Hiring an editor to complete a developmental edit of your novel can be expensive. If you can afford it, an effective editor will give you the outside perspective you need to take your manuscript to the next level. However, many emerging writers simply cannot afford the expense and do not have an established writing community to lean on. They may wonder if they can do a developmental edit of their own work. The answer is yes, you can do a developmental edit on your own novel, but it can be challenging to do so objectively.
When evaluating your work, it can be difficult to separate yourself from your own writing and see it objectively. You may overlook certain issues or be too close to the story to recognize where significant changes are needed to improve the story. This is one reason why I encourage writers to let a new draft simmer for a while before jumping into the evaluation stage of the novel writing process. That break from the work can help you return to the manuscript with the eyes of a reader rather than those of a writer. Details you never noticed before will suddenly begin to jump off the page at you. You’ll notice gaps that you would never have noticed otherwise.
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