As a developmental editor, I focus on the overall arc of your manuscript: Does the narrative flow? Does the argument compel? Is the evidence effectively organized? Do chapters form coherent entities?
My goal is to help you reach YOUR writing goals, whether that means finishing that book, publishing your first article, or making something out of that mess of notes that’s been hiding in the crevices of your computer for a decade.
I work on short-form pieces like grant applications and journal articles as well as on book manuscripts. We can set up a one-off editorial report or a longer-term consultation/coaching relationship. Depends on what would serve you best.
Also, yes, there are different budgets. You can find out more on what you’re likely to end up paying on the Pricing page.
Below, you can find out a little more about different varieties of editing and where developmental editing falls in that landscape. But the best way to figure out what would work for you is to have a quick meeting. Get in touch and we’ll set that up.
Vilja helped me immensely with an extensive grant proposal. When I first reached out, I only had a vague idea about my research topic. With her support, I went from a rough outline to a full proposal in a matter of weeks. Each time I sent a new draft, she sent back detailed feedback, edits, and thought-provoking questions to guide me through the process. When I finally turn this proposal into a book, I would gladly work with Vilja again.
– Daniel DeRock, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Radboud University
Developmental editing is about the big picture
The purpose of developmental editing — sometimes known as structural editing — is to ensure that the overall architecture of the work conveys your argument and evidence effectively and with grace.
Working with a developmental editor is not really about improving your sentence-to-sentence writing as such. Even the best wordsmiths can benefit from working with a developmental editor, because the process of a developmental edit aims to give you new insight into the structure and flow of the work as a whole.
Developmental editing, then, is very different from copy editing, which mainly aims to fix grammatical errors, typos, and infelicitous phrasings in a piece of writing. It is also quite different from line editing, which goes beyond copy editing to rewrite sentences and occasionally reorder paragraphs to improve the flow of the prose. If you like, I am certainly happy to do line editing as well, especially in a later stage of the work, even though my main focus is on developmental editing. Copy editing is usually done by the press as the last stage before galley proofs.
What is it good for? Don’t my colleagues give enough feedback?
Developmental editing is quite different from the kind of feedback your colleagues generally provide. Developmental editing focuses on using form (the structure of the book, the presentation of the evidence) to make the most of the research you have done, rather than on making suggestions about the content and argument.
I work with scholars from a variety of disciplines, so I am generally happy to leave most content suggestions to subject-area experts. My emphasis is on providing you with a fresh perspective and helping you write the book that you want to write.
Besides improving your manuscript, a developmental edit can be a great way to generate some enthusiasm when you’ve reached that mid-manuscript slump, or to boost your confidence as you start to rework a dissertation into a book. Having someone do a deep dive into your work and think hard about its structure and flow really helps you see its strengths in a new light.
image: “Scholar Interrupted at His Writing” (variation of a painting by Gerard Dou). Panel (wood by form), oil paint (paint), n.d. Science History Institute. Philadelphia. https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/7s75dc890.