Does Your Developmental Editor Read Your Genre?

You have now finished your book. You want to get it published, but you don't know the next step. The last writing class you took was in high school, but, you have gone to a couple of workshops and conferences on writing a novel so you think you are "good to go." At one of those conferences, you were convinced by a panel of presenters that hiring someone to be a developmental editor is the way to go!

According to the panel, these people will read your entire novel, give you an in-depth read and fully give you suggestions and feedback to make that story something EVERY editor or agent will beg to see. After that one hour presentation, how could you not get a six-figure deal from the book. This money will be well spent and you will get it back with that first advance which you are going to buy a new car with as well.

It is time to get a few things straight here with our fine author who is really eager to be published and we'll start with hiring a developmental editor.

Can these people give you feedback on your project? Yes. Can these people make your writing "better" than it was when you submitted it to them? Yes. However, and this is a big however, do they read the genre that you write?

You have heard may say on this blog that you need to read what you write. If you do not actively read, and for that matter, study, the genre you are writing, you are missing out on the nuances of that writing. Think of it this way. If you read science fiction, it has a unique voice and style to it. The quality authors know how to use those plot devices in a way to draw in the readers because they "understand" the genre. 

This last weekend, I was researching a few developmental editors out there for this post. I wanted to see what their backgrounds were and what they were saying they would do for a reader who hired them. A lot of them had no background in publishing other than being a copy editor for a magazine, or had a MFA in Creative Writing from some university. I saw a lot of them who worked with their college alumni magazines. I did read the ABOUT FAQ page for one and this person writes poetry (no books out yet) and dabbles in fantasy writing. Only two out of the developmental editors that I read up on, I looked at over 20, had any background in the publishing world. One had been an editor and an agent and was now editing in their genre. The other had just been an acquisitions editor but was also editing in their genre.

BTW, did you note those three words I used? "IN THEIR GENRE".

These other people had pretty much earned an English degree, went on to get a creative writing masters and with that "workshopping background" they are going to edit your work! And for a lot of money.

You have to be able to trust the person you are sending it to. Don't get me wrong. They have a lot of great intentions and enthusiasm. They DO want to help you and yes, the feedback they give you will probably be fine. But, if they are not active readers of your genre of writing, the feedback you get will be very superficial. It will be more in the way of line editing where they have just done a lot of work to make your writing pretty. The odds are, if they do not read and fully understand your genre, they will not have shaped it to something that can be marketed in that genre.

As you know, I did recently sit on a panel where we were talking about editors and what they can do for you. What I found interesting is that they were able to shape their responses of saying, "if you don't write genre fiction" but "write with a literary voice" then they somehow worked themselves out of that jam. What you need to understand is that even "upscale literary fiction" or even "narrative poetry" has a niche, has a unique voice, and does require extensive knowledge to give you that feedback.

Again, I am not going to say not to hire these people. All I beg is that you take the time, make sure they are immersed in your genre and verify before you send them that manuscript and money.