—DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING
Hire a developmental editor for a manuscript
A developmental edit runs $400 up to 10,000 words, then $0.040 a word, so $2,800 on a 70,000-word novel. Delivery is 15 to 25 business days to 60,000 words, with a stated addition above that. You get an editorial letter of 8 to 20 pages and chapter-level notes written into the manuscript itself.
If you want the letter without the notes, an editorial assessment is $180 up to 10,000 words, then $0.018, so $1,260 on the same book. Delivery is 10 to 15 business days on the same basis.
Send 1,000 words from any chapter and we edit them free before you decide which one your draft actually needs.
—WHAT IT IS
What a developmental editor reads for, and what they leave alone
A developmental editor reads the whole manuscript once, straight through, the way a reader would. Then they go back and work out why it did not land.
What the second read has to answer
- Are the chapters in the right order
- Does the middle hold tension or sag
- Do characters act for reasons a reader can follow
- In non-fiction, does every chapter earn its place
- Does the opening promise a kind of book
- Does the ending pay that promise off
What a developmental editor does not do is rewrite your sentences. A clumsy paragraph gets flagged as a symptom rather than fixed. Fixing it is line editing, and doing it at this stage is wasted money, because that paragraph may not survive the revision.
They also do not write new material for you. An editor who drafts your missing chapter has stopped being an editor and become a co-author, which is a different contract at a different price.
What you get back is a diagnosis and a plan. The revision itself is still yours to do.
—THE DELIVERABLE
What is actually inside an 8 to 20 page editorial letter
Every editor promises an editorial letter. Almost nobody shows you one, which makes it hard to know whether you are buying twenty pages of substance or three paragraphs of encouragement. Here is the shape of ours.
It opens with what is working. Not flattery. A specific account of the book’s strengths, because those are the parts of the draft you should protect while you rewrite everything around them. An author who does not know what is working tends to sand it off during revision.
Then the diagnosis, ordered by cost. Usually three to six structural problems, and they come ranked by how much of the book each one touches rather than by how serious they sound. A protagonist with no clear want is one line to describe and eight weeks to fix. A saggy chapter nine is a bigger sentence and a two-day fix. The order tells you where to start.
Each problem gets a cause, not just a symptom. “The pacing drops in the second act” is a note you could have written yourself. What you are paying for is the next paragraph: the reason it drops, which is usually a decision made three chapters earlier.
Then the revision plan. A sequence, in the order the fixes should happen, because structural changes cascade and doing them out of order means doing several of them twice.
And a scope line at the end. What this manuscript still needs after you revise, and what it does not.
In the manuscript
Alongside the letter, a developmental edit puts notes into the manuscript itself, marking where in the pages each problem shows up. That is the part an editorial assessment leaves out, and it is the whole difference between the two.
—INVESTMENT
What a developmental edit costs, and what moves the number
Developmental editing is $400 up to 10,000 words, then $0.040 a word. A 70,000-word manuscript is $2,800. A 90,000-word one is $3,600. An editorial assessment on the same 70,000 words is $1,260.
One rate, every genre, every length. A thriller and a leadership book cost the same per word here, and both get the same editor, the same NDA, the same reassignment right and the same revision rounds.
Across the market, developmental editing runs roughly 3 to 8 cents a word depending on genre and on who does the work. Ours sits in the lower half of that, inside the Editorial Freelancers Association published median ranges, which is the same reference point every rate on this site is set against.
Two things move a quote away from the base figure. Word count is the first, and it is linear here rather than tiered. A rush delivery is the second, and it carries a surcharge quoted on the call rather than applied quietly.
Timelines are quoted to 60,000 words. Past that, a developmental edit adds 4 to 6 business days per additional 20,000 words and an assessment adds 3 to 4, stated in the quote before you sign. The per-word rate does not change with length.
Worth checking the EFA chart yourself rather than taking any editing company’s word for the market, ours included. Several of the pages ranking for this question quote a flat range that traces back to a blog post from 2021, and one cites an EFA hourly figure the association has since revised.
—COMPARE
Editorial assessment or developmental edit, and how to tell which one you need
Both start the same way. The same editor reads the whole manuscript and writes you the same 8 to 20 page letter. The difference is what happens to your pages afterward.
| Editorial assessment | Developmental edit | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | The letter only, nothing written on the pages | The letter plus chapter-level notes in the manuscript |
| Base | $180 up to 10,000 words | $400 up to 10,000 words |
| Per word beyond | $0.018 | $0.040 |
| 70,000-word manuscript | $1,260 | $2,800 |
| Turnaround, to 60,000 words | 10 to 15 business days | 15 to 25 business days |
| Each additional 20,000 words | plus 3 to 4 days | plus 4 to 6 days |
| Best for | Writers who revise well from written instructions | Writers who need to see each problem on the page |
Take the assessment if you can revise from written instructions
Some writers read “the second act loses tension because your protagonist stops wanting anything on page 90” and know exactly which scenes to open. For them the margin notes are a convenience, not a necessity, and $1,540 is a lot to pay for convenience.
Take the developmental edit if you need to see it on the page
Most first-time novelists do. It is one thing to accept in principle that a chapter is not earning its place, and another to find the paragraph where the reader checked out. The notes are what turn a diagnosis into a list of specific edits.
If you buy the assessment and decide within 60 days that you want the notes as well, the full assessment fee comes off the developmental price. There is no penalty for starting with the smaller service, which is the honest order to try them in.
—WHEN NOT TO BUY
Three authors who should not book a developmental edit
Every page you will read on this subject tells you to get one. Here are the cases where it is the wrong purchase, and what to buy instead.
The author who will not do the revision. The letter is a work order. Acting on it takes most authors two to four months of unpaid work on top of the invoice, and it is harder than the first draft, because you are cutting scenes you like for reasons you now understand. If that is not time you can find in the next six months, the money buys you a document you will not use. Book coaching is the better fit here, because the accountability is the thing that is missing, not the diagnosis.
The author who only needs the letter. If you are confident you can revise from written feedback and you do not need the problems marked up in the pages, an editorial assessment is the same read and the same letter for $1,260 on a 70,000-word manuscript instead of $2,800. It is the most common overspend we see. People buy the deeper level because it sounds more thorough, then work exclusively from the letter anyway.
The author whose budget will not stretch past it. Developmental editing does not replace copy editing or proofreading. A structurally sound book full of typos still collects the reviews that kill a launch. If $2,800 is the whole editing budget on a 70,000-word manuscript, spending it here leaves nothing for the two levels every published book needs. Copy editing and a proofread on that manuscript come to $2,590 together, and that is the floor, not the ideal. An assessment plus both of those lands at $3,850 and produces a finishable book. Developmental alone at $2,800 does not.
Before you pay
The free sample edit exists to settle this. Send 1,000 words, and the note that comes back says which of these three you are, including when the answer is that your draft does not need this at all.
—AFTER THE LETTER
The two to four months that follow
The letter arrives and the project is not finished. It has started.
Most authors need a week before they can read it properly. That is normal. A good editorial letter tells you that decisions you made deliberately are not working, and the first read tends to land as an argument you want to have. The second read, a few days later, is the useful one.
Then the revision. Two to four months is the honest range for a structural rewrite on a full-length manuscript, and it is harder work than the first draft was. Drafting is generative. Revising is cutting scenes you like because you now understand why they do not serve the book. Authors who allow four weekends for this are the ones who stall.
Work in the order the letter gives you. Structural fixes cascade, and repairing chapter nine before you have settled what your protagonist wants means repairing chapter nine twice.
When the rewrite is done, the manuscript goes to line and copy editing, not back to developmental. A second developmental pass is occasionally worth it on a heavily rebuilt book, and we will tell you if yours is one. Usually it is not, and the money belongs at the next level down.
What the calendar looks like on a 60,000-word novel: three to five weeks with the editor, two to four months revising, then three to six weeks of editor time across the three remaining levels, plus your own review between rounds. Call it five to eight months from sending the manuscript to a file you can publish. A 30,000-word novella runs materially shorter and an 80,000-word one longer, because every stage scales with length. Anyone quoting you far less is either skipping a level or assuming you will not revise.
—HOW IT WORKS
From sample edit to letter
Five steps, and the first one settles which service you need before any money moves.
Send 1,000 words and your word count
Any chapter, not necessarily the first. We edit the sample free and return it with a note saying which service your draft actually needs. That note is the point of the exercise, and it sometimes says you need less than you asked for.
Approve the scope and the date
The quote states the fee, the delivery date and which editor is taking it. Payment is one instalment below $1,000, and a 50-50 split from $1,000 up. An NDA is available before you send anything.
The editor reads the whole manuscript, then reads it again
The first pass is straight through at reading speed to find out where the book loses a reader. The second is the working pass. Nothing is written until both are done, because a note made on page 40 usually turns out to be about a decision on page 12.
The letter arrives, and the notes with it on a developmental edit
Delivery is 10 to 15 business days for an assessment and 15 to 25 for a developmental edit, counted from the signed contract, holding to 60,000 words.
Then a call, if you want one
Half an hour with the editor to work through what the letter says before you start rewriting. Most authors take it after the second read rather than the first.
—Frequently Asked Questions
What authors ask before hiring a developmental editor
What is a developmental editor?
A developmental editor is the editor who works on a book’s structure rather than its sentences. They read a complete manuscript and assess whether the chapters are in the right order, whether the pacing holds, whether characters act on motivations a reader can follow, and in non-fiction, whether each chapter earns its place in the argument. It is the first and deepest of the four editing levels, and it comes before line editing, copy editing and proofreading. The deliverable is an editorial letter of 8 to 20 pages plus chapter-level notes in the manuscript. A developmental editor does not rewrite your prose and does not write new material for you.
What does a developmental editor do that a copy editor does not?
A copy editor works on correctness: grammar, punctuation, consistency, style guide adherence. A developmental editor works on whether the book functions at all. The distinction matters most in what happens to a broken chapter. A copy editor makes it grammatically clean. A developmental editor tells you it should be cut and explains what to build in its place. Copy editing on a manuscript with structural problems produces a polished draft that still does not work.
How much does a developmental editor cost?
Developmental editing runs roughly 3 to 8 cents a word across the market, depending on genre and on who does the work. At AuthorWings it is $400 up to 10,000 words, then $0.040 a word, so $2,800 on a 70,000-word manuscript and $3,600 on a 90,000-word one. An editorial assessment, which is the same read and the same letter without the in-manuscript notes, is $180 up to 10,000 words then $0.018, so $1,260 on that 70,000-word book. Every rate here sits inside the Editorial Freelancers Association published median ranges.
How long does a developmental edit take?
15 to 25 business days from the signed contract, to 60,000 words. An editorial assessment runs 10 to 15. Past 60,000, developmental adds 4 to 6 business days per additional 20,000 words and assessment adds 3 to 4. Your delivery date is in the quote before you pay. The longer number is what comes after: revising from the letter takes most authors two to four months on a full-length manuscript.
Do I need a developmental edit if I already have beta readers?
They answer different questions. Beta readers tell you where a book lost them, which is genuinely useful and costs very little. A developmental editor tells you why, and what to change. Five readers saying the middle dragged is a symptom. A structural diagnosis naming the decision three chapters earlier that caused it is the fix. Beta reads first, then an editor, is a sensible and cheap order to work in.
Is developmental editing the same as book coaching?
No, and the difference is timing. Coaching runs while you are writing: sessions, accountability, feedback on chapters as they arrive. Developmental editing happens once, on a finished draft, and delivers a document rather than a relationship. Authors who have not finished a manuscript usually need coaching. Authors holding a complete draft that is not working usually need an editor.
Can a developmental editor work on an unfinished manuscript?
Generally no. The whole point is assessing structure, pacing and through-line, and none of those can be judged from a partial draft. The exception is a substantial partial with a settled ending, which we scope case by case. If you want help while the writing is still happening, coaching is the right service.
Do I still need copy editing after a developmental edit?
Yes. Developmental editing does not touch grammar, punctuation, spelling or consistency, and the revision it triggers introduces new errors into the manuscript. Every book needs copy editing and a proofread before publication regardless of what happened above them. Budget for all of it, or buy the cheaper diagnosis and leave room for the levels that come after.
What is the difference between a freelance developmental editor and an agency?
A solo freelancer is often cheaper and you know exactly who is reading your book. What you usually do not get is a signed NDA, a contractual revision round, a project manager, or any recourse if the editor becomes unavailable halfway through. An agency prices those in. The question worth asking either way is what happens if the working relationship fails, and whether the answer is written down anywhere.
Where can I hire a developmental editor?
Editorial marketplaces, the Editorial Freelancers Association member directory, referrals from other authors in your genre, and publishing services companies. Ask any of them for a free sample edit before you pay. A thousand words edited at the level you are considering tells you more about fit than a portfolio does, and any editor confident in their work will do it.
Next Steps
❦Find out which level your draft actually needs
Send 1,000 words from any chapter. We edit them free and tell you which of three things is true: your manuscript needs the full edit, the letter alone will do, or the structure is sound and your money belongs further down the chain.
Developmental is one of four levels, and most books need more than one. The book editing services page prices all four side by side, and the book publishing cost calculator gives a figure for your word count in a minute.
Mutual NDA available before the call on request. 100% rights retention guaranteed. No contracts until you decide.
AuthorWings· Transparent Pricing · 100% Your Rights
Last updated: September 2026