How much editing is too much?

Posted on 12/09/2019 at 11:20 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Poet Paul Valery once said, “A poem's never finished, only abandoned.” But how do you know when to abandon your...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Writing advice

A five-step approach to revising your book's first draft

Posted on 12/07/2019 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

What does your first-draft revision process look like? If you don’t have a particularly clear answer to that question, you...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing

Refresh your memory on proper quotation mark usage

Posted on 11/13/2019 at 10:04 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

You know how to use quote marks, right? Sure, but maybe not as well as you think. Editor and proofreader...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Louise Harnby

Two-minute tip: Three questions to ask while revising your novel

Posted on 11/08/2019 at 04:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

You know it’s time to revise your novel once you’ve finished the rough draft. So what are you looking for...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Romance Writers of America, Video, Writing advice

14 questions to ask about each of your novel's scenes

Posted on 11/07/2019 at 11:45 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

When you revise your novel, you should be ensuring that each scene is as strong as it can be. Christian...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Plot / narrative, Writing advice

Eighteen writing rules that you can break

Posted on 11/06/2019 at 03:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Rules comfort some of us — and chafe many others. We have some good news for writers in the latter...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Language, Writing advice

Which "darlings" should you kill during the editing phase?

Posted on 11/05/2019 at 04:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Cutting your own work, like proofreading it, can be extremely difficult because of your close connection to and investment in...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Writing advice

What to look for when updating your backlist

Posted on 11/04/2019 at 11:35 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Sure, spring cleaning has a nice ring to it, but you can — and should — freshen up your backlist...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Blurbs, Cover design, Editing

Refresh your memory on forming possessives

Posted on 10/29/2019 at 12:14 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Bookworks' Karen Conlin says she decided to write about possession in honor of Halloween. But in scrolling through her refresher...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Language

How to use dashes in fiction

Posted on 10/01/2019 at 03:30 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Ready for more than you ever wanted to know about the types of dashes and how publishers typically use them...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Language