Developmental Editing

Perfecting arguments in nonfiction writing.

When the path from premises to Conclusion is OBSCURED, I can illuminate your argument.

I am a developmental editor:
I specialize in improving the content and structure of manuscripts.

There are many types of editing, focusing on things like grammar, formatting, or manuscript acquisition. As a developmental editor, my strength is analyzing and refining ideas.

Within dev editing, my specialty is helping academic and trade-nonfiction writers improve the clarity, flow, and logical consistency of their arguments.

Services

If you’re writing persuasive nonfiction, especially in science or philosophy, I can ensure that your arguments are expressed as convincingly as possible.

All services will be accompanied by an intro consultation — either in-person or virtually — where we establish a shared understanding of your desired direction for your manuscript.

Rates are approximate, and may vary according to the density of the material.

Consultation: $50/h

manuscript review

A relatively quick, high-level overview with suggestions for large-scale manuscript restructuring.

TRADE NONFICTION: $0.035/w

ACADEMIC TEXT: $0.060/w

DEVELOPMENTAL EDIT

A deeper substantive analysis including more detailed suggestions, down to the paragraph.

TRADE NONFICTION: $0.040/w

ACADEMIC TEXT: $0.065/w

Hands-on blended EDIT

A comprehensive, multi-stage edit, altering, rearranging, and deleting text where necessary.

TRADE NONFICTION: $0.050/w

ACADEMIC TEXT: $0.070/w

IN NEED OF MY SERVICES?

Who I am

Despite leaving a career in research, I will always be an academic at heart.

I received a PhD in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, but decided I wanted to make a broader impact than I could as a professor or researcher. I aim to improve trade nonfiction on academic subjects, in order to deliver their content most effectively to lay audiences.

My passion is honing arguments and clarifying theses wherever I find them.

Anna Sedlacek, PhD

Blog:

Thoughts of a Survival Machine

I love to bring philosophy to any topic I can, and I have a passion for philosophy of science and scientific literacy. I maintain this blog primarily as an outlet for honing my thought processes and improving the foundations of my own beliefs.

On the Nature of Natural Selection

If you hear “natural selection” and your mind jumps to “survival of the fittest,” this post is for you. I’ll strip the theory of evolution by natural selection down to the studs, in order to rebuild it without misconceptions.

With No Power Comes No Responsibility

Does evolutionary psychology erase moral responsibility? The short answer is no, but the long answer is more complex than we like to think.

Sense & Falsifiability

This post is my attempt to make sense of the concept of falsifiability as concretely as possible, and to determine the merit of different types of unfalsifiability accusations against evolutionary psychology.