Developmental Editing Blog 1

Hello! I’m ChandaElaine, professional Developmental Editor and Director of Developmental Editing for Pearson Jagoe Publishing. Each week a member of our editing team will be posting tips, tricks, and information about writing, what we enjoy as readers, and what we look for in our book proposals.

Many professional writers are confused as to what a Developmental Editor does. A Developmental Editor is your writing coach, cheerleader, and accountability partner, as well as the person who is going to help you with structuring each chapter of your book for the best possible result.

There are things every writer can do to help themselves along the way. One of the questions I ask myself as a Developmental Editor when reviewing proposals and manuscripts is, “Does the author know the plot AND the story?”

“Whoa. Those are the same thing, aren’t they?”

Actually, no. The plot is the action. Think of it as the chronological laundry list of things the characters have to do or go through to get to the climax and eventual end of the book. The story is the emotional journey and evolution (character arc) which takes place along the events of the plot.

Here are a few other questions the proposal or manuscript should address:

§  Does the author know the genre of the book? Your book may include elements of a variety of genres (Neil Gaimen is a star at this); however, the book can only be placed and marketed in most outlets in ONE given location or genre. You don’t have to stick to a genre for every book you write, but you do need to know in which genre the book you are currently proposing best fits. (If you don’t, your Developmental Editor would help you make this determination.)

§  Is the theme/lesson/opinion expressed in the book clear to the reader?

§  Is the language clear and unambiguous? This is particularly important in non-fiction. Don’t leave readers guessing at what you are trying to say.

§  Is the manuscript/proposal riddled with situational fallacies?

o   For example, “Her eyes looked.”

o   Nope. Uh-uh. No. Only if she pulled them out of her head first. Otherwise, “She looked.” 

§  Is the reader forced to wade through unnecessary information and storylines? (This differs from case related dead ends a character in a police procedural or detective novel may have to wade through to clear the case–something we will be discussing in more detail in a future blog.)

 

If you’re looking for novels which embody all of the above, here are a few from the fiction section to check out:

1.       Plum Spooky, Janet Evanovich

2.       The Shawshank Redemption, Stephen King

3.       Hostage, Robert Crais

4.       Strange Practice, Vivian Shaw

5.       The Yard, Alex Grecian

6.       L.A. Confidential, James Elroy (Clear and concise is about the language and writing, not about the length of the book.)

For those who prefer non-fiction:

 

1.       Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann

2.       The Napoleon of Crime, Ben MacIntyre

3.       Devil in the White City, Erik Larson

4.       Super Freakonomics, Levitt & Dubner

5.       Witch of Lime Street, David Jaber

6.       Spook, Mary Roach