This guest post is by Dara M. Beevas. The day my copyeditor sent my edited manuscript to me, I actually thought the revisions process would be pretty painless. As I sat down to pore over my editor’s suggestions for the first time, it was exciting. I eagerly devoured every suggestion. I enjoyed her objective feedback. I delighted in reviewing […]
August 24, 2012 by 10 Comments Editing Your NovelStrengthen Your Writing by Listening to Pet Peeves
When your writing has to answer to someone, you’re going to be faced with a number of annoying “suggestions” from your editors or clients. Even when your copy is grammatically impeccable, they request you change the word “comedic” to “comic” because of some professor they had in college! I received this request from a real editor. It’s nothing but […]
June 27, 2012 by 38 Comments Editing Your NovelA Quick Ode Against “That” (Or, Eliminating Filler Words)
Too often, we bloat our writing with needless filler words. Some of these fillers take the form of a phrase of three or four words in the place of a single word that would get the job done—such as “took a step” instead of just “stepped.” But some are even sneakier, and one of the […]
May 4, 2012 by 23 Comments Editing Your NovelHow to Get Feedback on Your Writing (and Sort the Good from the Bad)
One of the fastest ways to progress as a writer is to get feedback. But how can you get feedback on your writing? However many books you read, however many conferences you attend, direct advice about your work-in-progress will let you see exactly what’s working well and, more importantly, what isn’t. But if you’re fairly new to writing, […]
March 16, 2012 by 26 Comments Editing Your NovelWhy You Should Kill Your Darlings
This post is by Adrienne Giordano. As writers, we often face deleting our beloved words. Words we spend an excruciating amount of time crafting, and sweating over. Yes, you have to kill your darlings or they’ll destroy the pace of the story. I like to think I write a fairly lean book, but my editor for my upcoming romantic […]
January 24, 2012 by 8 Comments Editing Your NovelImprove Your Editing by Writing Yourself a Bad Review
We all hate the critic in our heads. You know the one—talks with a nasal accent, uses words like “deluded numbskull” and “insufferable incompetent,” and never fails to announce that your latest story is tripe. This critic of ours never seems to have a good word to say and is always running us down. So, […]
December 9, 2011 by 21 Comments Editing Your NovelOne Dish of Critique—But Hold the Criticism!
Critique. Just the word alone makes authors cringe. Why? Because it reminds us of another word that has a negative connotation: criticism. Yet, as authors we understand the need to have another pair of eyes look closely at our manuscript and give us constructive advice and direction so we can make our book the absolute […]
October 16, 2011 by 70 Comments Editing Your Novel5 Fun and Easy Ways to Lengthen Word Count
We see a lot of hype these days about books that are too long for agents or editors to consider. But what about books that are too short, in which we need to lengthen word count? In comparison to putting a too-long manuscript on a diet, fattening up a story often feels like trying to […]
October 12, 2011 by 17 Comments Editing Your NovelCan You Edit Too Much?
This post is by Elisabeth Grace Foley. I’ve heard a lot of people say short stories should be written quickly, on the spur of the moment, and shouldn’t be edited or fussed over. I’m an exception to that. Occasionally, a short story will come out almost the way I want it on the first try, […]
July 31, 2011 by 46 Comments Editing Your NovelHow to Know When to Stop Writing This Book and Start a Different Story
There comes a time all writers’ lives when they will eventually have to learn how to know when to stop writing a book and start a different story instead. This is never an easy or simple decision. But consider the following riddle… Once upon a time, there were two writers. Both had been writing for […]
