Developmental Editing
Novels, Memoirs, Dissertations, Screenplays, Creative Nonfiction, Personal Essays
Writing is rewriting.
You have a first draft (or a second, or even a third), but you’re still not sure if your manuscript is ready to be read. After working so closely on this project, it’s hard to find any sort of distance or objectivity. You need a qualified reader to provide a new perspective. Should you introduce your principal character in the first chapter rather than the third? Is your thesis or academic treatise ready to be presented to the popular market? What are the weaknesses of the manuscript, and what are the strengths?
Developmental editing is the first and most essential step in preparing your work for the market. It’s the larger perspective, the macro rather than the micro. After several close readings of your manuscript, a typical developmental edit might suggest that you need to more clearly define your market, and rewrite accordingly (we would suggest directions). It might flag inconsistencies in authorial voice or suggest other resources, other published books, for you to read as models. No effort will be spared in making your manuscript as strong as it can possibly be.
After a free appraisal, Manuscript Medics will provide detailed suggestions, page to page, regarding the specific strengths and weaknesses of your project, and will offer encouraging directions for your next rewrite.
As the most extensive and labor-intensive of the editorial options, developmental editing also tends to be the most expensive. Every project is different, however, and rates will vary depending upon the unique demands of the manuscript.
