Developmental Editing & Manuscript Assessment
Developmental editing — helping develop characters, plot, setting, and more — can be a time commitment and a financial commitment, so it's important that you know you and your editor are on the same page. I've worked on both fiction and nonfiction developmentally, and I know how important it is to find someone who is a good fit with the way you work and your final vision. You want someone who will push you, who will help you kill your darlings, but who will also always respect that it's your baby (your darlings being killed) and your vision in the end. An editor shouldn't make a visible mark. They should be your creative valet, carrying some of the load by going through the work and showing you each and every point where the story, characters, plot, or objective, organization, content, and extras could be developed more, so it's easier for you to do the work to take it to the next level.
A good first step in the developmental realm can be a reader's report, also known as a manuscript assessment (or critique). This all still falls under the general umbrella of "developmental editing." Reports range from around ten pages to over twenty, depending on the manuscript and the work still to be done. They outline larger issues, like organization, plot, characters, and the like, as well as smaller issues, like word choice and patterns of error. A report can be a good first step for working together — both so you can see my vision of your work and if it's fully in line with yours, and because it outlines the work we would be doing together if we continued more detailed developmental work on your project. If you're still unsure what type of editing you would like, feel free to email me or check out this guide from Editorial Freelancers Association.
Fees
Developmental editing can be done on an hourly basis or on a project basis. After getting some information about your project, I can suggest which I would recommend and give you an estimate. Hourly rates begin at $60 and by-project fees begin at $1500 for short projects (middle grade or gift nonfiction).
Reports/critiques start at $1,000 and go up depending on the word count and genre; this means most adult novels begin at $1,200. Please contact me for specifics regarding rate and my current schedule.
Please get in touch for more details and to discuss the specifics you would like for your project: gretchen (at) gretchenstelter (dot) com.
A good first step in the developmental realm can be a reader's report, also known as a manuscript assessment (or critique). This all still falls under the general umbrella of "developmental editing." Reports range from around ten pages to over twenty, depending on the manuscript and the work still to be done. They outline larger issues, like organization, plot, characters, and the like, as well as smaller issues, like word choice and patterns of error. A report can be a good first step for working together — both so you can see my vision of your work and if it's fully in line with yours, and because it outlines the work we would be doing together if we continued more detailed developmental work on your project. If you're still unsure what type of editing you would like, feel free to email me or check out this guide from Editorial Freelancers Association.
Fees
Developmental editing can be done on an hourly basis or on a project basis. After getting some information about your project, I can suggest which I would recommend and give you an estimate. Hourly rates begin at $60 and by-project fees begin at $1500 for short projects (middle grade or gift nonfiction).
Reports/critiques start at $1,000 and go up depending on the word count and genre; this means most adult novels begin at $1,200. Please contact me for specifics regarding rate and my current schedule.
Please get in touch for more details and to discuss the specifics you would like for your project: gretchen (at) gretchenstelter (dot) com.
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