The goal of developmental editing is to improve your book’s foundation, content, and structure. This type of editing is very different from proofreading or copyediting. When you hear editing, you probably think about grammar, punctuation, and spelling, or shaping text to fit style guides like the Chicago Manual of Style and The AP Stylebook. When comparing different types of editing, it’s probably good to think about copyediting and proofreading as the decoration and polish stage. If you've written your first draft and you want to take it to the next level, developmental editing is how you can get your book ready for readers.