Self-edit your novel for publication
And create a saleable manuscript that readers will love.
Key information
Start date: Multiple dates available Duration: 6 weeks
Format: online No. of students: 12 (max)
By the end of this course you’ll be able to analyse and deconstruct your first draft.
You’ll have all the tools you need to ensure narrative drive, a strong voice, and that your characters, plot, and story development are all in place. You’ll end this course with a clear plan that will enable you to create a final draft that will be ready to submit to agents, or to start the road to self-publishing.
Places on the course are strictly limited and the course always books out, so you are strongly advised to grab a place as soon as you can.
You will also receive a a detailed course pack on successful completion of the course.
Book the ‘Self-Editing your Novel Course’
Your fast-track to publication. Learn the crucial skills involved whittling that first draft into shape. Remember – writing is re-writing.
Got questions? Then drop us a line.
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Lead Tutor Bio
Debi Alper
Debi Alper is the primary presenter of the self-edit course. She is the author of Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana (both Orion), gritty urban stories told with love and humour. She is a vastly talented and experienced tutor and editor and has been instrumental in many client successes. Read more.
Tutor bio
Emma Darwin
Emma Darwin is the acclaimed and bestselling author of The Mathematics of Love and A Secret Alchemy, both historical fiction. Emma is also an experienced tutor and editor, with a long track record of helping first-time writers achieve publication.
Overview Summary
Why this course is special
This outstanding, premium course offers a unique fast-track to publication. Roughly one sixth of all past alumni have now been published, and more success stories are in the pipeline. Students tend to form strong and lasting bonds, which means that the exchange of ideas, friendship and support lasts well beyond the period of the course itself.
What does the course offer?
The course will give you the self-editing skills you need to ensure your novel is as good as it possibly can be, before pitching to agents, or self-publishing with confidence. The exercises and feedback will be based on your own novel, so you can see how to apply the advice directly to your work-in-progress.
Syllabus
Week 1 – Plot & structure
Have you started your book in the right place? Are you including information that was vital for you as the author, but that the reader doesn’t need? Is it clear in every chapter what your main character needs, what they do to get it and what gets in their way?
This session is designed to ensure that each of your chapters has the essential content to make up the ‘narrative triangle’, and that your pacing is spot on, with no faltering in the narrative drive.
Week 2 – Character
Creating convincing and engaging characters is vital to the success of your novel. The reader must see them changing and needs to care about what happens to them. In this session, we’ll be teaching you techniques to ensure you know your characters both inside and out, and can bring them alive as characters-in-action.
Week 3 – Voice
When you submit your MS to an agent, they will be able to tell at a glance whether it’s worth their time to read on. More than any other single issue, they will base this assessment on voice. Whether you’re writing in the first or third person, creating an engaging voice and getting this right is essential. This session will give you the tools to check whether you’re there yet or not. (And if you don’t know what voice is, then this week is essential!)
Week 4 – Point of view and psychic distance
Novels are the only narrative form that can go deep inside fictional characters’ heads and see the world through their eyes. Sometimes you may want the reader to share your protagonists’ perceptions and empathise with them. At other times, you might choose to be more remote and objective. But how do you know which technique to use and when? This session will show you how to make those decisions and how to move between POVs if you need to.
Week 5 – Prose microscope
You might have a compelling story to tell with sizzling characters, but if you don’t get the words right your chances of engaging a reader’s interest are minimal. Does your prose have a pleasing rhythm, appropriate for the content? Are you tagging every verb with an adverb? Are you ‘telling’ when you should be ‘showing’? What about punctuation? In this session, we’ll place a piece of your prose under the microscope and examine it in detail, highlighting your strengths as well as those areas that could be improved.
Week 6 – Over to you
What area of your book concerns you most? Are you uneasy about a certain aspect of character development? Maybe there’s a plot device that you suspect might feel contrived. Or perhaps you’re not confident that you’ve really nailed a particular voice. In this session, we ask you to focus on an aspect of your own book that you would like feedback on.
Detailed information
How the course works
All course content, including videos, exercises, tasks and reading lists, will be uploaded to the course platform on the same day each week. You’ll be able to have full access to all that content permanently, so there’s plenty of time for you to fit the course around your everyday life. Each week, you will be set a ‘homework’ task to be completed by the following week if you can (but if you can’t, just let your tutor know – they’ll understand!) This homework will enable your fellow students and your tutor to give you feedback on your writing.
The course platform is easy-to-use, friendly and yours to access whenever is most convenient for you. We suggest dedicating a minimum of three hours a week to the course, but like anything – the more you put into it, the more you get out!
Many of our learners leave courses having made life-long friends and a clear idea where to take their writing. Just take look at a few of the testimonials below.
Build a strong underlying story structure