The Burnished Word
A Developmental Editing Outfit
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“A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.”
– Thomas Mann (1875-1955)
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What is a Developmental Edit?
A Developmental Edit is where your polished early draft goes for the frank conversation about what works and what doesn’t. The Burnished Word provides fresh eyes to help identify plot holes, character inconsistencies and “bigger picture” flaws. We help decide what stays and what needs to get cut.
A Developmental Editor is an ally, who works for You and is invested in making your book better.
Do I Need A Developmental Edit?
Yes, you probably do, and it can be one of the most intimidating steps in the whole process. The Developmental Edit is the first serious critical examination of the completed manuscript. It is here we examine what works, what doesn’t, and discuss how to fix things to get what you want.
When Is The Right Time To Consider A Developmental Edit
When the first draft is done. This means you have a mostly formatted manuscript of a completed story, and you are starting to fine tune. The first iteration is never the final product and most Authors can be too close to their writing to notice the holes they keep stepping over. It is a waste of resources to edit a chapter for grammar if the chapter doesn’t make sense in the first place.
Writing a book is a process, not an event.
What Does A Developmental Edit Cost And What Do I Get?
The Burnished Word charges on a tier system that comes to about $0.03 per word on average. There is a minimum charge and manuscripts that need a lot more work will be more expensive . We provide a comprehensive story structure mark-up reading of your manuscript with an accompanying report detailing: story structure issues, character development needs and organization suggestions on the pages we evaluate.
How Long Does An Edit Take
This is going to vary considerably. A 10-page tester will be turned around within 2 weeks, usually sooner, but a 1200 page epic will take considerably longer. Analytic reading takes time.
Plans
Beta Reading $0.005 per word fee may be applied to full manuscript upgrade
10 Page test – Up to 3000 words - $200 fee may be applied to full manuscript upgrade
25 Page test – Up to 7500 words - $350 fee may be applied to full manuscript upgrade
50 Page tune up – Up to 15,000 words -$500 fee may be applied to full manuscript upgrade
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Full Manuscript – 15,000 words and up – starting at $0.03 per word
