Acting on the edit
What should you do after a developmental edit?
After a developmental edit, do not revise from page one immediately. Read the full feedback, wait long enough to separate reaction from judgment, then translate comments into a small set of manuscript decisions. Confirm the diagnosis against passages, group related notes under root problems, and order the work from structural changes to local changes. Decide what you accept, reject, or need to test. Only begin line and copy work after the revised manuscript holds together as a complete book.
By the Wordsmith team · Last updated
Build a decision ledger
For each major note, record the claimed reader problem, the supporting passages, your decision, and the chapters affected. This prevents a large report from becoming an unstructured to-do list.
Mark disagreements explicitly. You do not need to accept a prescription to learn from the reaction that produced it.
Revise in dependency order
Start with cuts, additions, reordering, point-of-view changes, argument sequence, and character causality. Then repair continuity and pacing. Work on lines after those decisions settle.
Revisit the opening after finishing structural revision because the book's real promise may now be clearer.
Close the loop
Reread the complete manuscript, not only changed chapters. Check that setups still pay off, facts remain consistent, and cuts have not removed necessary context.
In Wordsmith, the developmental letter and chapter work remain connected. Use Fred to discuss a suggestion, accept it, reject it, or ask how it relates to the whole-book diagnosis.
Frequently asked questions
Should I respond to every comment?
No. Resolve every material diagnosis, but several comments may share one root cause and one revision decision.
What if I disagree with the edit?
Check the evidence and reader effect. You can reject the proposed fix while addressing the underlying confusion or loss of momentum in another way.
Sources and product facts
- Nail Your Novel on processing a developmental report · Independent post-edit revision context
- How Fred edits · Visible suggestion workflow
Keep reading
Put your manuscript in front of Fred
Fred reads the whole manuscript and marks up a sample before you pay.