Revision and Self Editing for Publication: Techniques for Transforming Your First Draft into a Novel that Sells

by James Scott Bell

Overview

Take your first draft from so-so to sold!

You've finished the first draft of your novel--congratulations! Time to have a drink, sit back...and start revising. But the revision process doesn't have to be intimidating. Revision and Self-Editing for Publication, Second Edition gives you the tools and advice you need to transform your first draft into a finished manuscript that agents and editors will fight for.

Inside you'll find:

   • Self-editing techniques for plot, structure, character, theme, voice, and more that can be applied as you're writing to reduce your revision workload.
   • Methods for fine-tuning your first draft into a tight, well-developed piece of literature.
   • The Ultimate Revision Checklist, which seamlessly guides you through the revision process, step by step.
   • New Chapter! Exercises and techniques for "deepening" your work to engage and excite readers like never before.


Whether you're writing a novel currently or have finished the first draft, Revision and Self-Editing for Publication, Second Edition will give you the guidance you need to revise your manuscript into a novel ready to be sold.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599637105
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/10/2012
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	282
Sales rank:	529,267
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

James Scott Bell is the #1 bestselling author of Plot & Structure, and thrillers like Deceived, Try Dying, Watch Your Back, and One More Lie (International Thriller Writers Award finalist), and is a Christy Award winner. His fiction has been reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and the Library Review. A former trial lawyer, Bell now writes and speaks full time. He lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Introduction To The 2nd Edition 1

On Becoming A Writer 4

Part 1 Self-Editing

Chapter 1 A Philosophy of Self-Editing 11

Chapter 2 Characters 21

Chapter 3 Plot and Structure 48

Chapter 4 Point of View 63

Chapter 5 Scenes 74

Chapter 6 Dialogue 98

Chapter 7 Beginnings, Middles, and Ends 129

Chapter 8 Show vs. Tell 145

Chapter 9 Voice and Style 153

Chapter 10 Setting and Description 167

Chapter 11 Exposition 178

Chapter 12 Theme 182

Part 2 Revision

Chapter 13 A Philosophy of Revision 196

Chapter 14 Before You Revise 208

Chapter 15 The First Read-Through 215

Chapter 16 Deepening 223

Chapter 17 The Ultimate Revision Checklist 229

Epilogue: The Trick That Cannot Be Explained 267

Appendix: Exercise Answers 269

Index 278