Academic Developmental Editing for Cultural Anthropologists and Humanities Scholars

Publishing an academic book can feel daunting and tricky to navigate. Skills such as how to write a book proposal or options for structuring a book are often not taught explicitly on PhD programs, and so it can feel like a black box, particularly for early-career academics.

Add to that the scale of a book project and its importance for tenure and promotions, which all demand special care and attention, and no wonder many academics struggle.

I’ve been there several times myself, and in my work as a developmental editor, I love helping academic writers avoid making some of the mistakes I made myself.

As a former cultural anthropologist, I have a particular interest in ethnographic writing and anthropological books that reach audiences beyond academia.

My clients have landed contracts with university presses, including Cambridge University Press, Indiana University Press, Stanford University Press, Bristol University Press, University of Minnesota Press, I.B. Tauris, CEU Press, University of Toronto Press, and many more.

What my academic developmental editing service involves:

Developmental editing gives you detailed feedback on what is working well in your manuscript and what isn't. A typical editorial report looks at your arguments and concepts—are they clear, compelling, and well linked? Or are they buried? Are there too many jostling for the reader's attention?

Unlike peer review, developmental editing is entirely focused on strengthening the manuscript itself. The feedback thinks with the text, crafting ways of improving the presentation of arguments, concepts, themes, voice, style, etc., with big picture feedback on all these.

For ethnography and crossover/trade books, techniques borrowed from creative nonfiction and fiction can also help elevate a manuscript. I’ve trained and am highly experienced in these techniques too, and this is a special quality I bring to my projects.

You'll receive a report full of tips and actionable feedback to improve your manuscript, and there'll be plenty of opportunities to discuss your project and the feedback with me too.

What texts do I work on?

I work on the following kinds of texts:

academic books (especially monographs)
crossover/trade nonfiction books written by academics
academic journal articles
academic book proposals

For developmental editing, it’s important that you send me a completed draft.

Please note: I do not edit research or job application materials. I edit books, book proposals, and journal articles only.

If you are struggling to complete your manuscript or want a sounding board as you write, then check out my revisions coaching service instead.

Working with me

Here are the steps involved:

We agree on the service and timeframe. Please get in touch as early as possible for full book edits, as I tend to book out around three months in advance for large projects. I can usually fit in small projects at relatively short notice.
We’ll sign a contract (for book-length projects) and then I begin work. My standard turnaround time is one month for full book edits and two weeks for smaller projects. If you need an express service, I charge a 40% rush fee (see FAQ).
I deliver the editorial feedback and we meet for a feedback call, in which we’ll wrap everything up or plan the next steps.

Academic developmental editing: Services I offer

Book Developmental Editing: A Detailed Book Critique

This service is based on two full read-throughs of your manuscript. First as a regular reader, and then a second, detailed reading, where I comment as I go. You’ll receive a clear revision roadmap, a detailed analysis of your arguments, and practical recommendations for strengthening structure, clarity, and the reader experience.

Most authors commission this service once they have completed a full manuscript and before approaching publishers or revising after peer review.

You receive:

A detailed report of at least 3000 words covering big-picture issues with your manuscript, a content summary, and a revision plan
An argument throughlines sheet, listing your book's main arguments in each chapter with commentary on significant arguments from me
Additional information sheets on editorial topics relevant to your book
Detailed MS Word comments on your manuscript (around one per page)
An hour of online coaching or support via Zoom.

Price: Flat fee of £1799
I can also take payments in USD or EUR
This service does not include edits to your writing (line/copyedits)

Academic Journal Article/Book Proposal: Detailed Critique

For this service, you send me your book proposal, journal article, or book chapter, and I give you detailed developmental feedback on it. Then we’ll meet for 30 minutes to discuss the feedback on a call.

You receive:

Manuscript comments
A short report suggesting big-picture revisions
A 30-min Zoom call to discuss the feedback

Price:
£250 (up to 7,000 words)
£250 + £25 per 1000 words for manuscripts longer than 7,000 words
This service does not include edits to your writing (line/copyedits)

Hands-on developmental editing

After completing my review, some authors then want me to go in and make the changes. This might involve adding transition sentencez, drafting new headings, moving text around, removing repeated or redundant material, ensuring arguments are suitably emphasized, etc.

I usually charge for this service on an hourly basis, and my standard fee is £60 per hour. We will always agree on a fixed number of hours in advance before I begin this work.

Academic Book Consulting

If you’d prefer a one-off conversation before committing to a developmental edit, you can also book a consulting session for strategic feedback on your project.

£99 / $125
One 60-minute Zoom consultation (recorded if useful)
Includes optional advance review of up to 2,000 words

FAQs

I have a separate FAQ page here.

If you’re not sure whether you need a developmental editor, feel free to get in touch and tell me a bit about your project.

About Me: Dr Andrew Hodges

I help cultural anthropologists, qualitative sociologists, and scholars in adjacent fields strengthen their manuscripts before submission to journals and publishers, drawing on both academic developmental editing and the craft techniques of fiction and creative nonfiction.

I hold a PhD in social anthropology from the University of Manchester and an MA in Natural Sciences (history and philosophy of science) from the University of Cambridge. I worked as a cultural anthropologist for over a decade in Croatia and Germany (2008–2019), before retraining as a developmental and substantive editor.

More details here.

Get in touch about your project

Check out my editing manifesto:

Editing Otherwise

Dr. Leandra Bias, University of Bern

Andrew's detailed review crucially supported me in making decisions about how much and which work I was ready to do on the proposal and what publishers would be suitable. Within two weeks of revising the proposal based on his feedback I got two major UK university presses interested in reviewing my manuscript!

Dr. Pavel Brunssen, Heidelberg University

I have worked repeatedly with Dr. Hodges on scholarly manuscripts, and each project has been a huge success. His editing skills are tremendous! His meticulous eye for details and his scholarly background make him my favorite editor.

Talal Mohammad, St Antony's College, University of Oxford

Thanks to Andy's great editorial skills, quick turnaround time, and going the extra mile to read my work, my monograph gained immense praise from authorities in the field.

More recently, an article Andy evaluated made it into one of the top current affairs magazines.

Dr. Barbara Turk-Niskac, ZRC SAZU

In an ideal academic world, colleagues would foster a supportive environment, providing reciprocal assistance with writing projects. In real life, there´s Andrew. I now feel much more confident about my book project and am prepared to submit it to publishers.