There. You've done it. You've written a masterpiece, a work of fiction that will change the world of literature as you know it. You hurry to submit it to all the best literary agents, who shop it to the biggest names in publishing, who gobble it up like Halloween candy. It gets turned into a movie series that brings in millions of viewers and enables you to live an exceedingly comfortable lifestyle until you die, a cherished member of literary societies that count Hemingway, King, and Fitzgerald as fellow comrades.
Then, there are the rest of us.
The downtrodden, the weary scribblers who eke out every word only after expending monumental effort. When we finish our manuscripts, we contemplate hitting delete and forgetting that it ever existed.
Is it any good?
Is it worth trying to send to an agent or should we self-publish under a nom de plume so that no one will ever know it was us who wrote it?
Should we throw it on a pyre and join it in the purging flames? (don't do this, by the way)
The best way to actualize yourself as an author and to better understand the quality of your work is to hire a developmental editor—and, yes, that link takes you right to my website ;).
A developmental edit looks at the "big picture" elements of your novel. Things like:
Theme
Character Arcs
Plot Holes (and how to patch them up)
Symbolism (and how to use it)
Voice and Style
Sometimes, authors get so bogged down by the monumental task of laying out their ideas that they can't see the forest for the trees. The fresh perspective of a professional could be just the ticket, and could mean the difference between a great story...and a not-so-great one.
What does a developmental edit offer? All editors are different, but I can tell you what you would get if you chose me as your editor.
First, I read through the entire manuscript, to get an idea of your plot, characters, storyline, narrative style, and voice. While I'm doing so, you'll receive a developmental edit questionnaire to fill out.
What's your theme? Who is your target audience? What are your strengths and weaknesses as a writer?
These are some of the questions you'll be asked to answer. If you don't have one, then that topic will be earmarked for further discussion.
Then, you'll receive a 1-2 page evaluation of your novel; in it, I'll highlight the areas that I think need improvement, whether that be dialogue, the development of your main character(s), plot holes, or the overarching theme of your novel.
And then comes the nitty-gritty, where we get our hands dirty and wrestle the manuscript into submission—the first of two edits begins.
Grammar and syntax, dialogue and point of view, style and voice, all are scrutinized, chapter by chapter. Any changes decided upon after the initial read-through and questionnaire are addressed: plot holes plugged, weak narration strengthened, flat character arcs rounded. This is the lengthiest part of the process. Expect spending 1-3 months in this phase. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Finally, a second pass of edits is completed and sent to you for either further revision or simple perusal. Then, the manuscript will be cleaned of editing marks and, there you have it, a final draft you can be proud of.
If you have a manuscript that you think might benefit from a developmental edit, reach out to me with any questions.
Write well!
コメント