For this next book haul I wanted to go back to basics and read a bunch of books about writing. There’s always more to be learned afterall … ok, but the real reason is I absolutely need some help with editing and revision. ‘Oneiromancer’ and ‘Jeffries’ both have shown me that editing a story into good shape (especially a real long one) is by far my weakest point. I’m not sure how else to put it, I just can’t hack it at the moment. That’s why this book haul is all about editing and revision. Hopefully some of the knowledge in these books will rub off and tell me why this part has been such a pain for me the last several months.

First up is ‘Story Fix: Transform Your Novel from Broken to Brilliant’ by Larry Brooks. I’m reading this one right now. It has a pretty snappy style so far, a familiar tone, and the advice has also been good. It’s straightforward in a good way, but it does make me worry if this will be a rehash of what I learned in my intro writing class or something. Hopefully this will have some insights that I haven’t gleaned already. It got good reviews anyway. I expect to get some knowledge!

Next is ‘Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing,’ by Tiffany Yates Martin. I’m not sure if there’s an unspoken rule of making your title really verbose in the editing/revision help book world, but I saw so many with a title like this that I don’t think it can be a coincidence. The title says it all really.

I also have ‘Developmental Editing: A Handbook for Freelancers, Authors, and Publishers,’ by Scott Norton … see what I mean?

A slightly different take for this last one, I got, ‘Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know About What Editors Do,’ edited by Gerald C. Gross. This one is unique because it’s actually a series of 38 essays by editors on a range of different topics from editing to making the most of a writers’ conference. I’m excited to read this one, so I’ll save the best for last!

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley