What to do if you can’t afford a developmental editor

Developmental editing can be expensive. When you consider the other costs involved in publishing, from copyediting to proofreading to cover art, it's understandable that some writers decide developmental editing isn't on the cards. 

Just because you're not in a position to pay for a full developmental edit, this doesn't mean you can't have your work looked over by a professional editor! Let's look at some affordable alternatives to developmental editing.

This post will focus on low-cost options. If you're looking for free options, I'll be publishing a separate blog post on this in the next few weeks.

1. Manuscript evaluation

A manuscript evaluation is essentially a developmental edit without in-text comments. For most manuscript evaluations, you'll get feedback in the form of an editorial report. Each editor approaches manuscript evaluations differently, so make sure you ask your editor exactly what your edit will entail. For example, some editors will do fewer passes (the number of times they read your novel) compared to a developmental edit.

2. Novel scan

This is a service I created for authors who want to work with a professional editor but are looking for a lighter edit or want to keep costs as low as possible. A novel scan will provide high-level feedback in dot-point form on characters and plot and only costs $0.004 per word.

3. Novel assessment (a partial edit)

Instead of getting a developmental edit for your whole manuscript, another option recommended by editors is getting the first 10,000-20,000 words of your novel assessed. A novel assessment ensures early issues are caught and the start of your novel is as strong as it can be, which is particuarly important if you’re pursuing traditional publishing.

4. Professional beta reading 

Professional beta readers are beta readers who charge a fee to review your work. While they aren't strictly editors, paying a beta reader improves your chances of getting thorough, unbiased feedback on your plot and characters.

5. Upwork/Fiverr

You've probably heard horror stories from fellow authors who paid someone $50 to "edit" their novel and got nothing but vague comments about the plot and some bonus grammatically incorrect commas thrown in for good measure. You can't expect a full developmental edit for $50, but you may get some good feedback if you choose an editor from these sites carefully.