Developmental editing as narrative excavation

As an editor, I often see developmental editing as narrative excavation, like an archaeologist carefully brushing away one layer after another, revealing more and more of a site over time. Indeed, each time I do another read of a manuscript, I feel like I’m moving down to a deeper layer in the story, noticing more issues.

Why single reads don’t work

Years ago, I noticed a post on an editorial forum where an editor, more experienced in line editing and proofreading, asked for advice. They were doing a manuscript critique on a memoir and had run into a problem. The memoir was so well written that they didn’t know what to say to the writer (who had obviously paid for the critique). Worried about not giving the writer good value for money, they wondered if they should price the edit down or offer some line editing.

But here’s the problem. They hadn’t finished the first read of the manuscript.

They had come to the conclusion that the memoir was in a great state on the basis of less than one read. (They also appeared to finish the critique shortly after posting, so very little time was likely spent on this edit.)

I offered no advice to this person myself, waiting instead to see what others would say.

No one picked them up on the fact they hadn’t even finished the first read. No one thought their editorial conclusion was premature. No one mentioned that you ought to read a manuscript more than once, or that to understand whether the narrative works or not, you need to see how the latter part of the book and the ending fits in with the rest of the story.

I think part of the problem here was that not everyone giving advice actually worked in developmental editing, and some were new to developmental edits and manuscript critiques after working in copyediting and proofreading.

But I’m telling you now, single passes of a manuscript do not work, unless you want to just give something akin to a beta read, but through the eyes of a developmental editor. It’s a different matter if the read is a final check after previous rounds of editing. But that’s not the topic here.

Why a single read falls short

The example I gave above involved a memoir. Memoirs are not autobiographies. They are not the story of a life. Instead, memoirs are focused on a particular event, subject, or period.

Examples of memoirs would include Traudl Junge’s memoir of working as Hitler’s secretary. Likewise, Helga Schneider’s Let Me Go: My Mother and The SS is focused on a particular topic – Helga confronting her former SS mother decades later in a retirement home. Schneider weaves in memories and information she gathered when researching the Holocaust and the Nazis, since her mother had worked at a notorious camp.

Memoirs don’t suddenly pivot to a whole other subject, not if they’re written correctly. They have an overriding theme.

So if the manuscript goes off on a tangent later in the story, that would need to be fixed. And only at least one complete read of a manuscript would identify such a problem.

More reads are advised to check that all the threads match up, there are no plot holes or inconsistencies, no weakly drawn characters, a lack of sensory information, a lack of location information, etc. And very importantly, the structure of the narrative also has to be examined.

There is no perfect manuscript

If you’re an editor confronted with an intimidating manuscript, with a fantastic plot, great characters and locations, and what looks like a good structure, fear not. Rereads, like archaeological or forensic excavation, will reveal more. Each pass takes you down into the subterranean layers of a narrative. This is one of my favourite things about developmental editing. Diving deeper into the story.

In fact, my own experience of developmental editing and manuscript critiques is that the more times you read the manuscript, the more problems that emerge.

Early on in my career, I was also confronted by what appeared to be novels and memoirs in a great condition on a first read. I used to worry about this, wondering what I was supposed to tell the writer that would justify the money spent on the edit.

But experience has taught me that first reads are deceptive. More emerges the more times you read the book. This is why good developmental editing takes time. It’s not something you can dash off in a single read.

There can be budget options where a developmental editor can read once and list the more immediate issues, but developmental editing is a problem-solving exercise. It’s not really something to be rushed.

For one thing, editorial advice that’s less integrated can lead to clashing solutions. Instead of a list of solutions for the same number of problems, a good editor will find the least number of solutions for the largest number of problems. This is because a single problem like viewpoint issues can actually impact the manuscript in different ways. To isolate an issue causing multiple problems is a standard part of a developmental editor’s job.

That’s why the skillset for developmental editing and line editing are not the same.

The benefits of reading on a large screen

I think any kind of editing benefits from a large monitor. It’s easier to spot issues. I use a widescreen TV as my monitor. It replaced the old one and I frankly now hate small screens. There is so much more to notice when the text is large and filling your field of vision.

In fact, it increases the sense of digging deeper, and plunging further into a manuscript.

In need of developmental feedback?

If you’re an author who’s looking for a manuscript critique or a developmental edit, I am open to clients from early February. You can check my services pages. As well as critiquing full manuscripts, I also offer opening chapters developmental edits and outline critiques. If you’re wondering about the pros of outline critiques, I’ve written a blog post on the subject. Link below.

Novel Outlines: 3 Case Studies

IndieCat Editorial Substack

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