An editor who focuses on big-picture story elements like plot, structure, character arcs, and pacing rather than sentence-level prose.
A developmental editor looks at your manuscript from 30,000 feet. They're not fixing commas or rewriting your sentences. They're asking questions like: Does this character arc actually land? Is the pacing dragging in Act Two? Does this subplot earn its space? They read your entire manuscript and deliver detailed feedback, usually in a long editorial letter plus margin comments, about what's working structurally and what needs rethinking. Their job is to help you see the forest when you've been staring at trees for months.
You can polish every sentence to a shine, but if your plot has a hole in the middle or your protagonist's motivation doesn't track, readers will bounce. A developmental editor catches the problems that are hardest to see yourself because you're too close to the work. Hiring one before you query or publish can be the difference between a manuscript that almost works and one that actually does.
Perkins pushed Fitzgerald to restructure the novel and develop Gatsby's backstory more carefully. The book we know today is largely the product of that developmental relationship.
Thompson convinced King to expand what was originally a short story into a full novel, shaping the structure and pacing of King's debut.
Egan's developmental work helped Collins sharpen the pacing and emotional beats across the trilogy, keeping the story focused despite its expanding scope.
Get the manuscript as far as you can on your own first. Use beta readers and critique partners. A dev editor is most valuable when you've already fixed the problems you can see.
Developmental editing and copy editing are different stages. A dev editor focuses on structure and story. You'll still need a separate pass for line-level and copy editing afterward.
A good dev editor identifies problems and suggests solutions, but it's your book. Sometimes their diagnosis is spot-on but their proposed fix isn't right for your vision. Trust the diagnosis, adapt the solution.
Write a one-page editorial letter to yourself about your current work-in-progress. Identify the three biggest structural concerns: Is there a character arc that isn't landing? A section where the pacing sags? A subplot that goes nowhere? Be brutally honest. This is the kind of thinking a developmental editor brings to your work.