Your Next Draft
Your Next Draft is the fiction writer's guide to developmental editing. What do you do after your first draft? How do you flesh out flat characters, fill in plot holes, and hook your readers from the first page to the last? What does editing a novel even mean? Developmental editor and book coach Alice Sudlow answers all these questions and more. Each week, she shares the editing strategies she's using with her one-on-one clients so you can put them to use in your own novel. Tune in for tips, tools, and step-by-step guides for the novel editing process.
Episodes
75 episodes
How to Edit Your Novel When Disaster Strikes
Your book is important. But sometimes, worthy interruptions will delay it for a while.For the last few months, this podcast feed has been quiet. It went dark with no notice in mid-June.I didn’t mean to disappear on you. In fact,...
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Episode 74
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17:28
How Taylor Jenkins Reid Crafts an Exceptional Opening Scene
Your reader experiences your story one scene at a time. Make every scene un-put-down-able.Great stories are made of great scenes.Sure, your novel has a clever plot with twists and turns from the first page to the last. But the w...
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Episode 73
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30:24
2 “Showing” and "Telling" Ways to Convey Time Passing in Your Novel
Show and tell your readers why time matters to your characters.Time matters.When you look up and it’s dark outside, time matters to you.When your characters look around and summer is turning into fall, time matters to th...
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Episode 72
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16:34
3 “Telling” Ways to Convey Time Passing in Your Novel
Don’t lose your readers. Just tell them what time it is.The passage of time seems intuitive. It just happens, right? (Like, whether you want it to or not. Time and tide wait for no man, etc.)Here’s the thing, though. If you don’...
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Episode 71
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27:30
Why You Must Show Time Passing in Your Novel
This is often overlooked, but it’s essential for great stories.How do you make time pass?Well, when you’re living your regular life in the real world, you don’t have to do anything.Time is constantly passing, no matter w...
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Episode 70
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16:04
When Should You Practice, and When Should You Publish?
Write your best stories—and know when to let go and publish them.In order to write great books, you first have to learn how to write great books.But when it comes to writing, there’s always something more to learn.<...
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Episode 69
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18:28
You Can't Skip Learning How to Write a Novel. Here's Why
Before you can master writing great stories, you have to learn to craft great stories. When I was fifteen, I got my learner’s permit and began learning how to drive a car.This made me very unhappy.See, I wanted to kn...
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Episode 68
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20:51
4 Tips for Your First Time Working With an Editor
Because working with an editor should be delightful, not scary.Let's be honest. When you start working with an editor for the first time, it can feel a little scary.You’re sharing your manuscript, the project you’ve worked so ha...
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Episode 67
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20:05
4 Tips to Find the Right Editor for Your Novel
What you need to know BEFORE you start working with an editor—and how to tell if they’re the right fit for your novel.Working with a developmental editor can be the most rewarding part of your editing process.But if you’ve never...
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Episode 66
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12:34
Why Writers Resist Measuring Their Craft (And Why You Shouldn’t)
What we get wrong about creativity—and the truth that will make your writing and editing so much more effective.Do you know how great stories work?Scratch that. Let’s start with an easier question. Do you know how your ...
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Episode 65
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23:57
The Pros and Cons of Group Coaching for Writers
Why group coaching might be the perfect way to get feedback on your writing.When I was first getting started, I pictured editing like this:A writer writes a manuscript and sends it to their editor. The editor writes feedback and...
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Episode 64
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21:26
5 Steps to Edit the Second Draft of a Novel
The simple editing process to turn your messy first draft into a second draft you love.“I’ve written first drafts before, but I’ve never edited a second draft. How do you actually do it?”A writer asked me this a few days ago. An...
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Episode 63
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20:15
Why a Page One Rewrite Is Actually Worth Celebrating
It sounds scary, but it’s actually MAJOR editing progress.What if the best way to make progress on your novel . . .. . . is to go back to the beginning?Sometimes, the most effective editing strategy is a page on...
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Episode 62
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17:07
What It REALLY Means to Make Progress Editing Your Novel
Editing progress doesn’t always look like you’d expect. Here’s how to recognize it.If your editing is going great, you’ll enjoy this episode. Honestly, though, if editing feels like the worst thing in the world right now, you’ll love th...
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Episode 61
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18:21
The Most Joyful Editing Feedback I Ever Give
Here’s what happens when you absolutely NAIL IT in your story.Sometimes, you just nail it.The ideas click. The words flow. The revision works.Those days are my favorite days to give my clients ...
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Episode 60
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10:43
The Top 5 Lessons From Year 1 of Building My Editing Business
Your editing process has more in common with building a business than you might think.Editing a novel and building a business . . . well, they’re actually not all that different.That’s something I’ve been thinking about all year...
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Episode 59
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22:04
The Top 5 Editing Tips From Your Next Draft in 2023
The year’s most popular editing tip, plus four more strategies I don’t want you to miss.What’s the best editing tip you’ve learned this year?If you’ve been listening to Your Next Draft all year, there are quite a few to pick fro...
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Episode 58
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22:58
My Biggest Takeaway From Coaching Writers in 2023
What dozens of manuscripts and dozens of writers all have in common.This weekend, I celebrated the one year anniversary of launching my editing business.And since the one year mark is a pretty major milestone, and we’re...
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Episode 57
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12:52
How to Make Sure Even Your "Slow" Scenes Keep Your Readers Hooked
Four questions to make every scene of your novel un-put-down-able.Some of your scenes are really exciting. They’re the big ones, the reasons why your readers picked up your book: the first kiss, the epic battle, the discovery of the bod...
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Episode 56
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19:02
How to Figure Out What Your Character REALLY Wants
Make your readers care about your story by getting specific about what your protagonist wants—and why.What does your protagonist want?I bet you have an answer for that question. I also bet that your answer is a little ....
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Episode 55
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22:11
Behind the Scenes of a Deep Dive Manuscript Evaluation
The 7 layers of analysis I use to edit a fourth draft of a novel.I don’t know about you, but right now, my schedule is full. My days are packed with editing. I have several manuscripts I’m absolutely loving on my desk right now...
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Episode 54
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28:49
How to Flesh Out Flat Characters With Just 4 Questions
The minimum viable character questionnaire to develop all your side characters.How do you flesh out a flat character? Create a cast your readers will fall in love with? Make each character realistic, well-developed, and believable?<...
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Episode 53
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19:38
The Most Important Principle When Choosing Your Point of View
Use the limitations of your POV to enhance your story.Your story’s point of view impacts everything. It shapes how your readers get access to information about your story. And it shapes what information they have access to....
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Episode 52
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13:50