I’ve started offering sample developmental edits again! I stopped offering these for a while as I wasn’t sure if they were helpful—a developmental edit looks at the big picture and so must take the entire story into account. Therefore, I worried that by offering small-scale feedback on an individual few pages that I might skew the author’s understanding of what the final edit would look like. For example, what if I made a character recommendation in the sample edit that I might not have made were I to see the entire novel?

However, I’ve concluded that sample edits are still valuable tools. They allow the author to see what developmental editing mark-up would look like in practice, as well as giving them a feeling for my editorial “voice”. They also give me a sense of what the edit itself would be like and what it would be like to work with any particular author.

So, I’m reinstating them.

What will they look like?

Each sample edit will be prefaced by a short paragraph letting the writer know that these are preliminary comments based only on the short sample I’ve seen—were I editing the entire novel/story then I might comment differently. In other words, if an author decides not to work with me, then they shouldn’t necessarily go away and implement my feedback as it might not be helpful in the larger context of the overall story.

The sample will be on a short section of the novel which will be comprised of approximately 500 words. The section will be of my choosing after I’ve assessed the entire manuscript (note that a manuscript assessment doesn’t mean I’ve read the entire novel, it just means I’ve read parts of it, to give me a sense of the overall level of editing it might need). The sample edit will include comments in the margin and a brief paragraph rounding up my feedback. If we then decide to work together, my feedback on this section may change.

What will they cost?

I’m offering them free of charge. After all, if they’re a useful tool in determining whether we want to work together, then I don’t think it’s fair to charge for them.

How to book a sample edit

The first step in booking your free sample edit is to contact me with information about your novel. You can do this by using my contact form, available below.

I look forward to hearing from you!