Developmental Edit
The big structural questions: pacing, order, character, argument, and whether the book is doing what you want it to do.
- Written edit letter
- Chapter-level notes
- Structure suggestions
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Editing Studio · Tasman PublishersEditing That Sharpens The Book And Keeps Your Voice
For Australian and New Zealand authors: send us the manuscript and we will tell you which level of edit it needs and why. Every change is tracked, so nothing happens to your text that you have not agreed to.
- Free 1,500-word sample edit
- Tracked changes
- Two revision rounds
- A free sample edit1,500 words, so you see how we work first
- A written edit letterWhat works, what does not, what to do about it
- Tracked changesAccept or reject anything; the voice stays yours
- Two revision roundsAnd a named editor from first page to last
See What An Edit Actually Looks Like
Not adjectives about our process: the real thing. Pick a level of edit, then switch between the marked-up version and the clean copy.
Edit letterextract
The book starts twice. Your prologue explains the sister’s disappearance before we have any reason to care about Nora, so the knock at the door in chapter three arrives with nothing to push against. Cut the prologue. Open on the knock.
The 1998 material is good, and it is in the wrong place. Move it to chapter four, where Nora has a reason to remember it and the reader has a reason to want it.
The middle sags for three chapters after the storm clears, because the investigation stalls and Nora has nobody to argue with. Constable Reddy does not appear until chapter eleven. Bring her forward: put her on the landing in chapter five and let her disagree with Nora about what the letter means.1
One structural warning. Two characters currently know about the envelope before the reader does, which makes the reveal in chapter nine feel withheld rather than earned. Pick one.2
Chapter ordersuggested
As written
Prologue1998: the sister disappears
Ch 1Nora arrives on the point
Ch 2The storm builds
Ch 3The knock on the door
Ch 11Constable Reddy arrives
Suggested
Ch 1The knock on the door
Ch 2Nora on the point, storm building
Ch 3The man on the rocks
Ch 41998, rememberedmoved
Ch 5Reddy disagreesmoved
Red Dirt Roadmanuscript extract
It was in the month of February, and it wasFebruary, and hot enough outside to buckle the road. My fatherDad1 drove me in the car down the red dirt road that led out of town, which was about forty kilometres in lengthout of town, and neither of us really said very much of anything at allmuch.
The thing that I remember is that my motherMum did not come out to the gate to say goodbye to me. I think thatI still think she was standing behind the flywire door of the house, watching2, but at the time I did not look back at the house at all.
It was atAt Cobar that he pulled up behind the bus and he did not turn the engine of the car offleft the engine running.
Lead Without Noisemanuscript extract
Every 30 minutethirty-minute check-in asks the same three questions. The Managermanager listens first, writes nothing down, and askasks for one number.1
E-mailEmail can wait until 4pm4 p.m. In the teams I have coached, fourtyforty per cent2 of internal messages arrived outside the hours anyone had agreed to work.
The habit is not complicatedcomplex. It is simply unusual, and unusual is alota lot harder to sustain than difficult.
Salt & Summermanuscript extract
‘Ring your mother Sunday,’1 he said, and did not look at her.
Lena checked the ferry teh the timetable twice. 2The last boat left at four, which gave her threetwo3 hours to decide whether she was on it.
The paint tin was the blue of the bowl on the windowsill (see page 0001124), and she did not ask how he knew.
See it on your own pages
We will edit 1,500 words of your manuscript free, with tracked changes and queries, before you commit to anything.
Get My Sample Edit
Sample edits made on fictional manuscripts to show how each level of edit works. The books, text and queries are not real.
Four Levels Of Edit, One Clear Recommendation
Most manuscripts need two of these, not four. We tell you which, and why.
Line Edit
Sentence by sentence. Rhythm, clarity and voice, tightening the prose without flattening how you write.
- Tracked changes
- Voice kept intact
- Queries, not rewrites
Copy-Edit
Grammar, consistency and factual checks, plus a style sheet the whole book is then held to.
- Style sheet
- Consistency pass
- Fact and name checks
Proofread
The last pass, on typeset pages, catching what survived everything before it.
- On final pages
- Layout and spacing
- Cross-references checked
Editors Who Read In Your Category
A thriller, a thesis and a picture book need different eyes on them.
Fiction Editing
Plot, structure and character voice, handled by editors who read in your genre and know its readers.
Non-Fiction Editing
Argument, evidence and structure, with attention to whether a general reader can follow what you are claiming.
Memoir Editing
Shape and selection are everything in memoir. We help you decide what belongs in the book and what does not.
Academic Editing
Citation consistency, terminology and clarity, edited without diluting the technical content.
Children's Books
Reading age, read-aloud rhythm and word count, checked against what the age group actually manages.
Manuscript Assessment
A full read and a written report, for when you want to know where a manuscript stands before spending more on it.
How An Edit Runs
A named editor, a dated schedule, and nothing changed in your text that you have not seen.
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01
Sample Edit
We edit 1,500 words free and recommend the level of edit your manuscript actually needs.
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02
Full Read
Your editor reads the whole manuscript before changing a word of it, and writes the edit letter.
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03
The Edit
Tracked changes and queries through the whole book, with a style sheet built as we go.
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04
Two Revision Rounds
You work through the changes, then we do a second pass on what you have rewritten.
Editing Questions
What authors ask before handing over a manuscript.
Which level of edit does my book need?
Send us the manuscript and we will tell you, and why. A first draft usually needs a developmental edit before anything else; a manuscript that has already been through structural work may only need a copy-edit and a proofread. We would rather quote you for less work than sell you more.
Can I see how you edit before I commit?
Yes. We edit 1,500 words of your manuscript free, with tracked changes and comments, so you can see exactly how we work on your own pages before you decide.
Will editing change my voice?
No. Every change is tracked, so you accept or reject each one, and queries are raised as comments rather than rewritten for you. Line editing tightens how you write without flattening it.
How many rounds of revision are included?
Two. You get the edited manuscript with tracked changes and an edit letter, then a second pass after you have worked through it.
Do you edit fiction and non-fiction?
Both, plus memoir, children's books and academic work. Your manuscript goes to an editor who reads in your category and knows its conventions.
What do you need from me to start?
The manuscript as a Word document, a note on the reader you are writing for, and anything you already know is not working. Australian or other spelling preferences are recorded in the style sheet.
Ready To Find Out What Your Manuscript Needs?
Send us your manuscript with its genre and word count. You get a free sample edit and an honest recommendation before you spend anything.
Work with an Adelaide-based author services team today.