Category Archives: Revision and Editing
Wax On, Wax Off: 5 Areas To Polish Before Submitting A Manuscript
Most writers are familiar with the saying, “You only get one chance to impress,” and there is no industry where this holds truer than in publishing. From the agent who reads those first requested pages, to the editor searching for … Continue reading
The Satisfaction of Excellence: The Growth Mindset for Writers
If someone had asked me in my early days as a book coach what quality was most critical to a writer’s success, I would have said perseverance. It was the thing that most obviously separated the writers who made it … Continue reading
Choosing the Right Details
It’s my personal opinion that getting the words down on paper is the easy part, because at that point, the details don’t matter. Just throw a bunch of words down and take care of the specifics in the revision stage. … Continue reading
Dive Deep with Emotion
Hi all! One of my favorite people is here today: Christina Delay of Cruising Writers. She’s got a great post on how to write deep emotion, so please read on! Don’t you just love feedback from beta-readers or your critique … Continue reading
Characters in Cars Thinking, or, How to Deal with the Passage of Time
I have been seeing a lot of issues around the passage of time in the fiction I have been coaching. It isn’t the content that’s the problem. The problem has to do with the way time loops around on itself … Continue reading
Stripping Down My Prose: Risking the Removal of Adjectives
Happy to welcome Margaret McNellis to the blog today. She’s tried an interesting experiment with her writing to create stronger, tighter prose, so please read on! When I was a Masters of Arts student studying English and Creative Writing, one of … Continue reading
The Different Kinds of Editing: A Breakdown (with Examples)
All writers need an editor. Stephen King needs one. JK Rowling needs one. You and me? We DEFINITELY need one. But this is where it gets confusing…because there are many types of editors. How do we know what we need? … Continue reading
Episodic vs. Epic: Go Bigger with Your Writing
One of the most common reasons given by authors for why they write is a desire to create something meaningful for their readers, something that will stick with them or make a difference. One thing that helps our stories feel … Continue reading
Escape The Slush Pile: Elements of a Successful Query Pitch
Heads up! Pitch Pro Sarah Isaacson has a Query Clinic here PACKED with info to help you escape the slush pile. For length, my intro is short, so read on for a bounty of query advice gold to put into action. … Continue reading
Getting Jiggy with the Nitty Gritty, or, Improving Your Sentences
As writers we spend most of our time torn between needing to write and needing to market what we’ve written. Then, when we’re writing, our focus is often on improving our characters or the big picture story and characters’ arcs. … Continue reading