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Developmental editing for academic authors

Developmental editing is the essential first step in shaping your manuscript into its best form. We do a deep dive into your work’s overall structure and content, refining your argument, strengthening your methodology, polishing your analysis, and ensuring that your ideas flow seamlessly. This elevates your manuscript’s impact and clarity before it reaches the eyes of a journal editor or publisher. Our developmental editors help you establish a solid foundation for your manuscript right from the start.

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How our editors can help you

Address big-picture elements to elevate your manuscript as a whole.

Refine your argument for seamless flow throughout the text.

Organise sections to logically support your argument.

Strengthen your evidence for a compelling argument.

Respond to peer reviewer or reader feedback.

Ensure your tone and voice are targeted to your audience.

Make large word count cuts without compromising clarity.

Suggest ways to expand your content while maintaining quality.

Document types we can help you with

Dissertations being developed into books or journal articles.

Journal articles that require development based on reviewer feedback.

Works that need large word count reductions or expansion.

Works being adapted for a different publisher or audience.

Any other manuscript that could benefit from collaborative refinement.

Manuscript assessment

One of our developmental editors will read your manuscript and send you a detailed report outlining their recommendations. We’ll look at the big picture and give advice on your manuscript’s argument, structure, and content.

When are manuscript assessments useful?

Manuscript assessments can help you transform a work from one format to another (e.g., turning a dissertation into a book manuscript) or implement feedback from thesis advisers, journal reviewers or beta readers.

Subject-matter experts

There is no substitute for subject-matter expertise. With 300+ editors spanning the full spectrum of academic disciplines, we can pair most documents with a professional in your subject area.

Pricing

Pricing depends on the length of your manuscript. Please contact us for a quote (be sure to send a copy of your manuscript and tell us about your goals).

What’s included

An editor’s report detailing feedback and revision advice.

A 1-hour call with your editor to discuss your goals and vision for your work.

When to choose a manuscript assessment

A manuscript assessment is ideal when you have a draft ready for review but are still refining your ideas and are comfortable making the recommended changes yourself.

When to order a manuscript assessment

A manuscript assessment should be completed well in advance of your submission deadline to allow for further revision rounds and copy editing.

Subject-matter expertise

When it comes to developmental editing, there is simply no substitute for subject-matter expertise. Our robust team of over 300 editors come from diverse academic backgrounds, from the sciences and engineering to the humanities and social sciences. Our developmental editors cover the full spectrum of academic disciplines, which helps us pair our clients with editors who have insight into the needs of your specific document and audience.

Medical sciences

Life sciences

Physical sciences & engineering

Social sciences

Business & economics

Full developmental edit

Your developmental editor will thoroughly review your manuscript and provide a detailed report highlighting areas for improvement, including advice on your argument, structure, and content. Your editor will also use MS Word’s Track Changes to directly comment on and revise your manuscript, offering hands-on revisions and guidance. This service is ideal for you if you’re on a tight deadline, need more hands-on support to refine your work, or require multiple revision rounds.

What’s included

You’ll have a 1-hour call with your editor to discuss your goals for your manuscript. This is followed by a manuscript assessment detailing your editor’s feedback and giving advice on revisions. A private Slack channel allows you to collaborate with your editor. We’ll also provide text markups using tracked changes.

How will you edit the text?

We will reorganize your paragraphs, sections, or chapters for improved flow. Where text is missing, we will insert placeholders (but we won’t ghostwrite new paragraphs). We’ll also comment on sections that need further revision or additional evidence. If you need new chapter or section titles, we’ll suggest those, and we’ll refine tone, writing style and audience focus.

When is a full developmental edit useful?

A full developmental edit is ideal when you have a draft ready for review but are still refining your ideas and need help making the recommended changes. If you don’t have a draft or are starting from scratch, our coaching service may be a better fit.

What types of documents can you develop?

This service is useful when adapting work from one format to another (e.g., turning a dissertation into a book manuscript) or when implementing feedback from thesis supervisors, journal reviewers or beta readers.

When to order a full developmental edit

A developmental edit should take place well in advance of your submission deadline to allow for further revision rounds and copy editing.

Pricing

For a full developmental editing quote, please contact us with the length of your manuscript and the specific type of support you need from your editor.

More than 300 experienced academic editors

All of our editors hold advanced degrees from leading global universities.

Our editors are members of professional editing bodies, including the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) and the Council of Science Editors (CSE).

Our rigorous selection process ensures that we work with only the best editors.

A. S., PhD

Anthropology, Engineering, Civil Engineering

10Years’ Experience

1,023Papers Edited

Qualifications:

PhD Anthropology, University of Wisconsin
MA Anthropology, Colorado State University
BS Civil Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
BS Engineering Science, Manchester College

A. K., PhD

History of Science, Philosophy of Science, Mathematics

10Years’ Experience

152Papers Edited

Qualifications:

PhD History of Science & Medicine, Yale University
MA History & Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne
MSc Mathematics, University of Auckland

D. L., PhD

Ecology, Rural Development, Biological Sciences

8Years’ Experience

786Papers Edited

Qualifications:

PhD Ecology, Rutgers University
MA Rural Development, University of Sussex
BA Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College

J. L., PhD

Micropalaeontology, Earth Sciences

25Years’ Experience

1,068Papers Edited

Qualifications:

PhD Micropalaeontology, University College London
BSc (Hons) Geological Sciences, University of Aston in Birmingham

S. D., PhD

History, Social Sciences, Humanities

10Years’ Experience

560Papers Edited

Qualifications:

PhD History, Boston University
BA History, DePaul University

G. O., PhD

Anthropology, Ecology, Classics

9Years’ Experience

1,067Papers Edited

Qualifications:

PhD Anthropology, Goldsmiths, University of London
MRes Anthropology, Goldsmiths, University of London
MSc Anthropology & Ecology, University College London
BA Classics & Anthropology, University of Palermo

J. B., MA

Women's Studies, Gender Studies

3Years’ Experience

423Papers Edited

Qualifications:

MA Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Cincinnati
BA English Literature, Wichita State University

J. W., MBA

Business, Marketing

20Years’ Experience

3,109Papers Edited

Qualifications:

MBA Business and Marketing, Keller Graduate School
BA in English, University of Wisconsin at Parkside

L. S., MS

Statistics, Mathematics

36Years’ Experience

2,348Papers Edited

Qualifications:

MS Statistics, Northwestern University
BA Mathematics, Northwestern University

M. K., MPP

Public Policy, National Security, Strategic Studies, Politics

26Years’ Experience

2,879Papers Edited

Qualifications:

Master of Public Policy, University of Oxford
MA National Security and Strategic Studies, U.S. Naval War College
BA Politics, Western Illinois University

M. B., MA

Literature, Translation, Interculturality

7Years’ Experience

834Papers Edited

Qualifications:

MA Translation and Interculturality, University of Sevilla
BA English Literature & Creative Writing, University of Warwick

M. L., MA

Political Science

5Years’ Experience

459Papers Edited

Qualifications:

MA Political Science, Case Western Reserve University
BA Political Science, John Carroll University

P. K., MSc

Marine Biology

10Years’ Experience

856Papers Edited

Qualifications:

MSc Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University
HBSc Biology, Trent University

S. J., MA

Literature, Humanities

3Years’ Experience

356Papers Edited

Qualifications:

MA Literature, University of Dallas
BA Literature, Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

J. T., PhD

Organic Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics

6Years’ Experience

100Papers Edited

Qualifications:

PhD Organic Geochemistry, Imperial College London
MSci Geology and Geophysics, Imperial College London

M. P., MSW

Psychology, Criminal Psychology, Child Development, Social Welfare Policy, Prison Reform

5Years’ Experience

210Papers Edited

Qualifications:

Master of Social Work, Aurora University
BA Russian, University of Illinois at Chicago

S. C., PhD

Law, Politics, Economics, Business

15Years’ Experience

1,598Papers Edited

Qualifications:

PhD Politics, University of California
LLM, Columbia Law School
LLB, University of Cape Town Law School
Bachelor of Business Science, Law & Economics, University of Cape Town

Amelia-St-John-Wallis-compressed-scaled-e1637146839522

A. S., MSc

Psychology, Affective Disorders, Behavioral Sciences

8Years’ Experience

80Papers Edited

Qualifications:

MSc Affective Disorders, King’s College London
BA Psychological and Behavioural Sciences, Christ’s College, University of Cambridge

Our editors are members of professional editing bodies, including editor-memberships

“An excellent service. It was fast and very effective. After this revision, the paper was accepted in a good journal.”

Marcelo

🇨🇱 Chile

“The editor did a very professional job with not only correcting spelling, grammatical and punctuation mistakes, but also editing whole sentences in order to make them easier to understand.”

MJV

🇩🇪 Germany

“My second time using the proofreading services for my manuscript. Everything was on track. On time, reliable, good deal offered. Credit to the editor, Amanda G. Thank you!”

Farizwan

🇲🇾 Malaysia