Once the province of editors at publishing houses, which have cut staff and curtailed services, the function of a developmental editor is now often relegated to freelance editors who deal with the manuscript from concept to completion. A developmental editor looks first at the big picture — concept, thesis, structure, narrative arc, character development, style, voice, language, point of view, and organization — and then carries out a line-by-line analysis (or substantive editing), suggesting revisions and posing specific queries on sections, paragraphs, and sentences.
- Monica Faulkner
Editorial, project management, online marketing, and speaker support services for fiction and nonfiction authors; proposals; screenplays; business marketing materials (written and online).
Read more - Nomi Isak
Writing coach, developmental editor, and ghostwriter on over 45 published books. With her compassionate approach, Nomi has helped numerous authors complete publishable manuscripts. She also coaches clients experiencing writer's block and helps authors create and meet deadlines. She specializes in memoir and fiction, as well as creative nonfiction.
Read more - Lori Kozlowski
Writer, journalist, editor, and digital media leader, Lori Kozlowski has edited dozens of writers and worked with several companies on content and digital strategy. Services: Novel and nonfiction manuscript editing, content strategy and development, web editing, and ghostwriting.
Read more - Amy Friedman
Amy has written, ghostwritten, and served as a developmental editor for dozens of memoirs and other works of nonfiction. Amy's syndicated column, Tell Me A Story from Universal Press Syndicate, ran for 25 years in newspapers across the country. She teaches memoir writing at UCLA Extension and is the founder and publisher of Out of the Woods Press.
Read more - Deborah A. Lott, MFA
Writing, editing: psychology, psychiatry, public health, social science, medicine, particularly gastroenterology, internal medicine, and cardiology, memoir, autobiography and nonfiction narratives; research.
Read more - Jenna Rose Robbins
Ghostwriter, editor, and web consultant with experience producing in-house editorial for such companies as AOL and Disney. Specialties include: memoir, music, travel/cultures, social consciousness.
Read more - Laura Golden Bellotti
Editor and writer of nonfiction books and book proposals in the areas of psychology, spirituality, relationships, women's issues, parenting, health, and creativity.
Read more - Merrill Feitell
Award-winning author of literary fiction with extensive branding and advertising background and a decade of teaching creative writing at graduate and undergraduate levels, Merrill has helped hundreds of writers develop material and prime manuscripts for publication.
Read more - Karin Gutman
Memoir and story coach who has been guiding writers for over 20 years towards discovering and writing their personal, life-based stories.
Read more - Barbara DeSantis
Editor, writer, writing coach. Literary and commercial fiction, including young adult. Memoir, personal history, personal essay, narrative nonfiction, self-help, and spirituality. Developmental and line editing, ghostwriting. Manuscript critiques, book proposals, marketing materials. More than 30 years book-publishing experience.
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