Academic Developmental Editing for Cultural Anthropologists
Many academics learn to write from copying other scholars they like. There is very little emphasis on the craft of writing in PhD programs and beyond—it's often assumed you'll find your way through osmosis, mentor feedback, and a strong network. ​
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But not every scholar has all those things, and it's even more challenging if you're working across multiple systems or countries and traditions of writing. As an ex-scholar who has experienced these challenges firsthand, I set up the Narrative Craft to demystify academic writing and help scholars cultivate a sustainable writing habit.
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I'm trained in cultural anthropology, but I work across the narrative humanities, especially on projects with social justice, queer, or feminist themes.
​​​​​Please note: I do not edit assessed work of any kind, and I do not edit research or job application materials. I edit books, book proposals, and journal articles only.
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​Book Developmental Editing: A Detailed Book Critique
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​​​​​Developmental editing gives you detailed feedback on what works in your manuscript and what doesn'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?
Where appropriate, my reports also give you feedback on your ethnography as a piece of creative nonfiction too. For example, have you used sensory imagery? Strong verbs? Is your style more told or shown?
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.​​
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You receive:​
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Two close read-throughs of your manuscript
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A detailed report of 4000–6000 words covering big-picture issues with your manuscript and a revision plan
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Detailed MS Word comments on your manuscript (around one per page)
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An hour of online coaching or support via Zoom.
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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)
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After receiving the report, I sometimes work with authors in a "hands-on" way, actioning some of the revisions I have suggested in the report.
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Academic Journal Article/Book Proposal Developmental Editing: Manuscript Clinic
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 mins to discuss the feedback on a call.
You receive:
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Manuscript comments
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A short report suggesting big-picture revisions
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A 30-min Zoom call to discuss the feedback
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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)
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Academic ​​​Book Consulting
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We meet online to solve problems you’re having with your current draft, book idea, or publishing plans. ​
Price:
£99 / $125 for one hour (online on Zoom; can be recorded. You can submit up to 2000 words for me to read beforehand.)
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Substantive editing
Substantive editing is line/copyediting combined with developmental editing insights at sentence level.​ This service is ideal for journal articles or books before submitting or alongside peer review.
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A combination of line/copyediting and developmental editing (two passes)
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First, I line edit the manuscript for clarity, style, readability, and accuracy.
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I apply editorial style (Chicago Manual of Style or UK style)
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I'll fix in-text author date references and copyedit footnotes, but I won't style or format the reading list or footnote references.
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On a second read-through, I include any content feedback on issues I notice. I focus on smaller issues (transition sentences, opportunities to insert a sentence to make a point or argument clearer) rather than big-picture structural fixes—if you need the latter, you can book a developmental edit instead​
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I can also just offer line/copyediting if that's all you need.
Price: £45 per 1000 words​​
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.
H​​Hi, I'm Dr. Andrew Hodges. I set up the Narrative Craft in 2019 with a mission to help scholars engaging with Anglo-American academia to make confident, informed choices about how to navigate these systems and communicate their ideas clearly.
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My approach is honest, direct, kind, and supportive. Unlike peer review, there is no gatekeeping here—I'm solely invested in helping you improve your writing and arguments.
Since 2019, I've worked with hundreds of scholars in cultural anthropology and related disciplines to refine their arguments and style in their books, journal articles, and book proposals. I have completed editorial training courses in both developmental editing and copyediting, most recently at the University of Chicago. 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.​
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The Narrative Craft Collective
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I'm a developmental editor and substantive/line editor. I collaborate with Dr. Marieke Krijnen for academic copyediting and reference list formatting, too.​
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Dr. Krijnen covers reference list formatting and academic copyediting, and we often work as a team on combined line/copyedits, doing a separate pass each.
She specializes in academic copyediting, including reference list formatting.
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Marieke Krijnen: Academic copyeditor
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Marieke Krijnen is an academic copyeditor who works on journal articles and book manuscripts. She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and has a PhD. Her academic background is in Arabic, urban studies, geography, and the political economy of the Middle East. Her PhD focused on the gentrification and financialization of the built environment in Beirut, and she obtained an MA from the American University of Beirut with a thesis on how the Lebanese state facilitates real estate investment.​​​​​
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FAQs
​​​How can developmental editing help you?
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Academic training teaches you to think and write in a way well-suited to exploring ideas and concepts, but it's a writing style at odds with what's required when publishing for a popular audience or writing a book proposal (which is effectively you pitching a product and asking a publisher to invest in it).
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Academic feedback within disciplines is often focused on the fine details. It can be helpful to get an overview of big-picture issues in your writing too. Furthermore, feedback from an expert working in the publishing industry, and with a background in academic writing, can help you revise your book or journal article with the reader in mind. This can make it more compelling and help you reach more readers.​
Constructive, targeted feedback on a project from somebody outside of academia's system of gatekeeping can help take your writing up a level. It can also be highly motivating!
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​​How long will it take?
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I appreciate as much advance notice as possible for a project as I like to book up between three and five months in advance. How long the edit will take will depend on the service. I usually budget a month for developmental edits, and four to eight weeks for substantive/line edits, depending on how long they are. I can usually return a journal article within two weeks, except during holiday periods.
I'll always give you a firm deadline before starting work.
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If you have any more questions, feel free to ask! Otherwise, you can book a chat with me to discuss your project here:
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