Developmental Edit

You’ve written those precious words ‘The End’ – now what?

Well, first off please take some time to celebrate what you’ve done – only a very small percentage of people get to do what you’ve done and so you should give yourself a round of applause and do something special.

But what next?

When I say this next thing, please believe me I mean it as kindly as possible – no first draft is ready for another person to read. Thought writing is a lonely business at times, and ultimately all the decision about your book should be yours, but good writing is always a collaborative process, and good writers embrace this.

I offer a range of services for writers who want to get feedback on their books, from my monthly writer’s group, to first chapter and 10,00 word reviews, to this, my developmental edit service.

I know my strengths, and weaknesses, so I’ll be upfront – I’m dyslexic so I do not offer a copy editing service – and I really mean this! If you need a copy edit, and I think most people do, then please bare in mind that you’ll need to budget for that also.

But what I do offer and what I’m great at, is a developmental edit. This is where I read your book and interrogate your ideas, your character development, your plot and you prose, and give you a comprehensive break down about what’s working, and what’s not. If I find something that’s not landing the way it should, I never just point it out, I come back to you with ideas, suggestions and things to try to tackle it. I often recommend books which might be helpful to look at, and editing tools that I’ve developed which can help you tease out the solutions for yourself. Ultimately everything I suggest is not meant to be reductive. I never tell you what you must do, but it is aimed at sparking your thought process. You have the answers you need, but what you need si someone to help you see them.

My developmental edit package includes:

An initial zoom consultation where you can introduce your book to me and what’s brought you to this point – 30 mins

I will then read your manuscript and annotate as I go, giving you feedback on how each page lands, what’s working, what’s not, thoughts, observations and ideas.

A written report on my thoughts and ideas for your next draft.

A 90 minute zoom call where we can discuss my findings and I can answer your questions.

Still not sure if it’s for you? No worries, drop me an email and you can have a zoom chat with me to see if it might work for you, no sales pressure, no annoying follow up, because I’m rubbish at those things anyway!

Let’s get your book out there!