First things first. What exactly is a developmental edit? As with most editorial services, definitions can vary from editor to editor. However, 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.

Authors need to understand how to weave all the elements of a novel together to create an impactful whole. These elements are things like plot, story, characterisation, structure, tension, theme, genre and narrative style. Developmental editors help them do this.

All authors can benefit from a developmental edit, but it’s usually up to them to commission one. Publishers usually won’t pay for developmental editing because they receive so many manuscripts, they can take their pick from the ones that are already brilliantly developed. And so it’s usually the author who decides to work with a developmental editor – either to make their novel as good as it can be before they consider submitting it to agents or publishers, or before they self-publish.

A developmental editor can help an author deconstruct and rebuild their novel-in-progress so that all the storytelling components work together to create a better book. Generally, the newer the author or the trickier the manuscript, the more developmental input the author will need.

There are two main types of developmental editing. Just to confuse matters, the first
is known simply as ‘developmental editing’ and the second is known as ‘manuscript critiquing’.

You may come across other terms for these (because editors are rubbish at agreeing on service definitions), but developmental editing usually falls into one of these two categories. What you’ll learn in this course can be applied to both services.

Developmental editing

A developmental edit looks at all the big-picture storytelling components. Normally, feedback is presented as both an editorial report and as notes and edits in the manuscript pages themselves.

An editorial report (sometimes known as an editorial letter) is a document that summarises the editor’s assessment of how well the author has handled the different storytelling elements. It usually contains suggestions on how the author might improve the manuscript by strengthening certain elements.

Notes and edits in the manuscript may include suggestions on where and how storytelling techniques can be strengthened within the manuscript itself. Whereas an editorial report summarises how a manuscript can be improved, manuscript notes and edits are used to highlight specific instances of where a manuscript can be improved.

Sometimes the editor will extensively edit sections of the manuscript to demonstrate how the author might address one of the issues discussed – e.g. the editor might rework a scene to show how focusing on a single character’s point of view can create more tension and intrigue.

Manuscript critiquing

The terms ‘manuscript critique’, ‘manuscript assessment’, ‘manuscript appraisal’ and ‘manuscript evaluation’ are generally interchangeable, although some editors differentiate between them. The consensus, though, is that this service looks at all the big-picture storytelling components associated with developmental editing, but – and here’s the important part – the editor doesn’t make any changes to the manuscript. Instead, they provide only the editorial report.

This report can vary greatly in depth, length and focus. Some editors offer a few pages of general feedback, while others offer twenty or more pages of detailed analysis and suggestion. Some editors focus on assessing the market value of a manuscript (and this is often referred to as a ‘manuscript assessment’), and others focus on helping the author develop their personal literary vision (and this is often referred to as a ‘manuscript critique’).

A reminder

In this course, I’m not going to teach you how to write an editorial report or how to make notes and edits in a manuscript. I cover those practicalities in a separate course (Developmental Editing: In Practice), since there’s a lot to talk about.

In this course, I’m going to teach you what you need to know before you can conduct a developmental edit – the theory behind the edit.