More and more writers are hiring their own developmental editors, whether they plan to self-publish their book or hope to land a literary agent and go for a book deal with a traditional publisher. To give you an idea what a professional developmental editor could do for your book, here’s a … [Read more...]
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The Book Deal
What should you expect from a developmental editor?
As a longtime developmental editor, I often get questions from authors about the editor-writer relationship. How exactly do developmental editors work? How can I tell if I’ve found a good one? And will you correct my typos? I can tell you that virtually all successful writers – from Ernest … [Read more...]
Wake up your readers! How to thicken a plot
Here’s a situation that editors encounter frequently: manuscripts with a large cast of potentially interesting characters, sparkling dialogue, and the glimmer of ideas churning just beneath the surface. But after a little while the scenes become repetitious, the characters and their machinations … [Read more...]
Ask the editor: How to untangle a plot
Q: An agent said my novel was “dense, over-plotted and difficult to follow.” I’m not sure what to do. A: You might have too much action and not enough content. If that's the problem, you need to punctuate any rapid fire twists and turns with dialogue, description, and the kind of pacing that’s … [Read more...]