Your Next Draft
Supporting fiction writers doing the hard work of revising unputdownable novels. The novel editing process is the creative crucible where you discover the story you truly want to tell—and it can present some of the most challenging moments on your writing journey.
Developmental editor and book coach Alice Sudlow will be your companion through the mess and magic of revision. You’ll get inspired by interviews with authors, editors, and coaches sharing their revision processes; gain practical tips from Alice’s editing practice; and hear what real revision truly requires as Alice workshops scenes-in-progress with writers.
It’s all a quest to discover: How do you figure out what your story is truly about? How do you determine what form that story should take? And once you do, how do you shape the hundreds of thousands of words you've written into the story’s most refined and powerful form?
If you’ve written a draft—or three—but are still searching for your story’s untapped potential, this is the podcast for you. Together, let’s dig into the difficult and delightful work of editing your next draft.
Your Next Draft
Scene Workshop: Listen in on a Scene Edit with Author and Editor Kim Kessler
Ever wondered what it looks like to get feedback from an editor?
Recently, my friend Kim Kessler, herself a developmental editor and author, sent me a scene of the novel she’s working on. I read it and prepared some notes for her.
Then, we hopped on a call to talk through my feedback.
And we recorded the whole conversation!
In this episode, you’ll hear exactly how developmental editing works. I walk Kim through the same process I use for all my editing clients.
You’ll hear the questions I ask her, the specific recommendations I give, and my favorite part: the moment of epiphany, when we “solve” what she needs to do next with her scene.
And if you ever feel nervous about working with an editor . . . well, we get it. Kim and I share why we felt nervous about this episode, too—and why this editing session was worth all the nerves and risk!
Fair warning: this episode is long.
It’s worth listening to the whole thing, especially if you want to hear exactly what a real developmental editing session looks like.
But if you’d like to jump straight to some key moments, check out these time stamps:
[5:42] Why Kim and I don’t offer sample edits of developmental editing
[10:06] Kim introduces her novel and shares the context of her scene
[18:35] The most important editing question: WHY Kim is writing this novel and what she wants it to achieve
[25:40] What I love about Kim’s scene and what she’s doing well
[29:47] The start of our scene analysis—if you’ve listened to the episode “5 Essential Questions to Fix Boring Scenes,” these questions will be familiar to you
[36:22] What changes in this scene? What’s the value shift?
[54:31] What is this scene really about?
[1:02:45] The specific recommendation I have for Kim’s scene
[1:04:57] Kim and I brainstorm ways to apply that feedback
And if you’d like this kind of feedback on your scenes . . .
. . . keep your eye out for a way to sign up for a scene critique of your own, coming soon!
Links mentioned in the episode:
- Find Kim at kimberkessler.com
- Read Kim’s scene: alicesudlow.com/kimscene
- Ep. 8: What Is a Scene? The Ultimate Guide to Write and Edit Amazing Scenes
- Ep. 9: 5 Essential Questions to Fix Boring Scenes
- Ep. 11: How to Edit a Scene of a Novel, Part 1
- Ep. 12: How to Edit a Scene of a Novel, Part 2
- Ep. 15: How Long Should it Take for Your Charac
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