“Can you proofread this email and make sure it sounds okay before I send it?” “I just finished writing my novella. I want a proofreader to clean up my grammar.” None of these projects needs a proofreader . . . yet.

Have you ever missed a day on Duolingo, lost your streak, and deleted the app instead of just . . . starting over? That same instinct shows up with writing.

Developmental editing is like looking at your entire manuscript on a giant corkboard so you can see how it all fits together.