The reviews (and award nomination!) speak for themselves. How to Edit Your Novel is the perfect craft book for authors needing to hone their self-editing skills.
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The reviews (and award nomination!) speak for themselves. How to Edit Your Novel is the perfect craft book for authors needing to hone their self-editing skills.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
What is your favorite writing craft book?
Hands down, the best: Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. The best of the best show how it’s done.
Which do you think is the most underrated writing craft book?
The same as above. Telling True Stories revolutionized the way I, as a nonfiction writer, began from that point forward, to write.
Another book that wasn’t written as a craft book but is the exemplar for my online writing course Map My Past: The Biopedia Method. The book is Encyclopedia of An Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Right now I’m teaching a group of 35 military veterans, mostly non-writers, how to write a Biopedia, and they love Rosenthal’s book.
What is your favorite (or most anticipated) writers conference?
I loved the Breathe Conference in Michigan before it ceased. Now, after decades of caregiving, I “attend” virtual summits online whenever possible.
What’s your favorite other source (YouTube, podcast, etc.) for writing tips/info?
Jane Friedman. Her resources are extraordinary. Here’s an example of information and resources that are worth their weight in gold: Land a Book Deal. Any serious writer should be on her email list.
Who is your writing mentor/inspiration? Why?
In the past, it was Faulkner and classic poets. (When I told my first agent that, she actually groaned out loud.) But there’s a new generation of incredible literary richness in people like storyteller Martin Shaw. He’s absolutely magical as a faith writer.
What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever received? Why was it bad?
To take training to write for “true confession” magazines to make money. Why? It was icky. And I didn’t make any money.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Two answers. In 1976, a published writer I met for a few moments told me that her publisher “would love” to hear my story. That publisher was Zondervan, and the book was The Mormon Mirage, which has stayed in print with various revisions for 45 years! (I recently wrote this Facebook post: “Dear Mormon Church: I don’t know whether to slap you or kiss you for launching my publishing career.”)
The other advice was from my husband, when I told him about a dream I’d had of a woman in an arena picking up bloody body parts. That became the defining book of my writing skills: A Conspiracy of Breath. I can never hope to write anything that good again.
What would you say is the best writing tip for new authors?
If you aspire for literary excellence, don’t expect to be compensated in the world’s currencies.
What is your best self-editing tip or advice?
Read your work aloud before you submit it. Listen to your voice in the persona of your most helpful critic.
Please share your most encouraging tip for frustrated/discouraged writers.
Be ruthless with answering this question: “Who or what are you writing for?”
Tell us about your newest release/upcoming release.
A research report I read last year, from Wonderman Thompson, should be required reading for every single Christian writer of 2024. It led me to conclude that Christians and non-Christians alike are aching for a renewed sense of wonder and awe in their faith.
My research has also led me to understand that the last four years have led to diminished reading skills. So, I wrote my newest book, Map My Faith with Wonder and Awe, to meet those two crucial needs. It’s based on my years of instructing hundreds of people about the 3-part structure of faith: Absolutes, Contradictions and Resolutions. Many people say this concept has changed their lives.
Latayne C. Scott, PhD, is the author and co-author of over 30 books published by Zondervan (Harper Collins), Howard (Simon & Schuster), Baker/Bethany, and others. Her books have won national and international awards and appeared on best-seller lists. Subject matter ranges from archaeology, child sexual safety, cults, Bible studies to novels. She has published thousands of short-form work such as print magazine articles and poems which have also won national awards. (She has accomplished these things because God has helped her, and because she’s old and has been at this since her first award for writing in the third grade.) She is a faith coach and writing coach. https://latayne.com
Also, I have some free gifts for your readers!
For more writing tips:
Writing Advice with Stacy Leicht
Writing Tips with Linda Evans Shepherd
What is your favorite writing craft book?
Page Turner by Barbara Kyle is a great book that teaches you how to craft a well-written suspense book. It also tells you what publishers and agents look for in a manuscript.
Which do you think is the most underrated writing craft book? Why?
I like The Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children by Nancy Lamb. Nancy teaches you how to format books as well as write content and she uses well known children’s books as examples.
What is your favorite (or most anticipated) writers conference?
I love the Speak Up Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. It is an excellent conference that has classes for writers and speakers. It also gives authors an opportunity to meet people in the publishing business such as publishers, agents, podcasters, and bloggers.
What’s your favorite other source (YouTube, podcast, etc.) for writing tips/info?
I enjoy listening to podcasts, but truthfully reading other books is my favorite source of information. I love reading different books because different authors have wonderful styles and use their voices in unique ways.
Who is your writing mentor/inspiration? Why?
Lynette Eason is my favorite Christian Suspense writer. She is able to come up with such unique characters and plots, but all of them are believable and relatable. I also met her at a Christian writers conference and she is lovely!
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
The best writing advice I received was don’t edit while you write. In other words, do all of your writing, then go back and edit and revise.
What would you say is the best writing tip for new authors?
The best tip is to get involved in writing conferences and writing groups. It is wonderful to have other authors to support you as well as critique your work. It is also fun and rewarding to do the same thing for others.
What is your best self-editing tip or advice?
For me, it was worth the money to buy an editing tool for my computer.
Please share your most encouraging tip for frustrated/discouraged writers.
Just keep writing and reading. Even if you get rejections at first (which most of us do), you will find that your writing will continue to improve if you don’t give up. If you continue to read, read, read, you will learn how good authors use craft to draw in their reader.
Tell us about your newest release/upcoming release.
My next release is called, Dear Teacher, I’m Watching You. It is a Christian Suspense book. It is fiction, but based on actual events I went through as a teacher when I had a stalker.
Stacy Leicht was born and raised in Michigan, but her extended family is from Mississippi, so she likes to say, she was raised in the north with a southern frame of mind. As an educator, Stacy taught many grades, but most recently taught at the university level supervising future teachers.
Stacy enjoys teaching water aerobics, snorkeling, and anything pertaining to beach life. She is an avid reader and enjoys writing both children’s books and adult suspense novels.
Stacy and her husband Rick live near the North Carolina coast and love spending time with their grown children and two grandchildren.
For more tips and encouragement:
Writing Advice with Crystal Bowman
How I Write: Kimberly Novak
What is your favorite writing craft book?
Don Maass’ Writing the Breakout Novel
Which do you think is the most underrated writing craft book?
Crafting Fiction: In theory, in Practice by Marvin Diogenes and Clyde Moneyhun. Why? It was my first writing book. It’s advanced, but the exercises we did at that conference opened my eyes on how to write much better.
What is your favorite (or most anticipated) writers conference?
Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference.
What’s your favorite other source (YouTube, podcast, etc.) for writing tips/info?
Blogs I find via Twitter – Edie Melson’s Write to the Heart, for e.g.
Who is your writing mentor/inspiration?
Colleen Coble
Why?
I got frustrated years ago when a book offer fell through and I lost my agent. Colleen told me I was way too good to quit. So, I kept going.
What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever received?
You must follow Save the Cat!
Why was it bad?
Read Kill the Dog by Paul Guyout
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Write for yourself first.
What would you say is the best writing tip for new authors?
Read craft books, but also read, read, read the best writers in literary fiction.
What is your best self-editing tip or advice?
Have your own written standard editing list that you go through every time.
Please share your most encouraging tip for frustrated/discouraged writers.
Don’t give up. I’ve won awards, published small pieces, and only just this year got my first check for a magazine article. Still seeking that elusive first book contract. Publishing constantly changes, so expect it.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Learn what you can, but it’s so easy to attend another conference or online class and forget to write.
Tell us about your newest release/upcoming release.
I have an article appearing in the March 2024 Guideposts’ Angels on Earth magazine.
Doctor by day, writer by night—Dr. Ronda Wells is an award-winning author who has written inspirational fiction for over twenty-five years. She has helped numerous other Christian writers to create authentic medical scenes for their books. A lifelong Hoosier, Ronda is a wife, mom, and grandma who lives in central Indiana and loves to travel. Her wholesome stories from the heartland illustrate extraordinary faith among the conflicts of ordinary life. Visit her website to get a free recipe from her contemporary inspirational romance, Harvest of Hope, at www.rondawellsbooks.com, and check out her published online devotionals at Arise Daily.
www.rondawellsbooks.com
www.novelmalpractice.com
For more writing tips, check out:
Writing Tips from Amber Weigand-Buckley
Writing Tips from Loretta Eidson
What is your favorite writing craft book?
I’ve been writing professionally for over twenty years, and I have discovered styles and craft concepts are ever evolving. Stephen King’s On Writing, isthe best writing craft book I ever read, and the advice still rings true. Also, Browne and King’s Self Editing for Fiction Writers.
Which do you think is the most underrated writing craft book? Why?
Someone gave me a book, Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder (a guide to screenwriting.) I had never heard of it before, but it’s a neat book. I have yet to write a screenplay but one never knows!
What is your favorite (or most anticipated) writers conference?
Writers conferences come in all flavors. I have attended many as well as taught in several. And they are all worthwhile. But I always feel the most at home at Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, where God first affirmed the call to write professionally. The spiritual atmosphere alone is worth attending.
What’s your favorite other source (YouTube, podcast, etc.) for writing tips/info?
I can’t say that I have a favorite. I belong to many Facebook writers groups, general market and Christian. I also belong to several online writers groups who provide education and tips such as: ACFW, Capital Christian Writers, Maryland Writers Association, and Christian Authors Network. My publisher is faithful to let her authors know of good blog posts to help with our marketing, craft, and editing. I listen to a variety of YouTube and Podcast helps.
Who is your writing mentor/inspiration? Why?
I have a local writing group which provides a lot of support. I also belong to a peer support group through Capital Christian Writers Fellowship. I am looking for a critique partner or two. I have a very special friend from decades ago who is probably my greatest mentor. I’m the writer I am today because of her instruction and support.
What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever received?
Write to the market. This is bad advice because the market fluctuates. By the time your novel or manuscript is finished, the market is looking for something different.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Be true to who you are as a writer, and write to your strengths. Good writing is good writing regardless of the genre. Secondly, know your demographic … who do you want to read your work? Identify with your reader. Don’t be selfish in your writing.
What would you say is the best writing tip for new authors?
My grandmother was a wonderful pianist. She once told me, “I know how to read music, but I don’t let that get in the way of my playing.” Once you’ve learned the craft, don’t get bogged down by the “rules.” They are conventional wisdoms, but not literal commandments. Know the spirit of the rules. Let your writing be a true and authentic version of you.
What is your best self-editing tip or advice?
Read your manuscript aloud. If you are able to have someone else read it, that’s great. If not, use a read-aloud program on your computer. I always feel like Steve Urkel, “Did I do that?”
Please share your most encouraging tip for frustrated/discouraged writers.
After you’ve hounded heaven with your doubts and fears, leave that discouragement at the altar. God does not call us to defeat. If He has given you a story, He has a plan for it. Sometimes, that story needs to lay fallow for a while, even years. Waiting is hard. And we ask, “How long, God?” But trust His timing. Keep writing, and praise Him while you wait.
Tell us about your newest release/upcoming release.
My newest release is Lessons Along the Way in March of 2023. This devotional book was an adaptation from my many years as a contributing columnist to the religious page of our local newspaper. The print edition is currently on sale until the end of December. It is a great gift for the devotional reader on your list.
My latest fiction work is Ghosts of Trumball Mansion: a mystery and paranormal story about a romance writer and her estranged publisher husband. Reconciliation seems impossible. Not only do they struggle against the ghosts of their pasts, but the house itself seems to fight them. Strange apparitions intensify when a reconciliation seems possible. Only God can save them and their marriage.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I have five blogs that accept guest authors. (See www.lindarondeau.com/blog for descriptions and guidelines.) I also have founded a Christian Writers Co-op group on Facebook and am in the process of developing a website. For more information contact me at lindarondeau@gmail.com.
A former Selah Award winner and Carol Awards finalist, Linda Wood Rondeau writes to demonstrate that our worst past, surrendered to God, becomes our best future. Her books are inspired by her many years as a social worker, why her voice hits home with complex characters who walk off the page, and why readers relate to her non-fiction as well.
She is a breast cancer survivor and a recovering food addict. A Toastmaster graduate, she enjoys speaking to groups about her experiences as well as the writing life. The author loves to hear from readers. You may contact her through her website, www.lindarondeau.com, on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Linked In, or via Elk Lake Publishing. The author is also a writing consultant and freelance editor.
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.
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]
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]
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]