Insights
Editorial, 6 min read
What a Developmental Edit Is Actually For
Before line edits and polish, a book needs its architecture examined.
A developmental edit is not a proofread with more opinions. It is a structural reading of the book that examines the story, the logic of its characters and the rhythm of its revelations.
The most useful developmental feedback identifies the few decisions that will change everything else. A shifted point of view, a reordered act, a character whose motivation finally becomes clear.
The goal is never to make the book sound like someone else wrote it. It is to make it more fully the book the author was trying to write.