Whether you’re pursuing traditional or self-publishing, self-editing is one of the most crucial skills any writer can possess. It’s not an exaggeration to say that novels are made or broken by the revision process. But it’s very difficult to see your work objectively, and novels are wondrously complex. I find it helpful to be systematic […]
revising
How to deal with revision fatigue
Author Jennifer Hubbard wrote recently about one of the most difficult parts of writing a novel: There comes a point in the writing of every book where I become sick of the book. Actually, that’s a lie. There’s usually more than one such point per book, and they usually come near the end of a […]
Give Critiques Time
Becky Levine offers some tried-and-true advice on critiques: give them time. She writes: Here’s the rule: Don’t always assume your initial reaction to a critique comment is going to be your final reaction. Or even just your second and third. So, so often, feedback from one of your critique partners makes you shake your head […]
Ten Commandments for Editing Someone’s Work
It’s Jacob Wonderbar week as I’m gearing up for the release of Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe! Stay tuned for prizes tomorrow and Thursday. Whether you’re a writer or not, there’s a substantial likelihood that you will be called into service editing someone’s book. It may be a loved one, it may be […]
This Week in Books 6/17/11
This week! Books! First up, big congrats are in order to Joshua McCune, who you may know as Bane of Anubis, who recently got a book deal with Greenwillow at HarperCollins. Congrats to Joshua!! Also, as the co-winner of the ROCK PAPER TIGER Suspense Contest, Joshua brings the now-or-soon-to-be-published blog contest finalist alumni to Staurt […]
How I Edit
While there are lots and lots and lots of ways of going about writing a book, I actually feel like editing is a little more of a uniform process. It’s all about first turning a critical eye at your book in order to get as far as you can on your own, and then repeating […]
