'Laurel’s quick handle on the conceit and delivery of my work made for a set of notes that were deft, focused and encouraging, meaning that subsequent revisions were achievable and positive. I would recommend Laurel to anyone in the early stages of moulding their story; an impartial, experienced perspective may well save on precious time spent travelling in the wrong direction!' – Charlie, on the service of a structural and line-edit
The developmental edit is the 'big picture' edit, where we look at every element of the novel as a whole. Here we will consider the structure and order of events, if there are any plot holes, and if the tension, drive, balance and narrative clarity of your manuscript can be improved. We will address if your book is hitting your target audience (or if you aren't sure who that is yet, we can find out who that might be!) We will also look at things like character development, theme, and dialogue.
If you go through the traditional publishing route, an in-house editor at your publisher will do a developmental (or sometimes called structural) edit for you there. I know from experience however that the more ready your book is for publication the more likely it will be accepted by a publisher in the first place. There is so much work involved in getting a book ready for publication that the less revisions an editor feels are needed the more likely they are to take you on. If you are getting your work ready for self-publication, it is really helpful to get this level of edit from a professional pair of eyes to make sure your book is ready to wow your readers.
What to expect from this service:
An in-depth report outlining the strengths, weaknesses and recurring issues within your manuscript. This is a detailed guide for you to use in order to make your revisions. I would read through the manuscript taking careful notes on structure, narrative drive, character development, clarity of tone and theme etc. I would look at world building, if tone and atmosphere is working within the given context, if the reader’s attention is quickly gripped and held, if there are places where the plot or character motivations are unclear, and if the drive and action is hitting the right note. This is a document separate to the manuscript that you would then take and use as a road map to make edits and re-writes. This will be based on a fee of £40 an hour. If this feels like the service for you please go to my contact page and get in touch with a word count for a quote.
If you go through the traditional publishing route, an in-house editor at your publisher will do a developmental (or sometimes called structural) edit for you there. I know from experience however that the more ready your book is for publication the more likely it will be accepted by a publisher in the first place. There is so much work involved in getting a book ready for publication that the less revisions an editor feels are needed the more likely they are to take you on. If you are getting your work ready for self-publication, it is really helpful to get this level of edit from a professional pair of eyes to make sure your book is ready to wow your readers.
What to expect from this service:
An in-depth report outlining the strengths, weaknesses and recurring issues within your manuscript. This is a detailed guide for you to use in order to make your revisions. I would read through the manuscript taking careful notes on structure, narrative drive, character development, clarity of tone and theme etc. I would look at world building, if tone and atmosphere is working within the given context, if the reader’s attention is quickly gripped and held, if there are places where the plot or character motivations are unclear, and if the drive and action is hitting the right note. This is a document separate to the manuscript that you would then take and use as a road map to make edits and re-writes. This will be based on a fee of £40 an hour. If this feels like the service for you please go to my contact page and get in touch with a word count for a quote.