Why You Should Hire a Developmental Writer/Editor for Business E-Books, Blogs & Content

In the world of fiction publishers, writers, and editors are well aware of the deep structural importance of story structure, description, and flow. In this new era of self-publishing there is a misperception that non-fiction is ‘dry’ and uninspiring and thus content producers sometimes fail to consider developmental editing as often as they should.

This is an upside-down way of thinking, particularly when it comes to digital marketing.

Conveying your USP and product benefits with enthusiasm and clarity is essential – and that’s why developmental editing should be a crucial part of the content development process.

Content producers often disregard deeper editing services – when the message that represents your corporate and personal brand needs to be properly structured and presented.

This is where developmental editing comes to the fore. There is a real difference between copy editing and developmental editing, and it’s developmental editing that works incredibly well for blogs, E-books and other long-form content.

So what’s the difference Between copy editing and developmental editing?

Copy Editing covers:

• Grammar

• Spelling

• Sentence structure

• Adherence to language structure or dialect (US English vs. UK English) and elimination of non-native language structure

Developmental Editing covers everything in copy editing, but takes it deeper:

• Deep fact checking

• Flow

• Clarity

• Structure

• Partial rewriting

• Substantive changes

• Expert-level scrutiny of esoteric topic or industry

• Remarks on the value of the content

• Thorough checks for consistency

• Ensuring the digital content is written around a focus keyword for optimal SEO

• Match established brand voice and tone

Let’s face it, If you’re an industry leader or looking to become one, you need to be producing top professional content in your sector.

You want engaging and knowledgeable content more likely to rank higher in SERPs (search engine results pages) – or even better, Google knowledge graph placement, which positions you as the authority on any given topic.

Remember, it’s likely your competition’s editorial process doesn’t include carefully structured content.

As you can probably guess, this can give you a further advantage when it comes to search engine placement and the ability to reach prospective customers. According to the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), content marketing is four times more valuable than targeted advertising. With that value, you should put your best content out there – and that means polished, engaging work.

Do You Need Developmental Editing?

Yes, you do! If you have:

The outline of an E-Book that you want to publish

The outline of a series of blog posts

Structured content with the right ideas in the right order, but you’re worried about grammar

A finished piece of content, but need help with the structure/flow of the piece

A great idea for content but need to consult with a writer or editor before publishing

If you’re still not sure what you need drop me an email at geoff@geoffpoundeseditor.com, or pop over to my website – geoffpoundesseditor.com - and I’ll point you in the right direction. We’ll discuss your content, ideas, and business goals to make sure you get your message spot on!

Geoff Poundes is a professional developmental editor, specialising in non-fiction and in particular business, sport and history, biography and memoir. Go to www.geoffpoundeseditor.co.uk to find out more.