. Every later edit assumes the shape of the book is settled; polishing a chapter that later gets cut is money spent twice.
What your Developmental Edit includes
Quoted from your word count before we start. One rate, the whole manuscript, nothing added halfway through.
The whole book
- Structure and overall shape
- Pacing across chapters and scenes
- Openings, turning points and endings
- Point of view and tense handled consistently
The people in it
- Character arcs and motivation
- Whether each secondary character earns their place
- Dialogue that moves the story
- Stakes, tension and payoff
What you get back
- Notes in the margins of your own file
- A summary of the big-picture issues
- A prioritised revision list
- Nothing changed without your say-so
One rate. Worked out in advance.
No packages, no tiers, no surcharges appearing halfway through. Your word count divided by 1,000, multiplied by the rate, is the number on your invoice.
Charged on the manuscript you send. If you revise and want a second developmental read, that is quoted separately — never assumed.
| Example | Words | Developmental Editing |
|---|---|---|
| 60k-word manuscript | 60,000 | $3,300 |
| 80k-word manuscript | 80,000 | $4,400 |
| 100k-word manuscript | 100,000 | $5,500 |
Prices in US dollars. We confirm your exact word count and send a written quote before any work begins — the quote is the number you pay.
What a developmental note looks like.
Big-picture notes sit in the margins, tied to the exact passage that raised them. They explain the problem and give you options — the fix is always yours to choose.
Mara turned the letter over twice before she let herself read it. The signature was wrong — she knew it at once, the way you know a stranger is wearing your coat.1
She folded it back along its creases and slid it into the drawer with the others. Downstairs, her father was still pretending to read the paper.2 She would ask him tomorrow. Or the day after.
Illustrative sample. Your notes are written for your manuscript and returned in your own file.
What we need from you
The more of this we have at the start, the more useful the notes are at the end.
Three edits, in this order.
Most manuscripts don’t need all three. We will tell you which ones yours does — and which ones it doesn’t.
Developmental Editing
The whole book at once: structure, pacing, character and narrative flow.
- Story structure and shape
- Pacing across chapters
- Character arcs and motivation
Line Editing
Sentence by sentence: clarity, rhythm and voice, without changing who you sound like.
- Clarity and precision
- Rhythm and sentence variety
- Your voice, protected
Proofreading
The final read for the errors every earlier pass missed.
- Spelling, grammar, punctuation
- Names and terms consistent
- Doubled and missing words
Let’s find out what your story needs.
A free, no-obligation conversation. Bring the manuscript and we will tell you whether a developmental edit is the right next step — or not yet.