As developmental editors, we accept that our work becomes a delicate dance, as we move through the melodies of an author’s words. We are both the advocates of a story that has allowed you to pour parts of yourself onto the page, and of your readers who wish to find those very parts within themselves along the way—a story perfectly balanced with a developmental editor at its axis.
While completing a significant body of work is worth celebrating, at WritersBlok, we’re also here to help you decide on the best next step for your masterpiece. And sometimes, it’s a developmental edit. It’s important to note that developmental editing should not be confused with proofreading. When we developmentally approach a writer’s work, we look for structural changes in layout and voice that can help elevate a story as we work towards giving it new life. It’s with a keen eye that we ensure the pieces seamlessly fit together, and it’s with this level of intention and care that we also approach our editing process. While it’s integral to your story that we adhere to your voice, it’s just as important that we position ourselves as the guide ensuring that, with every sentence, the reader is right there alongside you as the story unfolds. So, with this in mind, here are three key factors that a developmental editor considers at every step of the editing journey:
Know Your Writer
As editors, especially developmental editors, we can often walk a fine line between objective feedback and personal preference. While it may be an easy, or sometimes subconscious approach to inject ourselves into the work in front of us, our role is to amplify and maintain the voice of the writer in its most authentic form. The easiest way to achieve this is simple: get to know your writer.
Now, this doesn’t have to be lengthy, but it does need to be deliberate. We see this step as our research; an opportunity to focus on language choice, cadence, and audience takeaways, all crucial elements in keeping the writer and their goals at the center of their work. At WritersBlok, this is maintained through the diligent work of our research team who seek to gain a deeper understanding of each writer, allowing us to reflect the best and most authentic version of every project we undertake.
The better we understand the writer, the easier it becomes to pose reflective questions throughout our editing process, or to simply trust our instincts in making structural changes as we navigate a client’s body of work. Our job is to play an intricate balancing act between the intention of the writing, and the impact it may have on its intended reader. Remember: for writers that are (sometimes too) close to their work, unintentional gaps in their storytelling can emerge. Not only is it our job to highlight them, but to help fill them.
Trust Your Instincts
This is probably the most important thing we can do as developmental editors. The purpose of familiarizing ourselves with a writer is to ensure we fully understand the intended outcome. What does the writer hope to accomplish? Have my edits supported that goal? It’s not uncommon for a writer to disagree with some changes or suggestions posed, but it is important for us to be able to justify our choices beyond, “it just sounds better.” Ultimately, this is their work, a part of themselves put out for public–or maybe just personal–consumption, and getting their story right is a non-negotiable.
With a comprehensive understanding of a manuscript’s end goal, and without fear of possibly upsetting the writer by proposing what can be viewed as “unconventional” or “unaligned,” it’s important that we uphold the integrity of the client and their work by leaving explanations for given changes when possible. In doing so, we not only position ourselves as authorities in what we do, but it also shows the writer that we understand their work and care about its final outcome. Pushback is inevitable, but it can also be transformed into a learning moment for the writer and developmental editor—a dynamic duo. For writers that we hope to work with repeatedly, this helps to solidify the connection needed for them to trust us with their words. And that’s key. A writer should always be able to trust that their work is safe, and it’s in the way we engage with it and showcase our expertise that allows that bond to be fortified.
Embrace The World Around You
At WritersBlok, the invaluable work we bring to each project is, in part, due to the diversity of our team, both in thought and worldly experiences. Beyond our accolades, with the world as our classroom, we are armed with the broadened perspective needed to create room for more inclusive, thought-provoking, and industry-changing narratives.
As editors, it is essential to the quality of our work that we’re able to embrace the plethora of experiences and outlooks that exist around us. The better we understand ourselves and those around us, the easier it is to recognize and address our own biases. This self-awareness helps us ensure our suggestions align with the author’s intended audience and goals, and immediately course correct when we they may be too deeply steeped in our own.
Whether it’s in the media we consume or the conversations we choose to partake in, we lean into spaces that aim to stretch our opinions, and show up objectively in moments where those around us seek to tell their stories in their own way. Our work as developmental editors is to represent current topics in the stories we help to tell, while pushing the needle of what’s possible for future stories in the questions we pose.
If there’s a story worth telling, writers need to know that the integrity of their story–the one they create today, and the one that has the power to impact tomorrow–is in the right hands. By getting to know the writer, in trusting our instincts, and by embracing a broader world view, we identify that writers will always gravitate toward the developmental editor committed to their voice, who understands the importance of their story, and who’s dedicated to leaving their audience empowered and engaged.
If you think your manuscript is ready for a developmental editor, connect with the WritersBlok team and we’ll make sure your words are in the right hands.