If you go on the internet, you’ll find all sorts of editors who talk about developmental editing. This is described as being the process whereby the editor takes a long view of your book and critiques how it’s organized, the plot, the characters, your voice, and the other building blocks.
While developmental editing may work for novels (although I have an opinion about that, which I’ll discuss in another blog post), I can testify that a self-help book should never need a developmental edit. Ever.
Why not? Because the structure of a nonfiction self-help book is fairly standard. There’s a set progression that you need to follow. It is this:
1. State the problem. This may be: You are overweight. You have no job. Your spouse has died and you are grieving. Your back hurts. Your portfolio is losing value.
2. Review the problem and provide some context for the problem. How many other people suffer with it? Has it been around long, or is it new? Is it life-threatening? Is it costly?
3. Review other solutions for the problem, and how they are insufficient. Other diets don’t help you lose weight. Other plans can’t help you get a good job. Other spiritual paths may not soothe your grieving.
4. Present your solution. I can help you lose weight. I can help you get a job. I can help you find spiritual peace.
5. Present testimonials or success stories. Here’s Judy, who lost fifty pounds. Here’s Ray, who got a great job. Here’s Sylvia, who found peace.
6. Look into the future, and chart the path ahead for the reader.
While the sections may be mixed and matched – some self-help books feature testimonials sprinkled throughout, for example – the basic format is consistent. You are identifying and solving a problem for the reader.
The self-help book is written from an outline. It makes no sense to write even one word until the outline is satisfactory. Then, you just work through it, filling out each section. You may have to move around paragraphs or even entire chapters, but that’s easy – you don’t need a special developmental edit to do that.
When I edit a self-help book for a client, it’s a one-step process. My goal is to do whatever it takes to make the manuscript as good as it can possibly be and one hundred percent ready to publish – right down to the last period at the end of the last sentence.
– Thomas Hauck, author, ghostwriter, and book editor, helps authors of both fiction and non-fiction to write and publish their books. For your free consultation, contact Thomas today.