
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
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. As I’ve coached writers through the editing process, I’ve been struck again and again by how similar novel editing and business building really are.
After all, they’re both large creative projects. The kind that demand a lot: grit, perseverance, continual learning. And the kind that lead to incredible rewards for those with the courage to pursue them.
Which means the lessons I’ve learned in this year of building my business also apply to you in your writing. (And I’ve learned a lot of things!)
In this episode, I’m sharing five of my business-building lessons that will apply to your novel, too.
You’ll learn:
- Why you might be closer to building your own business than you think
- My #1 marketing tip for a business or a book
- The mistake I made at the beginning of my business and how I’m fixing it now (hint: frozen burritos may be delicious, but they are not entirely nutritious)
- And more!
Your Next Draft is all about inviting you in to the editing tools and strategies I’m using in my own editing practice. And in this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain and getting a little more vulnerable than usual.
I hope this inspires you to reflect on your year of writing and editing, too. What have you learned this year? What new editing wisdom are you taking into 2024?
Links mentioned in the episode:
- For a podcast all about building an editing business, check out The Editing Podcast with Louise Harnby and Denise Cowle.
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