Nearly every book needs a developmental edit. It’s the nature of ensuring that your book and story is as good as it possibly can be. One of the biggest benefits of a developmental edit is that the editor studies your story to check where it can be strengthened, where it lags, and where the readers need more information.
This isn’t an edit of your writing style, grammar, or punctuation (although the editor will likely catch those things too); this is an audit of your story. Yes, it’s an audit! Okay, not of the finances, but it’s a deep dive into your story to see if everything lines up to become an even better story!
Why wouldn’t you want to have a developmental edit of your story?!
Yes, a developmental editor is going to cost money, but most good things do require a financial investment. So how much is your story worth to you?
Why Your Book Needs a Developmental Edit
1. It’s your first book ever.
First of all, hello, congratulations! You wrote a whole book, and that’s something to absolutely celebrate, but if you’ve only had friends and family read it, it’s time to hire an editor (unless your friends or family happen to include book editors).
Book editors are fabulous humans who LOVE books, and they often want to create the best story possible. Now, yes, do your research and make sure you hire someone who enjoys and helps with books of your genre.
Another option from a developmental editor is a developmental editor/writing coach. Why I love a writing coach with developmental editing skills is simple: they educate you on writing a better story rather than just handing you back your story with edits (though they do that too).
My first book ever, Teal Paisley Tights (Amazon Affiliate link), was transformed by a developmental edit with Sandra Byrd, an author I knew of because I loved her writing.
I highly recommend Sandra Byrd, if you enjoy historical fiction or modern-day romances: sandrabyrdbookcoach.com
2. Your story has shown significant plot holes.
If you struggle with plot (that’s me!), then you probably will find a developmental editor extremely helpful! They’ll have story mechanics and options for how to solve those problems, and they may even be able to pinpoint where the problem begins.
Stories have a tendency to be well-loved by their author with specific scenes that often do nothing to move the story forward. That coffee shop scene where the main characters discuss their favorite coffee might be a cute scene, but if that’s all it is, then why is it in the story?
However, if you take that same scene and incorporate a key moment for your hero(ine) such as she accidentally spills her coffee on a baristo there who turns out to be the missing link for a spy chain that she’s trying to uncover….suddenly the story is spinning forward in a big way.
Readers expect that every scene pushes a story forward, if that’s not happening…well, the worst happens: they put down your book and stop reading.
3. Your characters are…not likable.
Readers expect and want to like your characters. If they picked up your book, they’re ready to settle into a world where they ENJOY the characters that they’ll be spending hours with.
When I was writing Take a Right at the Mistletoe (Amazon Affiliate link), my main male lead was getting really bad feedback from my beta readers (they kind of hated him!), and I knew I had a problem since my story is a ROMANCE…basically, we need the readers to be rooting for the heroine and hero to fall in love. And if my main male lead was not likable…”Houston, we have a problem.”
A developmental editor can help problem solve your unlikable characters and draw forth moments and scenes that create the feeling of likability between your readers and your characters.
Make Your Story The Best It Can Be
A developmental edit is often the difference between a “meh” story and a freaking fabulous story. While every author’s journey is different from resources to background, it’s incredibly smart to build a team to really help your book be the best that it can be!
You’ve already invested so much time and energy into your story; why not take it another step further to improve it even more with a developmental edit?
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