Story openings present a Goldilocks-like challenge: a story can open too late, too early, or at just the right place. A story that opens too late often thrusts readers straight into the action. While this can be appealing from a pacing perspective, readers may not have the necessary context or emotional investment to care about […]
Common Revision Areas: Tricky Beginnings Read Post »
So you’ve found a writing group or critique partner—now what? While some people are more practiced at giving and receiving constructive feedback than others, being upfront about everyone’s expectations and commitments will make for a smoother experience. Questions you might want to discuss with a new writing group or critique partner include: How often do you
Getting the Most out of Writing Groups & Critique Partners Read Post »
Sharing your manuscript with a critique partner or writing group is exhilarating and nerve-wracking. At last, someone else is going to read what you’ve written; to meet the characters who, until now, have only lived in your head and on the page; to read the story without knowing what happens next! Authors often meet their
What to Look for in a Writing Group or Critique Partner Read Post »
If you know any Type A people (or are one yourself), you won’t be surprised to know that I like to write these letters well in advance of sharing them. This helps me avoid deadline-induced stress, and it allows me to put the letters out of sight for a while before I review, revise, and
Writing a book has often been compared to giving birth, and in many ways manuscripts require the same constant adjustments from their authors—and prompt the same range of unique worries, joys, frustrations, and fears—as children do from their parents. Most of the authors I’ve worked with have said that they have to tweak their creative
When Your Writing Routine Becomes a Writing Rut Read Post »
I love to read about other people’s creative routines. Sometimes I hear about a new app I’d like to try (and inevitably send to the app graveyard); sometimes I learn about a new book or podcast or notebook; sometimes I wonder whether I, too, should get up at 4 am (the answer is always, definitively,
Finding Your Creative Routine Read Post »
Once you’ve identified the revisions you want to make to your manuscript—maybe after considering the reverse outline method or asking yourself these questions about challenging feedback—the next step is diving into the revision itself. As with almost everything related to writing, it can take some experimenting to find the revision approach that works best for you and your
Revising: Where to Begin? Read Post »
If you’ve ever read a book without being distracted by inconsistent formatting, punctuation mistakes, typos, or any of the other errors that can crop up when it comes to writing, you likely have a team of copyeditors and proofreaders to thank. While developmental editing tends to be a more visible part of the traditional publishing process, copyeditors
The Different Types of Editing: Copyediting and Proofreading Read Post »
Despite its focus on the written word, the publishing industry has its fair share of unclear jargon. When I started working at Little, Brown, I kept a cheat sheet at my desk to help me decipher notes from copyeditors and acronym-filled requests from other departments (the copyediting section looked a lot like this). While you probably
The Different Types of Editing: Developmental Editing Read Post »
Even if you’re looking forward to receiving editorial feedback, processing a detailed set of notes can be overwhelming. Having to dive back in and do even more hard work after you’ve completed a manuscript can feel like running a marathon . . . and then being told that you’re only halfway to the finish line.
Two Questions to Ask When You’re Struggling with Feedback Read Post »
