Editorial Impact Assessment
Helping to shorten the editorial process by proactively identifying obstacles and opportunities in a clear, concise and actionable way.
For authors wanting to get ahead of the curve, agents wanting to present a manuscript to publishers as a low-risk investment, and for editors wanting to reduce the number of revisions needed before heading to line editing.
Have you ever had an editorial change affect more than you expected? With ripple effect after ripple effect, until it all gets away from you, and you realise later on that you’ve missed some of the impacts? Or worse: a reader points a plot hole or inconsistency out to you after the book has been published?
This unique service, based on professional training and best practice, aims to help you to identify, manage, prioritise and action the impacts of editorial changes so that you have a clear way forward that doesn’t lead to uncovering nasty impacts later on in the process.
If you want to give your manuscript its best shot, maximise its readability, and take some of the pain out of editing, this service is the one for you.
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When a manuscript has been developmentally edited, any changes suggested and agreed can have bigger implications than expected. This can lead to several rounds of back-and-forth revisions between author and editor, with errors and inconsistencies going undetected until later in the process.
The editorial impact assessment is our answer to the lengthy editorial process, and is a tool based on change management expertise. It aims to proactively identify the ripple effects of changes to a manuscript, so that there is a reduced risk of finding unexpected impacts further along in the editing process.
If your manuscript has big changes after being edited (plot structures, character backgrounds and/or relationships, worldbuilding, magic systems, and more), and you want to make sure you head into the next round of revisions with a clear idea of all the parts that need amending, then this service may be just what you need.
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Your editor will speak with you to understand the changes to the manuscript, your vision and any editorial notes, and will then analyse the entire novel using change management methodologies.
They will then produce a report, using a bespoke template that is clear and easy to follow. It will provide key information and actionable steps for an author to take so that they can proactively identify what needs tackling in the next round of revisions.
Each report is unique to a client’s project, and can be as short or as long as needed. It will be the client who briefs the editor on the changes to be assessed, which can be discussed over an online briefing meeting or via email, with the conversation summarised in writing for both parties.
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It’s more beneficial to have your editorial impact assessment done during the developmental edit (see our Part of Developmental Edit offering), as the editor will be more familiar with your work and can perform the two editorial services consecutively. This leads to a more efficient process and can save you money by combining the two elements in one of our developmental editing packages.
However, this analysis can also be completed as a separate service. This would be the case if you have had your manuscript developmentally edited by somebody else and would like to understand the impacts of agreed changes before starting your revisions. It is especially suited for publishing professionals seeking expert guidance to help streamline the editing process (e.g. where there are tight deadlines or a series of impactful editorial changes to be assessed).
Our Editorial Impact Assessment Services
Part of Developmental Edit
As we perform a developmental edit of your manuscript, we will also carry out an editorial impact assessment, which will:
identify impacts of editorial changes
provide actionable steps to reduce those impacts
identify plot and character opportunities based on those changes
identify the chapters in your manuscript that are affected by each change
and more!
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As part of your developmental editing package, you will receive:
a detailed editorial impact assessment report that outlines all the desired changes and provides a detailed assessment of what is impacted in all elements of your manuscript, along with additional guidance that could prove cruicial for shortening the editorial process.
This report will come with actionable steps, professional advice, and a focus on realistic characters and plots.
If you choose the Gold developmental editing package, you will also receive:
a revisions roadmap to outline the steps you need to take to approach revisions of your manuscript, with the aim of reducing complexity, time needed and knock-on effects.
For further information, on developmental packages, please see the ‘Developmental Editing’ page.
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Please see the ‘Developmental Editing’ page for specific details on the pricing of the full package.
There is a core editing cost to be considered that may depend on your word count. The editorial impact assessment element is an additional cost that depends on the package you choose:
Silver: £340
Gold (includes the revisions roadmap): £400
Please note that payment plans are available upon request.
Separate Service
For those manuscripts that are not needing a developmental edit but would benefit from understanding and mapping the impacts of editorial changes, we can perform an editorial impact assessment, which will:
identify impacts of editorial changes
provide actionable steps to reduce those impacts
identify plot and character opportunities based on those changes
identify the chapters in your manuscript that are affected by each change
and more!
For this service, we will require the annotated manuscript detailing the editorial changes required, and will provide a summary sheet for you to complete before we can start work.
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You will receive:
a detailed editorial impact assessment report that outlines all the desired changes and provides a detailed assessment of what is impacted in all elements of your manuscript, along with additional guidance that could prove cruicial for shortening the editorial process.
This report will come with actionable steps, professional advice, and a focus on realistic characters and plots.
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Impact assessments depend on the length of the manuscript, the number of editorial comments, and the extent of the ripple effects found.
Therefore, there is an initial £450 reading fee plus an hourly rate of £85 for producing the editorial impact assessment report.