Developmental and structural story editing is where the editor will attempt to shape the narrative into a cohesive piece of writing. This includes; plot, structure, pacing, character constructions, particularly the protagonist, alongside narrative point of view, past and present tense and assessing the story’s commercial viability.
The best fiction books take the reader on a narrative odyssey where they share the experiences of the characters in the book. By the end of this journey, the book should resonate with the reader, so they tell the people they know just how good the story is, and in doing so, generate more sales for the author.
A good editor will work assiduously on your manuscript, so to provide the reader with a clear understanding of a character’s motivations, their emotions and the high and lows that they go through.
Their journey, no doubt, will be full of obstacles to keep the reader rooting for them. Yet, this will often only happen if behind the writer there is an editor who has structured and paced the story to engage the reader as the narrative unravels.
But who is telling the story? An unreliable narrator perhaps, or a multitude of characters. The narrative point of view intensifies the reader’s engagement, when handled with editorial expertise and clarity.
The characters have powerful voices, and can inhabit all kinds of worlds in the novel. Developmental editing is where the story is repeatedly and intensively revised so that readers want to keep turning the pages and remember what they have read.
The Comprehensive Editing service does all of the above, and alongside this, I will also endeavour to correct grammar and punctuation.
The price is determined by the word count, and the editorial format used is Microsoft Word Tracking.
The standard book editing price is £12.50 per 1000 words.
An in-depth line-by-line edit of the whole manuscript which will aim to highlight:
• Wording and phrasing in relation to narrative voice, POV, age and gender of the main protagonist and other characters
• Dialogue authenticity: style, flow and tagging
• Chapter Sequencing: pace and flow
• Word repetition
• Clichés and metaphor construction
• Character Consistency
• Told versus shown
• Structure
• Spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax
Shelley is a tremendously gifted editor. We first met at the Eve White Literary Agency and together worked on my YA novel Lovely me, Lovely You. It was runner-up in the 2011 Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction competition.
My second book, Adult psychological thriller Losing Juliet, was published in November 2016 by HarperCollins. I know for certain that I would never have got this deal if Shelley had not been involved in the editing. Her input was invaluable.
Working with her is a joy as she is able to read the author as well as the manuscript. She has a light but thorough touch which helps bring about significant improvement with each draft. (Yes there will be more than one!)
Through her influential PR skills and many connections, Shelley has also supported me in promoting Losing Juliet via social media. For example, she helped set up an interview with Liz Green on BBC Radio Leeds.
Her goal is to make you into the best writer you can be. She's lovely, but don't expect her to go easy on you!
June Taylor, Published Novelist, Losing Juliet
If you want to discuss a project, just fill in the form and I will contact you as soon as I can. Or alternatively, drop me a line at shelley@thebookeditorialexpert.com
