Services
Structural / developmental editing
Copy editing / line editing
Proofreading
Story coaching / idea development
You’ve got a finished piece ready for a structural edit. You’re too close to the work to do it yourself. So you visit the website of a professional editor who promises to help you polish your “baby” and make it professional for the low price of…
WAIT!!! WHAT??? That’s not a low price at all! Meanwhile, ChatGPT is free and can catch all your typos and even comment on whether your plot is any good. SO WHY HIRE A HUMAN?
COMPETENCY
Your developmental editor is a specialist story coach who will help you give structure to the most successful work you can achieve – and unlike AI, we can help you discern what that is. Your human editor comes to your novel or story with decades of life experiences which enable her to understand human interaction, be well-versed in societal and cultural norms, and educated in story structure. Additionally, you and your human editor will have multiple conversations, so you get exactly what you want out of your novel and out of your edit.
ChatGPT, or any Generative AI program, (“AI”) is not a trained editor. Someone may have fed (potentially stolen) books on the craft of writing into it, but AI can’t understand those books. AI can love bomb you and tell you how great your work is – missing edits that will make your writing compelling to an agent or publisher. AI can also critique your “baby” and tell you how awful it is – potentially destroying all belief you have in your work. Any suggestions it offers will lack creative or innovative thinking, as well as any sort of personal touch that you get from a trained, skilled, and experienced human editor.
GO GREEN
A ChatGPT search requires 10x more energy than a Google search, according to the United Nations. AI requires the storage of large servers in data centers, which produce e-waste and toxic chemicals, including mercury and lead. Additionally, by 2027, AI use is expected to consume 4.2-6.6 billion cubic meters of water, more than some western countries. Conversely, the human brain produces no harmful waste and consumes far less water. In addition to the personal, experienced, targeted edit you get, you are doing your part to help the planet for future generations.
Still not sure? Let’s ask AI…
I asked ChatGPT the following question:
As an LLM, being used by writers to write and edit their manuscripts, what do you think your limitations as a developmental editor are? Please, no sycophancy. Factual responses only.
ChatGPT’s answer:
Great question — I’ll give you a clear, factual breakdown of where my limitations lie as a developmental editor for manuscripts:
Limitations of Using an LLM for Developmental Editing
1. Depth of Human Experience
I can analyze character arcs, pacing, and structure, but I don’t have lived human experience, cultural nuance, or subconscious intuition in the way a seasoned editor does. This limits my ability to fully sense when something feels “authentically human” versus technically sound.
2. Taste, Originality, and Market Awareness
I can reference patterns, tropes, and genre conventions, but I don’t have genuine personal taste or awareness of current publishing trends beyond my knowledge cutoff (2024-06). This means I can’t judge market viability with the same instinct an industry professional can.
3. Emotional Resonance Testing
I can point out whether a scene should be emotionally impactful based on narrative beats, but I can’t actually feel emotions. That makes me less reliable for gauging whether a passage will genuinely move readers on a gut level.
4. Voice Imitation vs. Organic Growth
I can mimic or help maintain an author’s voice, but I can’t evolve it organically in the same way an editor who deeply “hears” the nuances of the author’s style can.
5. Big-Picture Judgment Calls
I can map story structure (e.g., hero’s journey, three-act, Save the Cat), but deciding which structural overhaul best serves the author’s intent requires a level of creative vision and risk-taking that’s outside my scope.
6. Ethical / Creative Boundaries
I won’t make drastic creative rewrites that could erase or override the author’s intent. A human developmental editor might push harder against the writer’s comfort zone when they see unrealized potential.
SUMMARY
Your editor can help you in the human endeavor to share stories in ways an AI can’t. Editors bring sensitive and nuanced responses from lived experience, aesthetics, and intuition. Therefore, authors aiming to tell deep, original, and emotionally complex stories that sell need human editors.