Developmental editing service
Great news!
My short but essential ebooks for indie authors - Tips on Building Author's Website and Developmental Editing from A to Z - will be published in 2025.
So, starting from 2023 I will be resuming the developmental editing services!
Developmental editing is the process of restructuring a story and fleshing out characters to create the best experience for the reader to enjoy the story. In the developmental editing service our insights are put toward: POV, world-building, characters development, and business aspects of the book.
As I go through the manuscript, I keep thinking: What is this story about? What makes it great? How to use the author's potential to make the story shine brighter?
* Before accepting a new author, I would like to have a trial chapter (no more 2500 words). This step is required to evaluate compatibility between the author and myself (the developmental editor). A fee of US$25 will be charged.
Genres and Subgenres I enjoy working with:
Genetic Engineering / Cyberpunk;
Action & Adventure Fiction;
Military & Historical Fiction;
Later in Life Romance;
Clean & Wholesome Romance;
Futuristic/Urban/Paranormal Fantasy;
Mystery/Suspense/Crime Fiction;
Romantic High/Epic Fantasy;
Flash Fiction / Short stories;
Hard sci-fi & Space Explorations
Genres and Subgenres I don't work with:
Post Apocalyptic / Dystopia;
Galactic Empire;
Erotica;
Christian Fantasy or Religious topics;
Memoirs (exception for Demon Slayers, Exorcists & AIs);
Non-fiction (for the time being)
Tropes, Topics and Characters I enjoy working with:
The Reluctant Hero;
The Hidden Badass character;
Psychics;
AI, Robots & Androids;
Dragons & Mystical Creatures
Tropes, Topics and Characters I don't work with:
The Chosen One;
Unrealistically Sweet Love interest;
Superheros;
Mutants and Aliens;
Religious topics
* If the genre/subgenre you write is not listed here, you are welcome to contact me for further discussion of your book.
TRIGGER WARNING: My background is in software development and business management. I'm logical and detail-oriented. My comments on your work are based on logical and psychological insights. The comments might make you feel like I don't like your story or characters. Please rest assured that's not the case. If I accept your story, it means I like it. My main concern is to build long term relationships, so I will not accept stories that I don't like.
Developmental editing rates and time
The cost of developmental editing service is calculated after receiving submission files for quote:
- the blurb (around 150 words) to estimate what the author beliefs is the most important in their book;
- the synopsis (no more than 2 pages) to evaluate storyline and topic;
- the first chapter of the manuscript to evaluate author's writing style and main characters.
One chapter (~3000-5000 words) of developmental editing would take 2-3 days.
On average, a 90k high fantasy manuscript would cost around $900 and would take 60-90 days.
Basic service includes report (in-line developmental editing comments) of the main issues, such as:
poorly developed characters;
logical gaps in world-building;
missing scenes;
pacing and POV evaluation;
body language usage and emotional backing of character's actions in each chapter.
The basic service INCLUDES NO MORE THAN 2 PASSES. The first developmental editing pass** includes leaving comments about character, missing scenes and storyline. The second pass goes after author has worked on edits and involves evaluation of the changes made by the author. If necessary, I will offer additional advice to point the author in the right direction to set the mood or highlight emotions.
*There might be a time gap between two passes.
** After first round of developmental editing, the editor sees the state of whole project. If there's a major chronology re-structure, the first round of edits might count as Story Re-structuring Service. It might influence whole projects price rise.
MINI $5/1000 words
Sometimes there are more advanced authors who know something is wrong with their story but are not sure exactly what the problem is.
For these authors, I provide a beta-reading service with a summarized overview of plot, POV, world-building, pace and character analysis.
PRO - $20/hour
There are always chapters that require more attention. Authors might want to contact me for extended service (e.g. to hash out a complex scene). The cost of this extended service is estimated by hourly rate.
GET IN TOUCH FOR DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING QUOTE
Send the following to me (pdaivabl@gmail.com) with "Developmental Edit: Author Name; Title" in the subject line.
- Microsoft Office Document (or a link to it in GoogleDocs)
- Blurb
- Synopsis
- Genre/Subgenre
- Deadlines, if any
- Trigger warnings
PAYMENTS ONLY THROUGH PAYPAL
Trial developmental editing cost ($25 per 2500 words) is paid before the developmental editing is done. If the author and developmental editor are compatible, and author goes on to order MINI (beta-reading) or basic developmental editing service, this amount will be deducted from the total payment.
MINI (beta-reading) service is paid 50% before the beginning of beta-reading and 50% after the author receives the report of the first half of manuscript. Only after the remaining amount is received we proceed to fill the report of the rest of your manuscript.
Basic Developmental Editing service is paid 50% before the beginning of developmental editing (1st pass) and 50% before the beginning of developmental editing (2nd pass).
Story Re-structuring service might be payed instead of the 1 pass of developmental editing.
PRO plan is billed hourly: 1 hour at the beginning of works (as it is the required minimum for the order), the remaining amount after the issue is resolved or the issue takes more than 5 hours of developmental editing work. In this case I would contact the author to inform about the time spend on the issue and discuss the further workflow.
*the first half of payment are non-refundable even if you decide to stop the edit before the 2nd payment for any reason.