Whether someone needs developmental editing depends on the person and their manuscript and their goals for the manuscript. If you’re just writing because it makes you happy and you don’t care about making money, or because you just want to share your story with your family, maybe you don’t need it. If you’re creating a book out of a course (which is already structured well and pretty much acts as a detailed outline), maybe you don’t need it. If you prefer to use beta readers and critique partners to help you get the organization down, maybe you don’t need it.

It's totally up to you, your goals, your budget, and your timeline.

I edit lots of memoirs, so I see lots of common developmental problems. If you can fix these before you get your book to an editor, the editor can focus on other issues, which results in a better book. Maybe after implementing these changes and working with beta readers, you even feel comfortable skipping developmental editing altogether and saving some time and money!

Here’s three common mistakes of memoir writers. Let’s get into it.

You may think a quick spell-check (or a thorough one) and reading the document a hundred million times is a good replacement for hiring editors. You might even send it to friends and read editing blogs and do all kinds of other things to help you do a better job editing your own book . . . but it’s not the same. Hiring a professional editor is invaluable, and here’s why: