How to Know Your Novel is Ready for a Substantive or Developmental Editor

You’ve written a manuscript for a novel. You’re eager to plunge ahead and get an editor’s feedback…but are you ready for that step?

If this is your unrevised first draft, the answer will usually be no. Almost every author needs to revise and rewrite their work extensively before the shape of their novel is fully sound. This is even more true for beginners, but it may be daunting if you lack experience with revision and rewriting. It might even sound like an arbitrary, made-up rule. So let’s get specific about what makes a novel ready for a developmental or substantive edit.

Many posts online will focus on getting your grammar and spelling as perfect as you can make them before you pay for an editor’s help. That’s relevant if you’re hiring a copyeditor or proofreader, but that comes at a later stage in the process. As a substantive editor, I’m focusing on the big picture: story structure, character arcs, themes, pacing, emotional impact…The process is certainly easier if your writing is clean, and I do appreciate it. However, since I’m not correcting your spelling or syntax at this stage, it doesn’t top my list of concerns.  

Instead, I want to know that you can articulate who your book is for and what it’s trying to do. And, unless you can afford many rounds of editing, I want to know you’ve done your best to make the text achieve it.

Checklist: Before you hire a substantive or developmental editor

Absolute Basics

• You know what audience you’re writing for (Adult / New Adult / Young Adult / Middle Grade (this has many subdivisions, which you can read about here) / Older Children / Younger Children / Toddlers / Babies).
• You know what genre you’re writing in.
• You know whether your word count is suitable for that genre (you might decide to get editorial feedback before you either trim or expand your manuscript to hit a word-count target, which is fine; just research the conventions so you’re mentally equipped to discuss the scope of your revisions).

Of course, an editor can and will help you with these points. But this groundwork stands between you and the full value of a professional edit. If you don’t want to go it alone, I recommend getting a manuscript evaluation rather than investing in a formal edit at this stage. Many editors offer an evaluation or critique service in which they read your text (or an agreed-on portion of it) and write you a brief, high-level report on the most impactful areas you should address in your revisions. Another option is to book one-on-one time with an editor to discuss your work. You can do this at some conferences through blue-pencil sessions; some editors, like me, also offer counselling sessions.

Writing Craft

• You know what emotional arc you want your main character(s) to experience, and you’ve done your best to make it come through for the reader.
• Your main characters make choices (including bad choices) that drive the plot. The plot doesn’t just happen to them.
• Your characters fail before they succeed.
• All your characters have a reason for being in the story.
• All your scenes have reasons for being in the story.  
• There is tension in the novel and plenty of obstacles for your characters to overcome. Their goals are not realized too easily, and the reader knows what the stakes are if things go wrong.
• You’ve put your manuscript away for a few weeks and then re-read it.
• You have reached a point where you can’t make further progress on your own.

This is a level of revision that most people can tackle independently if they spend some time reading about writing craft. There are many books and blogs available that cover story arc, character arcs, scene structure, and more. Again, an editor will certainly help you with all of these, but if you start the process on your own, they will be able to take you deeper into it.

Bonus Points

Since you’re already improving your revision process, here are some extra ways to elevate it.

• Identify some themes your book is communicating and make sure they come up at the beginning, at the end, and at key moments throughout. Make sure the messaging remains consistent (e.g., if your book is conveying the idea that morality in times of war is complicated, don’t suddenly imply that it’s black and white).
• To show why this story was worth telling, make sure the ending reflects the beginning in some way (e.g., your protagonist starts out trying to save his home and ends by finding a new one).

Why you should do this work before hiring an editor

An editor’s goal is to help your writing communicate exactly what you intend it to. If you aren’t sure what your manuscript is trying to say, they can’t help you say it; they can only help you start the process of figuring out what your goals are. Faced with an unrevised draft, an editor will have to spend the first round of edits coaching you to think about all the points we’ve just discussed. On the other hand, if you first take your revisions as far as you can on your own, an editor will be able to:

• advise you about the market you’re writing for and what consumers and acquisitions editors expect to see within that market
• keep the voice, tone, and content of your novel appropriate and engaging for your audience
• make sure your book fits into the conventions of your genre (or, where relevant, creatively and deliberately undercuts them)
• maximize the impact of your character arcs by identifying the emotional beats that are driving them and suggesting adjustments
• point out where your plot and pacing are working and where they need refinement
• suggest ways your characters can more completely embody the roles you’ve set out for them
• suggest ways your scenes can be more effective at achieving your goals for them
• show you where the tension needs to be increased and recommend ways to achieve that
• identify where your themes are showing up and suggest more opportunities to tie them in
• refine the story structure you’ve created into its optimal shape
• show you where your messaging runs counter to what you intended

Editors do want to work with you!

I want to make it clear that if you want a professional editor to help you at whatever stage of writing you’re at, there’s nothing wrong with that. You don’t even need to have a complete manuscript to seek feedback. You can take advantage of lower-priced services like manuscript evaluations, or you can let the editor know that you’re aware your text still needs a lot of work but you’d like to do it with their support. Unless they focus exclusively on projects at a certain stage, they won’t turn you away. Most will simply want to make sure you’re paying for the right service to suit your needs.

Next steps

If you now feel equipped to start the process of seeking a substantive or developmental editor, great! I have another post that describes in detail what you can expect when you work with me. You can also read profiles of other professional editors to find the right one for you through organizations like Editors Canada.