Authors pour their heart and soul into a manuscript in efforts to win over the heart of their target audience. Among several efforts to improve your book, hiring a developmental editor cannot be overlooked. They are one of the most invaluable resources you need by your side to boost the potential of your book.
Here are some of the ways a developmental editor can elevate your writing.
- Gain Objective Perspective
One of the biggest reasons why authors are interested in hiring developmental editors is to gain their objective perspective. Even if you have previously asked your friends and family members to read and review your work, there is good reason to believe they may have sugar coated their opinion to keep you motivated or not to affect your personal bond with them.
While people close to you may hesitate sharing their honest opinion, a development editor has no reason to hold back. Their expertise and fresh set of eyes allow them to identify areas where your manuscript can be improved further.
Since they have no reason to hold back or have any biases, you can feel comfortable relying on their honest opinion on your manuscript.
- Improve Your Plot
A plot is the backbone of any story. It is a key factor that determines whether your readers will be interested in your work or not. You may need to revise and improve your plot multiple times before finalizing it.
In order to improve your plot, you must first find the answer to what is developmental editing? After that, you must also think about how a developmental editor can help to improve your manuscript.
A developmental editor understands all about the plot and structure of a book. You can count on them to review every part of the plot such as its pacing, progression, climax, and so on. This way, they can effectively identify plot holes, inconsistencies and character arcs to improve the overall structure of your book.
- Develop Strong Characters
Characters are another important part of the story that cannot be overlooked. Your readers cannot fall in love with your work if they do not feel connected to the characters. Hence, the importance of developing strong and well-rounded characters cannot be undermined.
Characters breathe life into your story and create an emotional connection with your readers. Professionals such as developmental editors can provide valuable and experience-based insights on character development and reader engagement.
With the help of professionals such as a developmental editor, you can create relatable characters with unique personalities, motivations, and conflicts. Every detail ensures that each character feels authentic and creates an unmatched connection with the readers.
- Balance the Pacing and Flow
You can neither maintain slow nor fast pacing throughout your manuscript. Your work must have varied pacing to create a smooth and coherent flow for the readers to enjoy and engage with. There is no one better to rely on for this aspect than a developmental editor.
Developmental editors have a keen eye for details and have a very meticulous nature. You can count on them to point out repetitive or confusing parts of your manuscript for improvement but that is not all. They also provide suggestions to improve these areas.
Once you improve the important aspects of your manuscript, the pacing of your book will enhance automatically and the reading experience will certainly be improved.
- Engage Your Audience
Another undeniable reason why you need a developmental editor by your side is to engage your audience effectively. It is harder to be able to achieve the trust and pique the interest of your audience than many authors often think.
The easiest and most effective way to boost engagement rates of your book is to understand the interest of your audience. You will be surprised to know how much your developmental editor can help you in this endeavor.
From themes to tone, they look at every aspect of your work to see the elements that work in your favor and those that do not. This way, you will move your work to the right direction with every step.
- Enhance Your Dialogue
Even the best plots and storylines may fail to succeed without interesting dialogues. Dialogues are not only the best tools to spike interest and create brilliant twists in your story. They also play a significant role in propelling your story forward.
The key to writing the best dialogues is to keep them crisp and realistic. After all, characters that do not sound like real people cannot engage authentic readers or literary agents.
If you are feeling unsure about the quality and engagement potential of your dialogues, it is always a good idea to ask a developmental editor for their opinion. These professionals ensure that your dialogues do not bore the readers and keep propelling your story forward.
- Control Your Publishing Preference
If you are planning to publish your work traditionally, you must brace yourself for a challenge. This path is a lot harder than often perceived but can boost your chances of becoming a successful author in your genre.
While you may think that the publisher’s editor will get the editing work done anyway, you cannot take developmental editing lightly on your end. You have a responsibility to edit your work on your own before reaching out to literary agents.
A developmental editor can help you bring out the best in your book to ensure that it is ready for publishing and win over the hearts of your literary agents.
- Boost Book Sales
Developmental editors can help you significantly boost the potential of your book. After all, well-edited books are easily readable and likely to be recommended to other readers. Many readers may not realize that editing is the best reason for this.
Winning over the hearts of your readers can pave a path to a successful career as an author. Your developmental editor can play a significant role in increasing the readability of your book and boosting the book sales.