Mindset Prep for a Successful Developmental Edit

You’re almost ready to hire a developmental editor. But you’re worried about what getting this feedback will do to you. How it will feel, and how it will affect you. After all, the last thing you want is for your trajectory as a writer to get derailed. You don’t want to suffer a creative U-turn or come away blocked.

Or maybe you’re not sure what you’ll do for three or five or six weeks while you’re waiting for the feedback. How will you keep from spiraling? You wonder what you can do to ensure the process is streamlined and contributes to your success.

As a writer and developmental editor who’s gone through the fires of critique many times, I get it!

The good news is, I know just what you need to go into a developmental edit, navigate the wait gracefully, reframe negative emotions, and set yourself up for success. 

In this post, I’ll talk about the essential mindsets and tools that will take some of the pain out of the process: why a growth mindset is essential, how to commit to writing and persevering with grit, how to handle and reframe disappointment, tools for self-care, and ideas for how to use the wait while your manuscript is with the editor.

By the end of this post, you’ll know the mindset and techniques you need to:

• Overcome resistance and pull the trigger on a developmental edit
• Carry you through the agonizing wait
• Center you when you receive feedback
• Manage the emotions triggered by waiting and critique
• Tackle the challenge of edits

1. Commit to Growth

I sprang for my first developmental edit in 2017. At that point, I’d spent five years on my manuscript, done six major rewrites, and put it through two rounds of beta readers. (I’m a recovering perfectionist, okay?)

In my exploratory email to the developmental editor, I outlined why I wanted to hire her: “I think the manuscript is getting close to the point where I can either start submitting it to agents or decide to go indie.”

Now it turned out I was NOWHERE near ready to pursue representation or self-publish. But in some ways, all of that was secondary. My goal was to grow as a writer.

I went on to say, “I think it’s a decent story in terms of plot, characterization, and world-building. But decent isn’t what I’m going for. How do I make it stronger? How do I increase the impact? Where do my attempts to heighten the suspense succeed, and where do they result in confusion?”

In other words: I went into the dev edit with a growth mindset.

I knew I had room to improve, I knew I needed help, and I knew I wanted to strengthen my book. This was HUGE. It is the #1 thing that pulled me through when I got the discouraging news that my manuscript needed a ton of work to become a book.

I encourage you to develop this mindset as well. It will make all the difference.

But easier said than done, right? So, first things first: Identify the unhelpful thought processes that are setting you up for failure and discouragement. For example:

• “If I get negative feedback, it means I’m not a good writer.”
• “If I get negative feedback, it means my book sucks and I should quit.”
• “This feedback is going to crush me.”
• “All I want is affirmation. If my book isn’t great already, I’ll be depressed.”

Now, shift your mindset:

• “This feedback will help me strengthen my skillset and my novel.”
• “My book has room for growth, and so do I. I’m grateful for the chance to receive guidance and improve.”
• “Everyone starts somewhere. I’m grateful to know what I need to learn.”
• “Every writer needs to edit their work to make it better. I’m joining their ranks.”
• “Finding out where my book is weak is an opportunity to strengthen it and my skills.”

These are just examples. Think through your fears and how you tend to interpret feedback. How can you reframe your negative responses into a growth mindset?

To paraphrase Julia Cameron, it takes grace and courage to be a beginner. It takes courage, humility, and grace to receive feedback, to recognize the gap between where we are and where we want to go.

Many times, I’ve had to say, “Well, I have a long way to go yet and a lot to learn. But I’ve come a long way already, and I love writing. The process is shaping me, keeping me sane, and giving me joy. I’m going to keep growing and learning, no matter what. I’ll do whatever it takes for however long it takes to become a good writer.”

Commit to a growth mindset, and it’ll not only prepare you for your developmental edit, it will serve you long and well over your writing career.

2. Commit to Grit

Most of us go out of our way to avoid negative emotions, discomfort, awkwardness, and being told “this needs work.” Doing good work isn’t easy. Learning something new isn’t easy. Gaining skills requires humility and perseverance.

Keep your eyes on the goal. Develop perseverance.

Committing to grit means you keep going even when things are hard. It means pushing through discouragement, depression, and even despair when they arise. It means running, walking, trudging, and crawling toward your dream. Because your creativity is your gift to the world. It is a gift to yourself, too. It shapes you, and it has the opportunity to shape the world.

Committing to grit means taking one more step and one more step. Because it’s worth it. You are worth it. Your work is worth it.

One of the things I love about writing is who it has made me, the ways committing to my creative works and persevering through the ups and downs has changed me. I look not only at the end product, but at the process, at who I am becoming through my dedication to my creative work, to my dream.

At the end of 2025, I had the privilege of line-editing and rewriting sections of a self-help book about finding your ideal romantic relationship. The author encouraged readers to be willing to feel anything to reach their goal. Fear, rejection, awkwardness, anxiety. These things teach us about ourselves, about the beliefs that limit us, about what we avoid to our detriment. I can see a lot of parallels in writing. I’ve put off publishing my novel because I’m afraid of vulnerability and rejection.

What is holding you back? What fear lies at the heart of your behavior?

• “I’m afraid I’m not good enough.”
• “I’m afraid my work will be rejected.”
• “I’m afraid of being vulnerable.”
• “I’m afraid I don’t have what it takes to take this work to fruition.”

Find the courage to face these fears.

Mindset shifts:

• “Even if this process is hard, it is worth it.”
• “I am strong enough to face anything, including negative emotions, in order to meet my goal.”
• “I am becoming a more courageous and more fulfilled person, even if my work isn’t always well-received.”
• “This process is hard, but if I don’t give up, I will reach my goals.”
• “Even though my work will never be perfect, it is a gift of imperfection and it matters.”
• “I recognize that my fears limit me and change my behavior. I will face my fears with courage so I can have the creative life I want.”

Need some inspiration? I love this quote from Teddy Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena.

3. Commit to Your Writing

When you’re facing down a gnarly plot problem or a tiresome amount of edits and rewrites, or are wondering whether or not to throw in the towel on your writing and creative dreams, come back to your why.

Why do you write? What does it do for you? How does writing contribute to your life?

Writing is a vulnerable, courageous, and beautiful act. It keeps us sane. It gives us an outlet. It helps us work out our pain and grief and joy and madness. At least it does for me. 

We all have different strengths, different styles, different goals and influences. That’s what makes writing so beautiful. It’s personal. A little scrap of your internal world, your imagination and worldview, the questions that drive you, unfolded into words: into black scrawls on white screens or thin ivory pages.

Sometimes I ask myself, if I never publish xyz, would I still write it? Even if no one reads it or like it? Or, if only ten people read it and like it, would I still write it?

My answer is yes. (But I still really really want people to read it!)

Mindset shifts:

• “Writing makes my life full and fulfilling.”
• “Expressing myself is an act of creativity and will always be worth it.”
• “Writing helps me listen and pay attention. It opens me to the awe and beauty of the world.”
• “Writing helps me work through and face life’s hardships.”
• “Writing is my gift to myself and others.”
• “I commit to this book/creative work and to making it the best it can be.”

4. Manage Discouragement

Whenever I send something off for feedback or critique, I grapple with a mixture of emotions and doubts:

Trepidation: Will they like it?
Hope: Maybe they’ll love it.
Self doubt: Maybe it’s no good, and I’m kidding myself.

Even when my critique partners or beta readers list ten things they loved and only one thing that needs work or that they didn’t get, I tend to focus on the negative. It’s human nature. We’re wired to pay attention to the negatives, the critiques. It is natural to feel disappointed. Even though we know our work isn’t perfect, we’re usually a bit bummed to find out that we were right.

It’s okay to feel disappointed, discouraged, and daunted. It’s okay to crawl into your blankets and bemoan your existence. But don’t stay there. Return to your mindset shifts. Remind yourself that critique is good. Feedback is good. The work is going to be so much better after edits.

Yes, it’ll be hard work, but think how proud you’ll be when you’re done. Think how much stronger the work will be. Think what skills you’ll develop along the way.

Suddenly, you feel determined, maybe even a bit excited, even though you might still feel scared (because you haven’t found the answers yet). You don’t quite know how to pull off the feedback, implement the edits, or make the changes that create a cascading need for additional changes. But you “gird your loins” (a strange, unsettling, yet somehow appropriate phrase), acknowledge your disappointment, and then move past it.

Mindset shifts:

• “Yes, I’m disappointed, but that’s part of the process.”
• “Feeling discouraged is natural, but it isn’t the end. It’s just a stepping stone to a better creative work and to making me a better writer.”
• “I acknowledge my discouragement. I allow myself to feel it. But I won’t let it stop me. I will step forward in faith.”

5. Prepare to Self-Care

Whether you feel daunted, scared, encouraged, or discouraged as you contemplate getting a developmental edit, waiting for feedback, or feeling all the feels when you get the feedback, self care is an important tool in your toolset.

What do you need? Comfort? Distraction? A feeling of safety? Adventure? Comic relief? Time outside?

When I feel melancholy,I like huddling in a fuzzy blanket, lighting candles, and listening to the soul-deep tunes of Adam Hurst playing cello. When I need comfort, I may curl up in my reading nook or nap on the sunny stone path in my backyard. But more likely, I’ll read or listen to one of my favorite books. The Murderbot Diaries are a go-to because they make me laugh, and SecUnit feels lost and anxious too.

If I need a change of pace, I’ll go for a long walk in the woods, rubbing my hands over dried flower pods and watching the seeds float upward on tiny wings.

I’ll listen to the birds as they chirp and sing and flit. I’ll garden, I’ll hike, I’ll pull out my Mom’s ancient oil paints and smear colors on a canvas. Maybe I’ll plan a day at the lake—swimming, sunbathing, eating a cheddar cheese sandwich, running back and forth on the sand with my dog. Or I’ll dance in my kitchen, expelling nervous energy into inexpert moves.

Ask yourself, what fills you up, restores you and centers you? What brings you joy? How can you provide these things for yourself? Then, schedule these things daily/weekly.

Action steps:

• Take time to brainstorm self-care ideas, plan an art day or an outing. These things will re-fill your creative well, help you rest, and give you something to look forward to.
• Get enough sleep, hydrate, and move your body.

6. Decide How to Use the Wait

Once you’ve chosen a developmental editor and sent off your manuscript, you’ll likely need to wait several weeks to hear back.

Waiting for feedback can be grueling. I notice that I’m often more irritable, more emotional, and more prone to negative thoughts. (Though I think I’ve gotten better at managing the wait.) Recognizing these reactions help. Self-care helps. Mindset shifts help.

It also helps to have a plan in place. Rather than opening your document and moodily staring at it, or stressing out because you just thought of something in chapter three that probably absolutely sucks:

• Focus on something else.
• Take yourself on outings.
• Work on other projects.
• Rediscover playfulness.
• Write something funny or ridiculous or off the wall, just for the fun of it.
• Or don’t write and spend the extra time playing board games with your family, taking swing dancing lessons, or strolling along the beach.
• Use gratitude and your mindset shifts to keep yourself centered.

Another way you can use the time is by learning how to evaluate and implement feedback. Although every writer is different, I’ve found orientation helpful–not only in my own writing, but also for my developmental editing clients. Preparation often soothes my ragged nerves.

Knowing what to expect and what to do with the feedback once you get it will set you up for success.

Next up: How to Evaluate and Implement feedback.