An Author’s Guide to Developmental Editing

Developmental editing is crucial to making sure your story flows overall. It is key for plot, character arcs, and wording.

PLOT

Make sure that your plot makes sense and finishes. A developmental editor points out plot holes, things that are out of place for your story, and has a satisfying ending, closing up all the different strings. This is something you can do on your own, but having someone else put eyes on your work is not an option, but a necessity to make sure you’ve covered everything.

How can you start? I write the main plot itself, writing down when it starts, what happens, and where it concludes, and what the consequences are. These should all exist in your book at appropriate times, and should be added in immediately if missing. This might require a massive rewrite, but that’s writing for you.

CHARACTER ARCS

Your main characters and even some of your side ones should have completed character arcs at the end of your story. This means they accomplished whatever they set out for in the beginning of the book, or plans changed and they had a lesson instead. Most of your characters should have completed arcs—not just the main one.

WORDING

Sometimes the words you write don’t come across well to other people, and it’s absolutely normal. You have way more insight into your story than the average reader, and this can leave gaps in your novel that confuse others. A developmental editor will point these instances out to you, so you can fill in the gaps or adjust as needed.

Are you looking for a developmental editor? I offer editing services to indie authors and publishing houses. Let me help you get your book in its best version yet.