A developmental edit examines the foundational elements of your manuscript: Does the plot work? Are the characters compelling and consistent? Is the pacing right? Does the structure serve the story? A developmental editor reads your entire manuscript and provides detailed feedback, often in a long editorial letter plus inline comments, about what's working and what needs rethinking. This is the deepest and most transformative type of professional edit.
You can have gorgeous prose and flawless grammar, but if your story's foundation is shaky, readers will still put the book down. A developmental edit catches the problems that are hardest to see yourself: a sagging middle act, a protagonist who lacks agency, or a subplot that goes nowhere. Getting this feedback early saves you from polishing scenes that might need to be rewritten or cut entirely.
Your manuscript should be as complete and polished as you can make it on your own first. An editor can't evaluate your story's structure if it's still a rough draft with missing scenes.
A developmental editor won't rewrite your sentences. They're evaluating the big picture. If you need prose-level feedback, that's a separate stage.
A good developmental editor explains problems and suggests solutions, but the solutions are starting points. You know your story best. Focus on understanding the problem, then find your own fix.
Write a one-page editorial letter to yourself about your current project. Cover these four questions: What is the central conflict and does every subplot connect to it? Does your protagonist change meaningfully? Where does the pacing drag? What is the single weakest element of the story right now? Be as honest as you'd want a paid editor to be.