Revising & Editing
Funny You Should Ask: Pitch, Revise, and Resubmit
In this Funny You Should Ask column from the March/April 2022 issue of Writer's Digest, literary agent Barbara Poelle tackles questions about online pitching events and how to interpret revise and resubmit requests from agents.
8 Tips on How To Be Edited Without Losing Your Voice or Being Decolonized
When writers receive notes on what to change to their stories, losing your voice as a writer is a common and understandable concern. Here, author Anat Deracine shares how to maintain your voice during the editing process.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Rushing the Editing Process
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 rushing the editing process.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Starting at the Beginning
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 starting at the beginning.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Not Asking Questions in the Drafting Process
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 not asking questions in the drafting process.
Alternatives to a Professional Edit
Tiffany Yates Martin has covered various aspects of hiring a professional editor—but what about other options? Here, she lays out the alternatives to receiving a professional edit.
Evaluating the Sample Edit and Choosing the Right Editor for You
It's important to know whether or not an editor is a good fit for you and your work. In this installment on a series about hiring a professional editor, Tiffany Yates Martin shares how to evaluate sample edits before choosing an editor.
Questions To Ask Before Hiring a Developmental Editor
While it may be tempting to jump in and hire an editor the moment you're ready, it's important to cross a few more things off your list first. Let editor and writer Tiffany Yates Martin walk you through the questions you should ask before hiring a developmental editor.
How To Find the Right Professional Editor for Your Writing
It's not enough to know when your manuscript is ready for a professional edit—it's knowing who is the right fit to do the editing. Here, Tiffany Yates Martin discusses how to find the right professional editor for your writing.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Ending Your Story Too Soon
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 ending your story too soon.
NaNoWriMo’s Over … Now What?
After an intense writing challenge, you might feel a little lost. Here are some tips from Managing Editor and fellow Wrimo Moriah Richard for capitalizing on your momentum.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Oversharing in Self-Help
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 oversharing in self-help writing.
What Are the 6 Different Types of Editing?
When you reach the editing phase of your manuscript, it's important to know what kind of editing you're looking for in particular. Author Tiffany Yates breaks down the 6 different types of 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.