Developmental/substantive editing
A developmental edit involves a higher level of interaction and a process in which I draw things out of you to flesh out your text. I may comment, for example, “Set the scene here. Is this out of the ordinary?” I may say that entire pages or chapters should be saved for another endeavor. I may suggest that you completely restructure a piece, or I may spend a lot of time talking about your tone and whether it’s right for your audience.
Developmental editing entails as many back-and-forths as a piece of writing requires. I may ask for a paragraph of context, only to have you push back and say that it would be insulting to your readers. I may think there is too much explanation, only to have you come back and make the case for its necessity. I may think your tone too tentative, or too naïve, or otherwise not trustworthy-sounding, and ask for more self-assurance. (I often scold authors for starting out talking about what they don’t know! Why write about a topic about which you’re ignorant?) Conversely, I may point out words or phrases that make you sound arrogant.
Editing is an act of assertion, as an old boss of mine often said. Sometimes authors counterassert; sometimes they concede. I trust that if you engage my services you do so in the knowledge that I am a person with opinions and expertise.