If you’re a leader or senior team member in a non-profit or the public sector – perhaps a charity, advocacy organisation or think tank – you no doubt regularly write briefing papers, reports, funding applications, policy documents and thought leadership articles.
Writing for a purpose and writing for change is an essential part of the job, and you may be the only one who can do it. But getting your message to land is hard and takes time: time that you probably can’t spare. And you may reach blocks because you’re so close to the subject.
Even if you know you need help and have a budget for it, you may be unsure who to approach – do you need a copywriter, a journalist or an editor?
A freelance developmental editor can help. They’ll work to understand your organisation, your brand, and your strategic comms goals, and they’ll be there to bring the combination of skills you need, when you need them.
What is developmental editing and what are the benefits?
Developmental editing makes sure your writing has the best chance of achieving its purpose. It focuses on the big picture. So rather than concentrating on sentence-level corrections, a developmental editor will consider who the reader is, what you need to convey in terms of your brand and organisational culture, and most importantly, what the aim of the writing is (to explain, persuade, prompt people to feel something or take action?).
Developmental editing is a bit like having a copywriter and editor to hand to help you get over that final hurdle. A copywriter will make sure your writing achieves its goal – helps the reader think, feel and act. An editor brings a more journalistic approach, considering the facts, the thought leadership, and the news value. It’s unusual to find someone who spans both fields, but we do exist (find out more about me here). And we can bring huge value to your communications. For example:
- A developmental editor working on a funding application might identify where your strongest evidence should be repositioned for maximum impact, where the connection between your activities and outcomes needs strengthening, or where you’re assuming knowledge that the funder won’t have. It might identify where your theory of change needs clarifying, or where budget justifications need strengthening.
- Working on a policy briefing, we might flag where technical language obscures your key recommendations, where additional context or evidence is needed to make your case convincing, or where the structure buries your most important points.
- For thought leadership articles and reports, we’ll look at whether: busy readers will grasp your main messages; your argument flows logically; you’ve anticipated and addressed counterarguments; your evidence truly supports your claims.
It’s a process of reading, asking questions and helping to answer them. Will your audience understand this? Does this section advance your argument? Is there a more persuasive way to frame this? Could a busy reader miss your key point here? Is this the most effective structure? Then we’ll make or suggest changes accordingly.
The process can also help with organisational learning. Developmental editors often provide comments, questions and advice on how to make your writing more effective throughout the document. This can provide insights you can apply to all your future documents. Over time, my clients have found that they internalise the questions I ask and their first drafts become stronger.
Recently, for one organisation, part of the brief was to provide detailed comments and feedback on a series of impact reports written by people based in different countries. The reports that I now receive to edit are vastly improved. This comment is typical of the feedback from the teams: “Extremely useful. I have learnt a lot from it. Really challenged how l have been writing reports. I really liked it. Her style helps to make the report soft and straight to the point.”
The client said: “I owe you a huge thank you, this has been such a helpful process. I have learnt a lot from reading your feedback and our colleagues too.”
What does developmental editing involve? The process
Developmental editing can be a one-off project, or, more usefully, it’s the start of an ongoing relationship with the editor. This means we can get to know your organisation, its strategic goals, brand and audiences. Clients that I’ve worked with for some time now build the process into their workflows.
You’re a busy senior leader and you’ve read this far (thank you) so I’m going to break this down into a numbered list based on my process (although I’ll adapt this according to what works for you):
1. You send over the draft of the document. This can sometimes be almost fully formed, or it can be a very rough outline.
2. We’ll arrange an initial meeting to discuss the project, what you need from the process, your deadline, and perhaps your budget.
3. I’ll provide a quote usually within a few days. I’ll usually give you a maximum and minimum price, as the cost will depend on factors such as:
- how long I’ve worked with you for (costs tend to reduce once I’ve begun working with you as I’m familiar with your organisation, strategies, brand and audiences)
- how well formed the material is
- how much supporting information is available
- how many phases of amends there are.
I’m completely transparent about time and costs, and will only ever charge for the time that your project takes.
4. Once you’ve accepted the quote and we’ve agreed deadlines and approach, you’ll send across any background information such as, if you have them, brand guidelines, comms strategy, audience research, writing style guide, impact/evaluation reports.
5. I’ll review the document to be edited, as well as the supporting documents, and think about the questions I need to ask you.
6. We’ll meet again for the first ‘initiation meeting’ to discuss so that I understand what you want from the process, and I’ll ask lots of questions.
7. I’ll work on the document, usually in Word or on Google Docs (whichever you prefer), keeping track changes so that you can see what changes I’ve made. Where it’s helpful, I’ll comment on the document to show you what I’ve changed and why, to help with your future writing.
8. I’ll send you the document for review, and we’ll either meet to discuss or you can share your feedback on the document or by email. You may want colleagues to be involved, to check against technical information, brand guidelines and organisational voice.
9. I’ll act on your suggestions and amends, and/or you may want to develop certain aspects further yourself, and so on, until we’re happy with the result. The process is highly collaborative.
For people working in non-profits, the public sector, and other mission-driven organisations, developmental editing can be a strategic function, supporting communications, individual development, and ultimately your outcomes. If you consider what’s at stake, can you afford not to consider adding developmental editing into the work of your organisation?
💬 If you need someone to help you write, or to edit, a report, briefing paper, thought leadership article or other written communications, I’d love to help – do get in touch for a no obligation chat. I help organisations to communicate their value and grow their impact. Services include communications and storytelling, copy/writing and editing, fundraising and evaluation. I specialise in working with music and arts organisations working in education, wellbeing and social purpose but also work beyond this, for example in international development. 💬