Developmental Editing Service

Get objective feedback and improve the overall quality of your writing.
It's like having your very own industry professional in your pocket.

This is for structural/content edits, which are like a critique on steroids.
A developmental edit is for writers who want to get objective feedback about the technical and structural aspects of their story.
Make your story the very best it can be. We all need another pair of eyes to go over our precious words, and Sandy Vaile offers feedback in an honest and nurturing way, with thorough explanations of what is and isn't working, examples and suggestions of possible solutions.

LIMITED PLACES

What is a Developmental Edit? 

Editing isn't about criticising your work, but giving constructive advice to help make your story the best it can be. I offer fresh eyes to see unrealised potential in your story, and participate in brainstorming to unearth any hidden gems.

My feedback will always be respectful and considerate because I understand what a huge step it is to trust me with your story, but be prepared for honestly too. I will never try to change your unique voice. 
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A developmental edit looks at the big picture of your story including:

• What you're trying to achieve, i.e. genre and themes.
• Story structure, i.e. plot, key elements, sequence of events and pacing. 
• Character development, i.e. who they are, what they want, why they want it and how they're changed by this journey. 
• Basic story choices, i.e. Point of View, tense, narrative style is relevant to the genre.  
• Fundamental techniques, i.e. the critical first pages, hooks to keep readers enthralled, dialogue, formatting, opportunities for active storytelling (showing), settings, description and word choices. 
• By negotiation I will provide feedback on a synopsis, pitch or submission letter. 

What it's not: 

• A line-by-line copy edit (although some of this is included.
• Proof-reading, which assumes the content is already exactly as you want it. 
• I don't work on poetry, children's books, erotica, memoirs or non-fiction. 

Benefits of a Developmental Edit

No matter how many times you edit your work, you can't see it clearly. Critique partners and beta readers are valuable sources of feedback, but they rarely pick-up everything because those people can only provide feedback about skills they have learnt themselves or based on personal preferences.

How can you benefit from an edit?

• Understand what areas need attention and what you're doing well. 
• You get to draw on skills I've learnt over more than a decade in the industry, including being publishing by one of the big four publishing houses and coaching hundreds of aspiring authors. 
• It's an opportunity to learn new skills that will improve your writing across all of your projects. 
• It can prepare your work for copy editing or submitting to an agent/publisher. 
• Most importantly, I will ensure you are conveying what you mean to and what is relevant to the story purpose, not what you think ​you've written. ​

Note: I don't usually work on a whole manuscript at once because it doesn't provide you with the best value. Many of the issues will be repeated throughout the manuscript, which wastes time and money. Therefore, I prefer to work on a manuscript in two or three sections, so you can take comments onboard and apply what they've learnt to the next section. 

By the end of the process, your writing as a whole will be improved, not just the manuscript, and that's a win win situation! 

What I will need from you 

Once we have chatted and agreed on a timeframe and what parts of your story I'll edit, you will need to provide: 

• A rough synopsis (summary of what happens to the main characters). 
• The agreed wordcount that is formatted correctly (don't worry, I'll let you know what this means). 
• Your edit will only be confirmed once payment is received. 

What you'll receive from me 

Within two weeks after payment is confirmed and you provide the requested information (whichever happens last), I will provide:

• Detailed mark-ups and comments within your Word document. 
• A summary of the strengths and areas for improvement in the story and generally with your writing style. 

Reasonable Pricing

(All prices in AUD)

Looking for another type of editing?

If you are past the developmental stage and have a polished manuscript that is ready for: 

• Copy editing 
• Line editing 
• Proof-reading 

Then complete my general contact form and I will be able to recommend a professional to assist you. ​