A Developmental Editor is a Pipe Dream for Me

Lately, I've been intrigued by the idea of developmental editing. While I grasped the concept, I imagined that a developmental edit would look like a lot of yellow highlighting, a lot of red, and a lot of strikethroughs on the page. I don't work well with that kind of chaos. So, I looked online for some samples. What I found was, yes, there is some of what I described, but those markings correspond to blocks of notes in the right-hand margin. Okay, but still overall "messy". Then I read a sample editorial assessment letter, which generally accompanies the marked-up pages. This I could get on board with. This is clear, comprehensive, and doesn't make me dizzy or overwhelmed. There is no doubt my novel would benefit from this level of expertise.

But, of course, I'll never find out. Google informs me that the going rate for a good developmental editor averages around eight cents per word. If my word count is average, around 60,000 words (I still haven't dared to find out), this service would cost me at least $4,800.00!

I don't know what world most would-be authors are living in, but I don't have that kind of money to spend on luxuries. (Sure, everyone says it's not a luxury, blah, blah, blah; but it's certainly not a necessity, like food and heat.)

Again, the old class system rears its ugly head. Only those with disposable income have a chance at polishing their novel for success. The rest of us are left to guess at how best to structure our stories, and how to fix their multitude of errors, from vagueness to continuity issues, to contradictory scenes, to...well, you name it. I know my novel contains all of those things and more, but a few suggestions on how to correct them would be, well, a luxury.

I've heard that one can find cheaper alternatives to the high end pricing on places like Fiverr, but my experience with Fiverr has not been good. Frankly, if you're a respected editor, why would you sully your reputation by hooking up with a site known for subpar dabblers? The book covers I commissioned via Fiverr were laughably amateurish, and I went with artists who had the best reviews. 

It's plain that I can't locate the expertise I need for free, or even for cheap, so it all comes down to me. And I'm ready to admit, I don't have a clue how to edit my own story. I don't even know where to start.

I've bookmarked a handful of YouTube videos on self-editing, which I haven't had time to view yet, and if I only glean one helpful tip from them, that will be more knowledge than I possess currently. Absent that, I suppose I could draw up comprehensive notes regarding the parts that need fixing (sans solutions, obviously), but what about the things I'm too close to the story to notice? It's like when you first fall in love, and you're too enthralled to see someone's faults. 

I've wisely decided to take some time away from my first draft, if for no other reason than to think things through; things such as, am I being delusional? Does it matter a whit how polished my novel is? What the hell is my goal, anyway? Would it be more advantageous to have a cover professionally designed than to blow my finances to bits over even a cheap edit (if I could even find such a thing)?

A writer is supposed to feel euphoric once they complete their draft. Somehow, I missed the euphoria part.