Developmental editing

Some drafts can’t be fixed one sentence at a time, because the problem is the shape of the whole document.

Developmental editing works on what the document is doing rather than how it reads: what it argues, the order it makes the case in, and what’s missing or shouldn’t be there at all. If polishing the prose wouldn’t fix the problem, this is the service you need.

When you need it

The draft exists but isn’t working. The material is all there, but the reader still can’t follow it, usually because the order is wrong, the finding is buried, or the argument skips a step that the writer can see and the reader can’t.

The document has grown in layers. After several authors and several rounds of revision, it repeats itself in places and contradicts itself in others, and it needs a structure more than it needs a proofread.

It doesn’t exist yet. We also build outlines for work that hasn’t been written, setting out what goes in and in what order, because it’s far cheaper to fix a document at the outline stage than after it’s been written.

What we do

Restructuring. We propose a new order and explain why, section by section, so that you see the reasoning as well as the result.

Rewriting sections. Where a part needs redoing rather than reorganizing, we redo it.

Marking the gaps. Where the argument needs evidence you haven’t supplied, or a claim needs a source, we flag it and leave the gap for you to fill, because it needs knowledge that only you have.

Cutting. Most drafts that aren’t working are also too long, so we show you what could go and you decide what stays.

What it isn’t

Developmental editing doesn’t replace line editing: once the structure works, the sentences still need attention, and that’s a separate pass at the line editing rate.

If a draft only needs line editing, we’ll tell you, because there’s no point paying developmental rates for a document that’s already sound.

What it costs

$80 an hour, or $90 for medical, legal, and technical content.

The scope varies more here than for any other service, so the conversation before the quote matters. Send us the draft and tell us what’s bothering you about it.

Billing is hourly at our standard rates. If you’re working to a fixed budget, tell us and we’ll adjust the scope to fit.