Five Truths I Learned Editing Hundreds of Books That Might Change Your Life

As a Book Coach and developmental editor, I work on hundreds of books with writers each year, in full or in part. I give feedback on drafts, debuts, and nearly polished manuscripts written by writers tackling their third, fourth, or even tenth book. Because I follow the journeys of so many writers, I’m in a...
The post Five Truths I Learned Editing Hundreds of Books That Might Change Your Life appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/05/five-truths-i-learned-editing-hundreds-of-books/

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Helpful Picture Book Tips and Tricks (Plus a Giveaway!)

Whether you’ve always wanted to create a picture book, are in the process of revising one, or your manuscript is out on submission, your 2026 picture book goals are within reach! Through hosting the popular PBParty contest and my PB Fairy Godmother…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/01/picture-book-tips-and-tricks/

#EditingTips #MGAndKidlit #PublishingandSelfPublishing #RevisionandEditing #WritingCraft

Make the Most of Your Manuscript’s Resting Time

If you’re participating in ProWriting Aid’s Novel November, Reedsy’s Novel Sprint, NaNo 2.0 (not the original NaNo) or another writing challenge this November, you’ll soon be finished drafting. And if you’re like most writers, you’ll immediately…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/11/make-the-most-of-your-manuscripts-resting-time/

#PublishingandSelfPublishing #Reading #RevisionandEditing #WritingCraft #WritingHelp

Win Editorial Feedback on Your First 10 Pages

Want to win editorial feedback and take your story opening from good to great? Well, my writerly friend, you’re in luck! It’s time for our monthly Phenomenal First Pages contest. In this draw, you can win… Editorial feedback on your first 10 pages Entering…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/10/win-feedback-on-10-pages/

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Writing 101: How to Fix an Infodump

The latest post in our Writing 101 series is all about the dreaded infodump—when the author drops a landslide of information on the reader and the pace (and reader interest) grinds to a halt. These big blocks of text often show up in early chapters when a writer wants to be sure they’ve explained…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/08/writing-101-how-to-fix-an-infodump/

#Openings #Pacing #RevisionandEditing #Tension #Writing101
@indieauthors

Writing 101: Avoiding Purple Prose

Purple prose is one of those writing problems that’s easy to see in someone else’s work but hard to spot in our own. Simply put, this writing is overly elaborate or self-indulgent. It’s wordy, heavy on description, and often prioritizes the sound of the words over clarity and pacing. The result?
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/07/writing-101-avoiding-purple-prose/

#Description #RevisionandEditing #Writing101 #WritingCraft
@indieauthors

Help! My Romance Draft Is a Mess (Now What?)

Author Accelerator Certified book coach Stuart Wakefield shares what to do if your romance draft is a mess. You finished your draft. Maybe you poured yourself a glass of something bubbly. Maybe you took a nap. Maybe you panicked. That’s all perfectly normal. (I buy myself a Ken doll…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/06/my-romance-draft-is-a-mess/

#EditingTips #GuestPost #Relationships #RevisionandEditing #Romance
@indieauthors

Writing 101: Semi-Colons & Other Tricky Punctuation Marks

Punctuation can be surprisingly difficult, especially when it comes to lesser-used marks like semi-colons, dashes, and colons. When these marks are used incorrectly, readers are either distracted or confused. Because this isn’t the experience we want for our readers,…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/06/writing-101-semi-colons-other-tricky-punctuation-marks/

#EditingTips #Grammar #RevisionandEditing
@indieauthors

Communication is the Key to Critique Partner Success

Author Accelerator Certified Coach Julie Artz shares great ways to get the most out of critiques. Here on Writers Helping Writers, you’ll find a lot of folks extolling the virtues of getting feedback on your writing through either a critique partner or…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/the-key-to-critique-partner-success/

#CritiqueGroups #CritiquingAndCritiques #GuestPost #RevisionandEditing #WritingGroups
@indieauthors

Writing Tips from a Neurodivergent Brain

Last Fall, when I wrote about writing a novel “scene by scene,” I received a ton of interesting feedback. Most of it was a variation on these three questions: I’ll give you my answer in a nutshell. I don’t write out of order to be different or creative. I…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/writing-tips-from-a-neurodivergent-brain/

#Focus #ResidentWritingCoach #RevisionandEditing #ToolsandResources #WritersAttitude
@indieauthors