Developmental editing is essentially a very in-depth read of your manuscript that yields detailed feedback to aid in the revising process.  

A writer who has completed their manuscript, done what self-editing they could, and now seeks professional advice on how to continue revising to make their book as strong as possible.

A beta reader reads a manuscript and provides general but not specific feedback, which is also much shorter in length.  A beta reader might tell you they don’t like the dialogue, but a developmental editor will tell you why the dialogue doesn’t work and how to fix it.  Developmental editing points out problems and provides working solutions.

No. A manuscript should be proofread as best as possible prior to submitting it to an editor.  You want your editor to get a good read of your novel without being distracted by poor grammar or spelling.  With that said, it would be noted in the feedback if further proofreading is needed for the manuscript.

Yes!  Please feel free to ask questions about “what’s next?” after we are done with editing.

This varies depending on the book’s length.  Please contact me via the ‘contact’ page with your manuscript info for pricing.  I consider myself middle-of-the-road when it comes to pricing: I provide high-end editorial feedback but with a smaller price tag than high-end editors, who often charge 5k or more for the same work.  Solid editing should be within a normal person’s budget.

Depending on book length, I usually ask for 2-3 weeks once starting a new contract.

I also provide line editing (detailed, in-line commentary throughout the length of the manuscript) for writers with whom I’ve already done developmental editing.  Line editing is best done on a second read-through of a novel.

As far as any other services go, I provide them on a limited basis–again, for writers with whom I’ve already done a developmental edit.