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Tag: editing

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Craft

5 Questions to Ask Your Chapter

When it comes to writing and editing chapters, we need to be in two different mind frames. Writing chapters is the art of creation, where we get the story out and take our character from A-B-C (most likely). But, when it comes to editing, we need to be asking ‘Is this a good chapter?’ and ‘Does this chapter work?’. Here are five questions to help you check that your chapter is doing what it needs to do:

1) Have you set the reader in time and space?

If so, the reader can come to your chapter after a break and understand where and when they are in the character’s journey. You don’t need to write a huge introduction that covers this, but rather to add a sentence or two to encapsulate your character’s journey.

2) Does your character try to make progress in their physical or personal journey?

They might not achieve it, but there should be something driving the narrative forward, a desire or act to reach that overarching goal. If there isn’t, the reader will finish the chapter feeling untethered and unsure of what the purpose was.

3) Does something change in the chapter?

It might be a character relationship, a thought, a decision, or something bigger, like a world event. Remember that every chapter needs to drive that narrative, so even if it’s something like a world event getting in your character’s way and actually pushing their journey backwards, something needs to change or solidify to make a satisfying addition.

4) Does the reader have a clear image of the scene?

Read your chapter from the point of view of your reader and try to imagine what you have described. If you’re finding it difficult, consider what you might change to make the image clearer (setting detail, for example).

5) Is there cause and effect in your chapter?

In life and fiction, one thing leads to another. So, if in your last chapter, your main character stole a loaf of bread, show us the effect in this chapter. This is also a great way of making sure that you aren’t dropping any threads in your novel.

I hope this helps you when editing your chapters!
Want to read something similar? Check these out:

What Should You Include in Act 1 of Your Novel?
An Easy Way to Characterise Your Setting

I’m now booking for 2026, so if you’re looking for a qualified editor and writing coach with over thirteen years’ experience, get in touch for a free, obligation-free thirty-minute chat.

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Craft

Why Does a Live Developmental Edit Work?

Why Does a Live Developmental Edit Work?

My developmental editing package ‘The End’ is a live package for those who have finished the first draft of their novel.

But why choose a live developmental edit over a report?

To limit overwhelm. It can be overwhelming to receive a 100-page document on your novel. After listening to the needs of my clients, I realised that we would be able to get more done without the overwhelm by combining coaching and editing, working through changes together.

To give you the opportunity to talk through changes ahead of making them. This alone is worth its weight in gold – you should always feel free to push against your editor, and this will provide opportunity for discussion at every stage – far beyond the usual post edit chat.

To collaboratively create solutions that you’re comfortable with. No guessing, no altering to something you’re unsure of without discussion – together, we will make your novel stronger through live collaboration.

To give you support and hold you accountable. Instead of being given a report to deal with in your own time, you’ll be set up with supportive calls to help you through the process. This also increases the likelihood of you finishing the edits within a specific timeframe too!

So, what’s included in ‘The End’ package?

9 hours of Zoom calls broken into 1 hour pre-edit, so I can understand the aims of the novel. Flexible editing and coaching sessions moving forward, giving you the opportunity to work on your edits in between.

A 125-page workbook to help you understand how you have answered your intentions and goals for the novel.

A live developmental edit, with the opportunity to work through your novel in manageable chunks alongside an experienced coach and editor.

The chance to get your edits checked as you work on them, so that you know you’re left with a strong novel.

Accountability so that you can edit your novel on your own timescale.

In-text feedback for the entire novel.

Detailed summaries of coaching calls so that you revisit the discussions as needed, and optional recordings.

Weekly email check-ins.

A detailed overview of our planned work together, taking into account narrative, characterisation, dialogue, consistency, target audience, reader expectations, structure and plot, magic systems, tense and point of view, pacing, setting, themes (internal and external), tension, line editing considerations, and plot notes and recommendations.

If this sounds like something that would work for you, get in touch today. I’m now booking for 2026!

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Coaching Publishing

How Much Does a Developmental Edit Cost?

How much does a Developmental Edit Cost?

Money. It’s a difficult subject. But come on, let’s get into it.

Imagine you’re in need of a Developmental Edit (someone to review your structure, narrative, character development, and more) for your 80k word novel. You reach out to an editor (or more than one!)…

What can you expect in terms of cost?

Based on various factors, you should expect a range between*:

$2200/£1650 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3160/£2360

(Disclaimer: there will, of course, be instances that go lower and higher.) *Based on EFA and Reedsy standard rates

What are the factors that impact this?
  • Experience (someone more experienced will likely charge more)
  • Time in business (someone with a newer business may offer lower rates while they gather testimonials)
  • Complexity (if your work is complex, it may take longer)
What does it include?

Well, that depends too. Editors offer different services. For example, I offer a ‘Live Developmental Edit’. That means, in my Dev Edit package, I charge £0.020 per word, provide a workbook, in-text notes, an editing summary, and include 9 hours of coaching time to go through the edits. Some editors charge more per word and offer a report, so you might find that though we cost the same for a project, we provide different styles of feedback.

How are these costs figured out?

Editors charge differently. Here’s the average:

$0.028-$0.040/£0.021-£0.030 – per word

$50.00–$60.00/£37-£45 – per hour

$7.50–$10.00/£5.50-£7.50 – per page

Why is it so expensive?

Yes, hiring an editor can be expensive. Here are some of the reasons why:

  • The task is demanding, and as editing takes such intense focus, we can only spend a limited amount of time a day on it. It also requires time to think about the issues and the best step forward.
  • It requires specialist knowledge. For example, I studied in higher education for 8 years and have worked in this field for over 10 years. Experience costs money.
  • Most editors are running a small business. That means that there are lots of costs involved, including tax, office equipment, and bills to run them, websites, training, marketing, memberships, and much more. There’s also the stuff outside of that, like food and family responsibilities.
Anything else?
  • Most editors offer payment plans, so don’t be afraid to ask.
  • Be prepared to put down a deposit to ‘save your spot’!
  • Contact an editor well ahead of time, as we book up far in advance.

At the start of this year, I raised my prices in line with my expertise and experience. Still, I’m not near the top regarding charging per word, etc., but I am comfortable with my current rates. Between 2020 and 2024, I was charging below industry average. This often happens when someone starts a new business, as you need those all important testimonials and gaining a client base. I’m sharing this information for two reasons:

1: If you are looking at this slideshow and worrying that you won’t find someone within your budget, look around. You may find someone (like me over the last few years) who is qualified and experienced but working for a lower rate for a period of time to grow their new business.

2: To share an awareness of the industry pricing standard and what goes into it so that you can make more informed decisions in your search for an editor.

I hope this has been helpful!

Looking for a similar read?

What Does It Mean to Edit for Genre?

 

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Craft

Is Your Character Comfortable with Their Status?

Character status
Are You Comfortable with Your Status?

Oh, sorry, not you. Your character.

Let’s chat about it. Your character’s comfort in their status can say a lot about them. It can be a window into their mindset, confidence, and more.

Let’s explore this for just a moment (with an excellent example from How To Own The Room by Viv Groskop):

Your character is at a cocktail party. It’s a fancy, black-tie affair, and everyone is dressed up. Your character is wearing a suit, bowtie, and, it turns out, exactly the same attire as the waiting staff at the party. A peer walks into the room, looks around, and catches eye with your character. They go over, and instead of introducing themselves, they ask for a martini.

Now, pause for a moment…

What does your character do?

If your answer is that your character makes the martini, gives it to their peer, and laughs about it later with a friend, your character is happy with their status.

If your answer is that your character tells this person exactly who they are and that they should check themselves, getting irate, your character is unhappy with their status.

And so, if they’re unhappy with their status in society, in life, with their friends, what does this do to your novel? It creates a storyview* in which your character is prone to be the victim, ready to take offence, and quick to rise in temper. This, in turn, changes how you might introduce your character and what might drive your plot forward. Think of how they speak to other people (or dragons, depending on what you’re writing), how they dress, who they strive to be and where they want to go.

Could your character’s comfort level in their status be their sacred flaw? (Not sure what I’m talking about? Check out last month’s blog post!).

*Not a typo! Storyview vs Worldview is a concept explained by Jeff Vandermeer in Wonderbook – The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, chapter 6. 

 

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Craft

What Is ‘The Sacred Flaw’ In Writing?

The Sacred Flaw

Have you ever heard the term ‘the sacred flaw’ when talking about writing? It’s a common concept and one that is often discussed in writing groups. So, whether or not you have heard of it, let’s chat about what it is and what that phrase means.

‘The sacred flaw’ is a phrase coined by author Will Storr. In its simplest terms, Storr uses it to explain how to build a story as a brain builds a life. He explains that we understand reality by telling ourselves stories. (As a side note, this is the very origin of Creative Writing, the communication of narrative as a way to frame the world around us.)

Storr says: ‘We experience life in three acts, with a crisis, a struggle and resolution.’ (https://theelementsofwriting.com/storr/)

Storr goes on to explain an idea I wrote to you about weeks ago: the difference between character-driven stories and plot-driven stories. When writing a character-driven story, you begin with the character. Storr recommends doing the same to find ‘the sacred flaw’ of your story and then creating the plot around that character to ‘test’ that flaw. Essentially, we are trying to find your character’s ‘flawed idea about the world’ (Storr).

Here are some questions to help you discover a belief that your character finds ‘sacred’ (if you’re struggling to think of what this might mean, let’s use one of my favourite examples, Scrooge from A Christmas Carol. Scrooge mistakenly believes that money and wealth are sacred. The plot tests this mistaken theory throughout, ultimately giving him a different belief system by the end, where the very meaning of ‘wealth’ changes):

  • What experience might have given your character their belief? (For Scrooge, it was his childhood.)
  • How does this cause them to view the world? (Think storyview [how your character sees the world] vs worldview [how the world really is].)
  • How will you create a plot and series of events that challenge this belief, this ‘sacred flaw’?

At the heart of this concept is an understanding that the story is about the character’s journey and change.

So, now we know what ‘the sacred flaw’ means and how to find it. Tell me, what is your character’s ‘sacred flaw’?

Found this interesting and want to read more about this concept? Check out:

In Conversation with Will Storr

 

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Craft

The Top 5 Things I Learned from Working with an Editor

Working with an editor

Yes, editors do hire editors, and that includes me. I have learned a lot from working with an editor. When it comes to your own work, you are often so involved that you often need someone else to read it before you send it out to readers. That can come in many forms – it might be that you’re looking for a beta reader (someone who reads your touched up manuscript), an alpha reader (someone who reads your rough draft), or you may decide to go for an editor for a more in-depth analysis. Here are five things I learned from hiring an editor.

1) They can help you see your own work clearly. 

It isn’t easy to see your work when you’re so close to it. When I recently sent my first five chapters to an editor, I took out a prologue before I sent it. This was for a few different reasons, but I was so familiar with the world that I had created that I didn’t realise the prologue missing would cause many issues. Ummm…I was wrong! Some important world-building was in that prologue, and so by removing it before sending, I made my editor say…’Where is this exactly?’ An interesting lesson! The world-building throughout the rest of my novel is tight, so I’m not worried about this. Now I know that the first few chapters require more world-building and detail if I want to remove that prologue.

2) Peer review is valuable. 

It can be scary to send your work to other people, but peer review always makes it stronger. Hearing what other people think, what they expected, and how they feel about your story will allow you to make it so much better.

3) They save you time. 

Yes, although it can feel like you’ve been given more work when an editor comes back to you with a report, they are actually saving you a lot of time. They are ploughing through the manuscript for you, marking up those bits that need changing, and providing you with information that it would have taken hours to find yourself.

4) They give you ideas you may have never considered. 

We all need a fresh pair of eyes sometimes, and an editor can help you see a new direction for your work, a character, or a scene. Sometimes, it’s even something that you may have never considered before.

5) They can spot inconsistencies you cannot. 

As we are so close to our stories, we can miss inconsistencies or repeated details. After all, we know the world so well, so when this isn’t communicated to the reader well enough, it won’t always be easy to spot. An editor can help you see those issues, including other common occurrences such as repetitive words and phrases.

What have you learned from hiring editors? Share with me because I would love to know! 

If you are looking for an editor, get in touch today. I would love to help you polish up your work and make it shine, and I am currently booking from Spring 2022.

If you are looking for a similar read, check out the following:

4 Ways to Edit Your Own Writing
Online Writing Tools That Can Help You Write Your Novel