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.
Episodes
83 episodes
How Surrealist Pantser A.S. King Revises Award-Winning Novels
“Revising is about making sure that you're saying what you want to say in the way you want to say it. . . . To me, revision is the sport. It's the impact. It's the reason we're writers.”Have you ever read a book and thought, Holy cow...
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Episode 82
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1:29:34
The Editor Life: 5 Days Behind the Scenes with Alice
Ever wondered what an editor actually does all day?What it looks like to spend all day supporting writers in their stories?Or what your editor’s doing in all that time when they’re not sharing their feedback with you?If tho...
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Episode 81
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46:54
How to Use Revision Tools Like the Story Authority You Already Are with Brannan Sirratt
When to use frameworks to solve your story problems—and when to trust yourself and lean on your own story authority. You’ve heard of Save the Cat! Story Grid. Blueprint for a Book.These are all frameworks designed to help you...
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Episode 80
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57:36
Ask This Question When You’re Overwhelmed by Your Story
Escape analysis paralysis with one powerful question. It’s deceptively simple—and yet it unlocks everything.If you’re like most of the writers I work with, you’re pretty savvy about story structure. You know your Story Grid, your Save th...
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Episode 79
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22:49
How Multiple Layers of Editing Combine to Perfect Your Story (with Cathryn deVries and Kim Kessler)
The best novels combine rock-solid story structure with scenes that are unputdownable on every page. Here’s how one writer and two editors polished a story at every level.If you want to move your reader in every moment, keep them hooked ...
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Episode 78
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1:32:05
What Is a Manuscript Evaluation? (And Do You Need One?)
It’s the most common developmental editing service you’ll see. Know what to look for and when (or if) you need one.If you google “developmental editor” and start looking through editors’ websites, you’ll see a common service appear again...
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Episode 77
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32:34
Scene Workshop: Hook Your Readers in Chapter One with Cathryn deVries
You get one shot to grab their attention. Don’t waste it with characters staring off into space.You've put all this work into uncovering your character's internal arc. You know them SO WELL.When you step into a scene, you're giv...
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Episode 76
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1:38:37
The Unskippable Process to Create Unputdownable Books
It’s unpopular, but essential if you’re aiming to craft your best work.Picture this: one year from now, you’re holding your book in your hands. You see the gorgeous cover art, feel the slight resistance when you open the cover for the f...
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Episode 75
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25:57
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