Developmental Editing for Non-Fiction

CIEP guides provide a short, basic introduction to the various skills and knowledge needed to work as an editorial professional. They are intended for copyeditors and proofreaders, both practising and potential, and will also prove useful to others involved in publishing content, including businesses, organisations, agencies, students and authors.

If you want to learn more about developmental editing of non-fiction resources, this guide is for you. It looks at the skills you need and describes practical approaches you can use, whether you are employed by a publisher or working on a freelance basis.

Claire Beveridge is a developmental editor, copyeditor and writer who specialises in non-fiction. In this guide, she focuses on the process of getting a work of non-fiction into good order before it moves on to the copyediting phase.

The main purpose of developmental editing is to help the author clarify their message and deliver it to the intended audience effectively. This guide introduces the key things you need to consider along the way.