Developmental Edit Brief — Before the Storm

##The project *Before the Storm: A Father's Story of Autism, Meltdowns, and Learning to Hear What His Son Couldn't Say* is a short narrative nonfiction / memoir manuscript, roughly 16,000 words, written under a pen name (Simon Hale). It's a true story: a father's account of raising his autistic son, structured in three acts — the daily reality of the struggle, the family learning to read the boy, and what they decided to build as a result. The book ends by introducing a real project the family is developing. It's written for parents of autistic and special-needs children, and it's intended to be both a standalone book and the front door to a related product and community. I'm hiring a developmental editor for a full critical pass before publication. I have a hard production deadline (details below), so turnaround matters. ## What I need from you A developmental / substantive edit — not a copyedit or proofread (those come later). I want your assessment of the book at the level of structure, pacing, voice, emotional impact, and credibility. Specifically: 1. **Does it work as a whole?** Is the three-act arc earned? Does the ending (the introduction of the project) land as a natural conclusion to the story, or does it read like a pitch — and if so, exactly where does it tip? 2. **Pacing and momentum.** Where does it drag, repeat itself, or lose you? Where do you skim? Flag specific passages. 3. **Voice and tone.** Is the first-person father's voice consistent, warm, and credible? Where does it slip into sentimentality, over-writing, or "tell" instead of "show"? 4. **Emotional honesty.** Where does anything ring false, exaggerated, or written-for-effect rather than true? This is a personal story and I would rather it be unflinching than flattering. 5. **The recurring metaphors and motifs** (e.g., the "needle," the barometer, "before the storm"). Are they effective or overused? Flag repetition. 6. **Chapter-level notes.** Which chapters are strongest, which are weakest, and why. What would you cut, expand, or reorder? 7. **The science.** The book weaves in research (masking, alexithymia, physiological prediction of meltdowns, co-regulation, etc.) with a sourced notes section at the back. Does the science land naturally in the narrative without lecturing, and does anything feel overstated? 8. **Anything that would draw criticism.** Where might a skeptical reader, a clinician, or an autistic self-advocate object? I want those spots flagged hard. ## What I do NOT need Encouragement. I've already had early readers tell me they love it, and that feedback hasn't helped me improve the book. I'm paying specifically for the critical eye those readers couldn't give me. Please be direct — tell me what isn't working, what's weak, what you'd cut. Blunt is useful; polite is not. You will not hurt my feelings, and candor is the single most valuable thing you can deliver. ## Format of deliverable Whatever you work best in — tracked changes and margin comments in the Word document, an editorial letter summarizing the big-picture notes, or both (both is ideal: a 1–3 page editorial letter for the structural/global issues, plus in-line comments for specific spots). I care more about the substance of the feedback than the format. ## Logistics - Manuscript: ~16,000 words, Word document, provided on hire. - Timeline: I need notes back within [X] days — I have a firm publication deadline of mid-July and need time to integrate your feedback. Please only take this on if you can meet that turnaround. - Before we start the full edit, I'd like a **paid sample edit of one chapter** (your choice or mine) so we can confirm fit. I'll pay for the sample regardless of whether we proceed. - Confidentiality: this is an unpublished manuscript and a true family story told under a pen name. Please keep it confidential. ## About fit This book benefits from an editor with experience in **memoir or narrative nonfiction specifically** (not primarily fiction). If you have any background, lived experience, or subject familiarity with autism, neurodiversity, disability, or special-needs parenting, please mention it — it's genuinely valuable for this project, though not required. ## To respond Please tell me: (1) your relevant memoir/nonfiction editing experience, (2) your availability against the timeline above, (3) your rate for a ~16k-word developmental edit plus a one-chapter paid sample, and (4) in a sentence or two, what you think a developmental edit should accomplish. That last one tells me more than a portfolio.