Developmental editing looks at the whole of your manuscript — structure, character, plot, pacing and voice — before anyone touches a single sentence. It's for writers who want to know what their story needs most, and what to do next.
What developmental editing covers
A developmental edit happens before line editing and proofreading. It asks the bigger questions: Is this the right structure? Do these characters earn their arcs? Does the story start where it should?
Does the plot hold together? We look at the shape of the whole manuscript — beginning, middle, end — and where the tension rises and falls.
Are your characters changing in ways that matter? We trace desires, contradictions and turning points across the story.
Where does the story drag, and where does it rush? We look at scene-level momentum, dialogue and dramatic tension.
What is this manuscript trying to become? We step back from the pages and find the larger story hiding inside the draft.
How it works
Up to 10,000 words — a chapter, an opening, or the section you're most unsure about. The messy version is fine.
Before we meet, I read your pages with an editor's eye: structure, character, pacing, voice, and what the story could become.
A 60-minute follow-up session where we go through the feedback together and map out your concrete next steps.
Novelists, playwrights and screenwriters at any stage — from a first draft that lost its way to a near-finished manuscript that needs one honest, outside read.
You've finished a draft and need to know what to fix first.
You're stuck in the middle and can't see the way through.
You want a professional read before you query, submit or self-publish.
The Manuscript Review
Thoughtful developmental feedback on structure, characters, pacing and voice — plus a 60-minute follow-up session to plan your next draft.
Working on something bigger? The Development Package covers a longer process together.
The Story Room
Developmental editing for writers.
Novels · Plays · Screenplays · Stories