What Is Developmental Editing?
There are many different types of editing when it comes to books, and it’s important to know the difference between them
Why Edit?
Why Do Books Need Editing?
Every book, no matter how great, needs editing. The books you grab off the shelf in bookstores have been through many rounds of edits before they ever see the light of day, and your book deserves the same loving attention.
Book editing is vital for improving the reader experience. The most important thing your novel needs to do is grab the reader’s attention and hold it, and we can facilitate that process by eliminating things that break a reader’s sense of immersion.
This is done on several levels:
- We edit the structure of the story to sure the story makes sense and is compelling and satisfying for the reader
- We edit the prose to make sure it’s working efficiently and effectively and doing enough heavy lifting
- We polish the prose so that minor details such as spelling and grammar don’t interfere with the reader experience
The main two phases of book editing are developmental editing and polishing. The development phase occurs when you are still making changes to the story’s structure and content (the writing and images.) The polishing phases begin once you are certain no more changes will be made to the book.
Structural Editing
Structural Editing - The Foundation Of Your Story
Structural editing looks at the big picture of the novel. It focuses on areas such as; plot and character, dialogue, internal story consistency and character motivation, weak areas, plot holes and pacing. It asks the question ‘how can we make this a more compelling story?”
Once you have incorporated your beta feedback as is appropriate for your story, it is time to call in the professionals. You have done everything you can and now it time to get experienced eyes cast over your work. How you go about this is up to you. You don’t necessarily need to get a developmental edit done on your story. If you have received positive feedback from the majority of your beta readers and you yourself are happy with the story you can skip this stage. It really depends on your experience as a writer and your budget.
It is important point to remember that there is no board of accreditation to become an editor. Much like being an agent anyone can build a webpage and start charging for their services. The best way to find a good editor is by word of mouth and reviews. Make sure you do your due diligence. And remember, cost is no guarantee of quality. I know of writers who have paid between one and two thousand dollars for editing services and had their manuscripts come back riddled with typos and inconsistencies. When it comes to hiring professional editors it’s definitely a case of buyer beware.
Also keep in mind that if you sell your novel to a traditional publishing house, they will instigate another round of developmental editing as well as line and copy editing, so be prepared to edit your novel all over again.
The Big Picture
How To Do A Structural Edit
Listed below are some of the areas to consider when structurally editing your novel:
Genres and Word Count
It’s vital that you’re familiar with the accepted word count for your genre. This is especially true if you want to be traditionally published, but it also applies to independent publishers. People new to the world of writing may think that word count rule should no longer apply in this digital age; after all, it costs no more to create a thousand-page eBook than it does a ten-page one. The reason word count remains relevant is because it’s an important factor in mastering your ability to tell a story in a concise and effective manner. (These days our lives are busier ever and our attention spans are ever shortening). If you cannot tell your story in fewer than 120,000 words you are going to struggle to find and hold an audience – especially if you are a new author. (Established authors with a proven track record, such as Brandon Sanderson, can get away with longer novels because readers and publishers trust his ability as an author).
Word count guidelines apply to all genres, and it varies between them. Most fiction novels should be complete within the 70,000 to 90,000 words range, with the count being shorter for novella’s, middle- grade and some YA (Young Adult) novels. Fantasy and epic fantasy novels can push the boundaries at 90,000 to 120,000 words due to the amount of world-building required to tell these stories. Bear in mind that debut authors should always lean towards the lower end of the word count spectrum, especially if their goal is to be traditionally published. Shorter novels are quicker to edit and cheaper to print, so an agent and publishing house is more likely to take a chance on a 70,000-word debut novel than a 120,000 one.
If your story is longer than 120,000 words and there’s absolutely no way you can shorten it you need to consider two things; either you have not mastered the art of effective storytelling, or you may have more than one book on your hands. I would advise you to look at your manuscript and either trim it down to an acceptable word count for your genre or split your manuscript into multiple novels.
How To Do A Structural Edit
Choosing A Point Of View
Point of view is the lens you choose to show us the story through. Whose perspective are we hearing from the story from? Is it an all-knowing voice in the sky telling us about events that have already happened? Or are we dropped down into one of the characters, feeling their feelings and hearing what they’re thinking? Or is it something in between?
Choosing which type of point of view (P.O.V) to use to tell the story, and how many point-of-view characters to have is an important decision you need to make before you start writing. If you start writing then change your mind down the track it can take a significant amount of work to rewrite your story. Even so, you won’t always get it right the first time, despite your best efforts, so try to sweat it too much if you do end up having to do a rewrite.
Some genres lean toward using certain types of P.O.V’s, such as middle-grade and YA being written in first person. There are no hard and rules when choosing a P.O.V, but if you go against the grain you may be making it harder for yourself to find an audience or a book deal. It’s important to remember that the popularity of P.O.V’s change over time. For instance, omniscient used to be the most popular P.O.V in science fiction/fantasy but it has since shifted from omniscient to third person limited and is now moving toward favouring deep P.O.V.
Your P.O.V selection should be based on your genre, your target audience, and the scope of the story you want to tell. For an epic fantasy/science fiction story crossing a large amount of time and space (or worlds), you may need multiple P.O.V characters. Three is generally the maximum number of
P.O.V characters you want in a story. Any more than that and it can become confusing for the reader. Yes, we all know George R.R. Martin is out there doing his thing with P.O.V characters all over the place, but Game Of Thrones is an exception and not the rule. If you are just starting out, you will be better served by telling a simple story well than telling an overly-complicated story poorly.
How To Do A Structural Edit
Making Sure Scenes Are Doing Enough Heavy Lifting
At this stage we are still looking at, and making, big structural changes. There is no point obsessively hunting down filler words and passive voice yet because you don’t know which passages you are going to keep and which you are going to scrap. You don’t want to waste time going over sentences with a fine-tooth comb if they are going to be cut later. Now it is time to analyze each scene to see it is doing enough heavy lifting. Each scene you write should do at least three things; advance the plot, advance the character’s development and advance the world building. If you have written a scene where the characters are having dinner and making small talk about their day with nothing else happening, cut it. If you have written a scene where the character is waking up, brushing their teeth and thinking about work, cut. Be ruthless. And don’t be afraid of losing important writing. If you have followed my advice above, you will have multiple versions of your manuscript saved.
As you read each scene make a note in your notebook; Chapter 1, Scene 1:
- What is the purpose of this scene?
- How does this scene advance the plot?
- How does this scene advance the character’s development/arc?
- How does this scene advance the world building?
It’s a time-consuming process but it really helps you develop an eye for weak passages in your manuscript. When you do find ‘lazy’ scenes think of ways you can either combine them into another scene, strengthen them or delete them altogether.
How To Do A Structural Edit
Premise
Every story should have a compelling premise. A premise is that kernel of an idea that hooked you in the first place and made you willing to sit down and do the work of turning an idea into a story. Most story ideas (premises) start out as a “What if…” or “Imagine a world/time/place where… A good premise will communicate your story’s essence in a one-sentence or two-sentence statement.
Defining your premise will serve as a roadmap as you write your novel and will help you stay on track with the story’s main idea. Your story’s premise should include your main character, their goal, and the obstacle/thing that is preventing them from getting it.
If you’re having trouble articulating your story’s premise you can try using a logline formula to identify the story elements and combine them in a meaningful way.
First, write down:
- SETTING: When and where your story takes place
- PROTAGONIST: Who your main character (hero or heroine) is
- PROBLEM: The issue or event that causes your Protagonist to take action
- ANTAGONIST: Who or what tries to stop your Protagonist
- CONFLICT: The major obstacle, difficulty or dilemma your protagonist faces
- GOAL: What your Protagonist hopes to win, achieve, find or defeat
Then insert those archetypes into the logline formula below to make a sentence, or two, that captures the core of your story.
In a (SETTING) a (PROTAGONIST) has a (PROBLEM) (caused by an ANTAGONIST) and (faces CONFLICT) as they try to (achieve a GOAL).
Keep the premise written on a sticky note and keep it to hand as your draft your novel, it will do wonders for helping keep your story on track. It’s a gold standard to state your premises in your books first chapter.
How To Do A Structural Edit
Summary
This list is by no means exhaustive, of course, and there are many other aspects of story telling that a good structural or developmental editor looks out for when analyzing your manuscript.
If you feel overwhelmed by the process or don’t know where to even start then it can be time (and sanity!0 saving to hire a professional to do it for you. You will learn so much simply from going through their Tracked Changes and feedback, and you take all that hard won knowledge with you into your next book.
About Me
Who Is Jesse Greyson
Jesse Greyson is a fantasy author and substantive book editor. She loves the craft of writing and would like to share her skills and knowledge with writers who want to take their books to the next level.
Jesse resides on the Gold Coast and lives that ‘Houseplants & Huskies’ life. She has three snow dogs, plants where her dining table should be (and on every other available surface), and more ideas for novels than she can ever hope to write in her lifetime.
Jesse is active on social media, and has an addiction to memes, which she also flagrantly encourages in other people. Jesse can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube
