A New Offer: Developmental Editing

Joanie gets a drink in the Porcupine Mountains.

Since last October, I’ve been working part-time for Barnard College, a private, four-year, women’s liberal arts college in New York City. I’ve been helping with their website.

Initially, much of the work was simple stuff—helping troubleshoot things like formatting and photo sizes. I’ve also helped create training materials for the web content managers.

Most of the people adding content to Barnard’s site are administrative staff. And for most of them, web work is one of many other tasks, and certainly not their main job.

Barnard’s site is based on Drupal, an open-source content management system that I’m familiar with because my most recent employer, Grinnell College, also used it. And years ago I was the webmaster for an Iowa State University research center where I cobbled together a data-driven website before content management systems were a thing.

In other words, I’m experienced, not only with college websites but with another elite, private college’s site. All of that is useful for sure.

But another useful quality I bring to Barnard’s website is an outsider’s perspective.

I can see what’s working, what’s not working, and why. My eye is trained to see these things.

This is very similar to what I bring to a writer’s manuscript as a book coach. I have years of experience as a writer and editor. At the same time, I bring an outsider’s perspective to the writer’s story.

All of this helps me see what’s working, what’s not, and why.

Identifying the strengths and weaknesses is just one part of the process. The other part is helping the writer develop effective solutions.

It’s this combination of experiences and perspective—plus a dash of empathy for fellow children’s novelists—that makes me a good book coach.

Not everyone is interested in having that ongoing relationship, however. So I’m going to start offering developmental editing, which is more of a “one and done” approach. (This will be in addition to book coaching, which I love!)

I’m thinking of offering two different levels of developmental editing.

One is more big picture. Do your characters have satisfying arcs? Does your plot make sense? Is your worldbuilding compelling? I’d identify what I see as the major strengths, areas that need work, and suggested next steps. I’d communicate this in an editorial letter. In a Zoom call I’d discuss whatever the writer cares to about my feedback.

The second level would go deeper. I’d identify the same big picture items in an editorial letter, discuss my feedback with the writer in a Zoom call, and include comments and questions on the manuscript. For some writers, it’s the inline feedback that helps the most.

Does this approach to feedback on your work appeal to you? If so, please reach out. I’d like to know more about the kinds of things writers hope to get out of working with a developmental editor.