Book editors talk a lot about developmental editing. This is the process whereby the editor reads your manuscript from a “high vantage point,” considering only the basic building blocks of plot, character, voice, pacing, and so forth. It’s like a pilot flying high over the landscape, seeing only the big picture. Then the editor goes to work by making comments, marking up your file, or by actually cutting and pasting.
For example, the editor might say, “The character of Julie is too thin. You need to give her more of a role.” Or, “This event seems contrived. How can you make it more believable?” Or, “John and Susan should not fall into bed yet. It’s too early.” The editor may then make some actual changes in the text.
Strictly Formulated Novels
For novel forms that must follow a rigid format, such an approach may make sense. For example, the romance novel form and its many subgenres (historical, category, contemporary, regency, paranormal, LGBT, time travel, gothic… the list is endless) follow very strict formulas. If you want a romance publisher to pick up your novel, you need to follow the format. This may require a developmental edit.
Novels Are Highly Subjective
Unless you’re working in a prescribed format for an established publisher, your novel is a work of art. It is unique and reflects your personal vision. This is where the idea of a developmental edit gets tricky. If an editor is telling you that you need a developmental edit, remember these points:
1. Art is highly subjective. What thrills one person may repel another. What enchants one reader may bore another. Many classic novels (“The Catcher in the Rye” is one that comes to mind) are avidly read by many — and hated by just as many! The first reader you need to satisfy is yourself.
2. A developmental editor is one person. One reader. He or she has their own tastes and preconceptions. They have their own set of expectations that may have nothing to do with yours.
3. When an editor says, “Make this character stronger,” or, “This event seems wrong,” they are saying one of two things: a.) “I was bored,” or b.) “I was confused.” The solution they offer may not be relevant, or what you want. The problem is that they’re not “getting it.” This may be your fault, and you’d better be willing to face that fact. Or, they may be coloring their comments with their own expectations.
What I offer my clients who are novelists is something different than an expensive developmental edit. I offer a critique. It’s basically a book review. I read the novel and then write a two-page review in which I provide my opinion on the book’s strong points and weak points. I may offer a solution, but generally not. I think that it’s better if the author comes up with the solution themselves, if they choose to do so. I generally charge $285 for a critique, and for many of my clients it’s an affordable way to get detailed feedback that they can consider or ignore, just as they would a book review.
Here’s a sample of the first few lines of a critique I did for a client’s dystopian novel (I’ve changed the name of the book for privacy):
Dear Author,
Thank you for allowing me to review your novel. These are my comments. They are my opinions, and are completely subjective. Another editor might suggest something very different. It is always your choice; it is your book.
1. In general, I think that a literary agent or publisher would encourage you to position Rak’s Journey as a dystopian novel. It has all the earmarks of a post-apocalyptic story set at some indefinite time in the future. Rak’s Journey reminded me very much of The Road by Cormac McCarthy. If you have not read it, I recommend it highly for you. Like The Road, your book focuses on a person who, for unclear reasons, is navigating his way across a forbidding and desolate landscape.
2. In support of my position, I must tell you that the flashback scenes in London are not as intense as the scenes set in the desert. They seem more like ordinary family episodes that I?ve read from other writers. We understand that Rak has a disability, and that he is profoundly alienated; but nothing that he experiences at home explains why he would deliberately travel alone to the Sahara and start on this perilous journey to nowhere.
And so on…. You get the idea. I offer my opinion, and leave it to the author to decide the course of action.
– Thomas Hauck is a published author, ghostwriter, and novel editor serving both emerging and veteran novelists. For your free consultation, contact Thomas today.