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Substantive Editing for Fiction 101

Good novels don’t just happen—they endure several revisions before publishing, and the first round of edits is usually the substantive edit.

What is a substantive fiction edit? Sometimes called a macro edit, it’s the “big picture” edit—before the copy editor looks at each punctuation marks and notations, the substantive editor looks at the whole book: characters, pacing, plotlines, point-of-view, setting, etc., as well as keeping an eye on punctuation, grammar, and more.

In Substantive Fiction Editing 101, we’ll look at the basics of a well-written novel and learn how to help our authors learn and incorporate those techniques. The class includes everything from understanding the Christian fiction market and its genres, learning the elements of an effective substantive edit, and mastering the basics of Christian fiction—showing versus telling, characterization, plot, and formatting.

Six lessons, only $60!

Course Outline

Lesson 1: CRA, ABA, and Genres

  • Christian Retailers Association (CRA) versus American Booksellers Association
  • Book Lengths and Classifications
  • Genres and their Characteristics

Lesson 2: Resources, POV, and Formatting

  • Editing Resources
  • Point of View
  • Industry Formatting Standards
  • Why Formatting Matters

Lesson 3: Plot Types

  • Man vs. Self
  • Man vs. Man
  • Man vs. God
  • Man vs. Destiny
  • Man vs. Setting
  • Man vs. Society
  • Man vs. Machine
  • Man vs. the Unknown
  • Man vs. the Situation

Lesson 4: Three Acts

  • Act I (Beginning)
  • Act II (Middle)
  • Act III (End)
  • Subplots

Lesson 5: Transitional Elements

  • The Inciting Incident
  • Door #1
  • Door #2

Lesson 6: Characters

  • Consistency
  • Goal-Motivation-Conflict (GMC)
  • Strengthening Weak GMCs
  • Authenticity
  • Fictional Stereotypes
  • Diversity
  • Secondary Characters

Six lessons, practices assignments, and answer keys–only $60!

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ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Copywriting

Karin understood my advertising and marketing writing needs and accomplished the project in record time. She asked all the right questions up front to equip herself with enough … [more]

Editing

Substantive Fiction Editing: A substantive edit looks at the big picture. Start here to tackle the big issues before moving on to the nit-picky details. Substantive edits not only point out … [more]

Author Page

Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

Resources

Fiction: Substantive Editing Classes Substantive Editing for Fiction 101 In Substantive Fiction Editing 101, we’ll look at the basics of a well-written novel and learn how to help our … [more]

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