Developmental Editing

Do you need a hand with the structure and organisation of a book or document? I can help you to deliver your message clearly and straightforwardly to your audience, making sure it flows logically and is easily understood.

A developmental edit:

  • clarifies your core message and the conclusion or action your reader should reach
  • summarises the purpose of the text from the reader’s perspective
  • considers the reader’s needs and preferences in shaping the text.

I can help you by:

  • producing a content outline
  • writing a book proposal
  • writing an editorial report/manuscript critique
  • researching potential titles, gaps in the market, and unique selling points
  • developing manscripts to meet specific requirements, such as fitting a series template
  • fact-checking
  • rewriting
  • ghostwriting.

I’m a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and the Editorial Freelancers Association (EfA). I’ve completed the CIEP’s Non-Fiction Developmental Editing Course (and other industry standard training) and have twenty years’ hands-on experience in the publishing industry. 

Please contact me to discuss your project. I’d love to hear from you.

Sarah has proven herself reliable, consistent, and accurate – essential qualities in an editor. She is a safe pair of hands.
Simon Cox
Simon Cox
Project Editor, Lion Hudson
Sarah was 100% reliable and a true pleasure to work with. She copy-edited 12 issues of the magazine I edited and there was never any question that she’d deliver an excellent standard of work within the deadline. I wholeheartedly recommend her.
Jo Swinney
Jo Swinney
Head of Communications, A Rocha