To me, developmental editing is the most important stage in editing a book. Line editing ensures polish and clarity. Copy editing fixes typos and inconsistencies. But developmental editing focuses on the core elements of a story: its characters, its plot, its structure, its pacing, its setting, its voice. With a few exceptions (sometimes style and unusual technical feats can carry a book), these are the things that readers care most about, so getting good developmental editing on your story, whether you’re doing it yourself, paying a freelancer, or partnering with an editor at a traditional publishing house, helps it fly.
This page links to all the developmental editing resources on my website. Enjoy, and if you have any questions or requests for me to cover a particular topic, let me know in the comments. Developmental editing is one of my specialties, and I’ve got a lot of knowledge to share on the subject.
What Is Developmental Editing?
How Do I Use Developmental Editing?
Who Does Developmental Editing?
What to Do When You’re Unhappy with Your Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing for Indie Authors