You probably already have a rough idea about what developmental editing is – at least, I’d hope so, since you’ve signed up to take this course. The particulars of how editors conduct this service varies, but most editors agree on what a developmental edit tries to achieve. In a nutshell: 

Developmental editing helps authors identify and solve the big-picture storytelling issues in their manuscripts. It does not address grammar, spelling, punctuation or sentence structure. 

As you can imagine, to do this you need to have an excellent understanding of writing-craft theory and the ability to analyse a creative text. You can never learn too much about how novels work. There’s so much to think about, and every manuscript will provide fresh and unique challenges, so prepare to be a life-long student.

How do you know when you know enough to be able to offer developmental editing as a professional service, though?

If you work with novice writers, you’ll often find you know a lot more about writing-craft theory than the author. Other times, authors will be just as knowledgeable as you; it will be your perspective (as an analytical reader) that will be most valuable to them.

An author will never be able to experience their story as a reader would, and a developmental editor can do this and provide suggestions for improvement that are based in theory rather than opinion. (More on that later.) When it comes to literature (or any kind of art), tastes vary – which is why you need to be able to back up your suggestions with objective reasoning.

If you have a solid understanding of the following elements of writing-craft theory, it’s more than likely you know enough to be a developmental editor.

These are all big topics that I won’t be teaching in this course. If you want to learn more, my course Developmental Editing: Fiction Theory goes into more depth. There are also lots of excellent books and blogs out there that you can learn from.

A NOTE ON GENRE 

No matter how much theory you learn, your reading preferences and familiarities will inevitably affect your ability to critique a piece of writing. If you love reading romance novels but have never read a thriller in your life, you’ll find it difficult to deconstruct, analyse and make recommendations for redrafting a thriller manuscript.

Sure, there are general principles of good writing that apply to all genres, but every genre has its own set of conventions – and the better you understand them, the more specific (and therefore the more useful) your feedback can be.

Why is genre so important? The biggest reason is that it can help an author make certain creative decisions about their novel. It can also help them consciously (and therefore effectively) subvert genre expectations, if that’s something they want to do.

As well as that, when an author knows their genre, they’ll find it easier to find agents, publishers and (ultimately) readers who will enjoy their novel – so thinking about genre is something we should be doing as developmental editors.

Specialising in a certain genre (or a few genres) is a great way to help differentiate your developmental editing services from all the others out there. When I say ‘genre’, though, I’m not just talking about sci-fi, fantasy and romance. You could specialise in literary fiction*, commercial fiction or general contemporary fiction, for instance.

Alternatively, if you enjoy lots of kinds of fiction and have a broad knowledge base, you could detail what kinds of fiction you don’t want to work on. For instance, quite a few editors can’t stomach horror or erotica!

However you choose to specialise, I recommend you don’t only read books in your favourite genres. Even if you specialise in editing those genres, you’ll learn so much more by reading widely.

* I often get asked what defines literary fiction. Literary fiction usually focuses on writing style and theme/meaning over more traditional narrative structures (e.g. standard plot-driven narratives). Often literary fiction is experimental in some way, or subverts more commercial tropes of storytelling. In general, literary fiction is more concerned with artistic merit than entertainment (though that’s not to say they aren’t entertaining).

DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BOOK MARKET? 

All developmental editors need to consider how a novel will be received by readers. People who hire developmental editors usually do so because their aim is for the manuscript to be published.

It would be unusual (though not completely unheard of) for an author to hire you just because they want to learn how to improve their novel for their own enjoyment ... Usually a writing course would be more appropriate in this case.

With the aim of publication in mind, some developmental editors will provide an analysis of how well a novel might sell in the marketplace. Other developmental editors decide to simply focus on the general quality and readability of the manuscript, without going into any detail about trends and potential readerships.

To some degree, every developmental editor will address whether a manuscript has the potential to be of publishable quality. (And I say ‘potential’ because it’s important to remember we’re not dealing with final drafts here. More on that a little later.)

Being of publishable quality and having a good chance of selling well are two different things.

A novel of publishable quality is a coherently written story that other people will likely want to read. A beautifully written manuscript without an engaging story won’t attract readers. Similarly, a fantastic story that’s badly written won’t attract readers either. (Say what you will about Fifty Shades of Grey, it was written well enough for its target readership ...!)

A novel with good sales potential is even harder to judge, and this is where in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of the book trade comes in handy. An on-trend novel might sell well, but sometimes it’s hard to predict how long a trend will last. And how do you recognise novels that set trends? Understanding genre is important here, too, since books in certain genres have different sized readerships.

(Romance and erotica are hugely popular genres, as well as mystery, thriller, and crime. Science fiction and fantasy are also widely read, and Young Adult novels make up a sizeable chunk of the book market. Westerns and literary fiction generally don’t sell as much.)

It’s useful for developmental editors to keep a finger on the pulse. Browse bookstores, attend publishing events, read new releases in your genres, and subscribe to magazines and blogs in the industry to help you understand current publishing trends.

Some of my favourite resources include:

• The Bookseller
• The Hot Sheet (newsletter – paid)
• Publishers Weekly
• The Guardian, Books
• New York Times, Books

Some clients will want a professional opinion on how well their book might sell. They might be looking for advice on how to make their book more commercial or more sellable. With this in mind, it’s important for you to decide how much analysis in this area you feel comfortable offering. Be clear about this when you explain what your developmental edit involves.