Revising & Editing
The Benefits of Having a Book Coach for Writers
What is a book coach? How could they help authors? Award-winning author and writing instructor Mark Spencer answers these questions and more in this post about the benefits of having a book coach for writers.
When Is My Novel Ready to Read: 7 Self-Editing Processes for Writers
Fiction editor and author Kris Spisak ties together her seven processes for self-editing novels, including editorial road-mapping, character differentiation analysis, reverse editing, and more.
What Is a Professional Editor and Why Should Writers Use One?
Editor is a very broad term in the publishing industry that can mean a variety of things. Tiffany Yates Martin reveals what a professional editor is and why writers should consider using one.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Inaccurate Genre Labels
The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake is labeling your book with an inaccurate genre.
Timed Editing: For Focus, Productivity & Your Manuscript’s Best Health
When revising and editing, it's best to think about it in shorter, hyper focused periods rather than one intense push. Kris Spisak discusses the benefits of timed editing for your story as well as your productivity.
Reverse Editing: How Going Backward Can Bring Your Manuscript Forward
When editing, it's easy to accidentally shift into reader mode, missing mistakes along the way. Author Kris Spisak offers a new way of thinking when tackling the editorial process.
Revise Your Draft in Waves to Inspire Your Flow and Productivity
Revision anxiety getting you down? Kris Spisak discusses how working in waves makes the revision process more manageable.
The Transformative Power of a Post-First-Draft Outline
Have you ever considered outlining after finishing your first draft? Kris Spisak walks you through the process.
7 Essentials for Effective Copywriting
Copywriting principles to apply to any form, from marketing to personal essays.
How to Know When Your Manuscript Is Ready
In a craft and business as subjective as writing, there’s no clear finish line to let you know when you’ve arrived. Let editor Tiffany Yates Martin give you some tips for knowing when your manuscript is ready.
Deleting Your Cheating Words: Time to Up Your Game
Looking to up-level the quality of your written work? Kris Spisak shows writers one big step they can take to do so.
Editorial Road-Mapping: Start Your Self-Editing Process Here
Editorial road-mapping begins with a challenge of willpower and ends with a battle-plan for transforming your manuscript into the book you dreamed it could be. Let editor Kris Spisak give you that map!
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Omitting Sensory Details
The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake writers make is omitting sensory details.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Revising While Writing
The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake is revising while writing.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Refraining to Revise Writing
The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake is refraining to revise writing.
Too Seen: The Intimacy of Copy Editing
Novelist A.E. Osworth discusses their experience working with a copyeditor for their novel We Are Watching Eliza Bright and how the experience made them feel Witnessed.
Zak Salih: On Embracing the Selfishness of Writing
Debut novelist Zak Salih considers how his viewpoint on writing vs. revision led him to embrace the messiness of the writing process and why he wrote Let's Get Back to the Party.
Seven Tips for Intuitive Writing: The Heart-Hand Connection
Award-winning author Jill G. Hall shares her top tips for how to dive into your latest project head-first.
How Artificial Intelligence Can Help Authors Write a Better Novel
In this post, J.D. Lasica of Authors A.I. shares how artificial intelligence can help authors write a better novel and questions whether A.I. could be a boon to future writers and authors.
Polishing Your Prose: Tips for Self-Editing
Help your freelance writing land better with editors and increase your chances of getting published with these 11 proven tips for self-editing.
Wait! 5 Novel Editing Questions to Ask Before Your Book Is Actually Done!
In this post, Kris Spisak shares 5 novel editing questions to ask before any next steps in the publishing process, including "does your story have a strong narrative drive," "is your protagonist too passive," and more.
The Psychology Behind Poor Early Drafts and 5 Steps to Making Sense of Them
Mackenzie Belcastro addresses writers who are despairing over their early drafts, highlighting five ways you can persevere and discover your story within them.
The Art of the Paragraph: Single-Sentence Paragraphs in Fiction
Paragraph writing in fiction doesn’t follow traditional rules. In this series, we cover how to write a good paragraph by exploring different lengths and kinds of paragraphs—and when to use them. Here, learn how to write a single-sentence paragraph.
7 Strategies for Revising Your Novel
The rewrite is tougher than the draft. But the right rewrite strengthens your fiction into something that lasts to publication and gains a significant readership. Boost your novel-polishing skills with these seven strategies.