Developmental editing — also called structural editing — addresses the big picture of your manuscript. Rather than focusing on language at the sentence level, it examines argument, structure, chapter organisation, logical flow and narrative coherence across the entire text.

It is the most in-depth editorial service available and is typically carried out before copyediting or proofreading. For authors whose draft is complete but whose manuscript needs strategic reshaping before submission, developmental editing provides the framework to transform a strong draft into a compelling, publishable work.