Why I Would Decline an Edit

I don’t take on every manuscript that’s sent to me for editing. The simple reason is that many are not ready for a professional edit. A look at my reasons for turning down an edit.

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A novel’s first draft is never the final product. Learn both what’s missing from a first draft and what should be taken out to make it a better manuscript.

Continue reading The First Draft—What it is and What it isn’t »

NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month, happens every November. Join hundreds of others in writing a novel—50,000 words—in a month.

Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2010 Has Begun »

A novel isn’t finished after the first draft. Writers have much work ahead of them—some of the most tedious work—even after they’ve written “The End.”

Continue reading Why Writing “The End” Doesn’t Mean You’ve Finished »

Anyone can write a novel. Or can they? Plenty of people think they can, that it’s easy to craft a story and write a book. But writing a book isn’t as easy as it seems.

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A writer’s first book will rarely be his best in terms of quality yet is often the story that’s provoked him into writing. Should a writer save his best story for when he’s a better writer?

Continue reading The First Book is Seldom the Best »