89. Transform Your Novel with These 7 Editing Tips for Bestselling Success, part 1 of 4

“We need courage to do anything creative in life. And I invite you to step into your courage. And decide if now is the time to come and edit your novel with us because creativity is our superpower.”


Transform Your Novel with These 7 Editing Tips for Bestselling Success, part 1 of 4, in episode 88, of the How To Write the Future podcast. Host Beth Barany shares about her writing stance, plus information on her group mastermind program including how you can get involved and sign up to be part of a supportive group and focus on editing your novel.


ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. We cover tips for fiction writers and get curious about the future of humanity.


ABOUT BETH BARANY

Beth Barany, an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist, teaches novelists how to write, edit, and publish their books as a coach, teacher, consultant, and developmental editor.

RESOURCES

12-month Group Mastermind Program for Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers - open for enrollment: http://coaching.bethbarany.com/

Start (or Finish!) Your Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel 1-1 Mentorship Program:

https://bethbarany.com/start-your-novel-1-1-coaching/

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Free World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/

Sign up for the 30-minute Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/ 

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Get support for your fiction writing by a novelist and writing teacher and coach. Schedule an exploratory call here and see if Beth can support you today: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/discovery-call/

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• SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
• SHOW NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade

c. 2024 BETH BARANY

https://bethbarany.com/

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CONNECT
Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580
Email: beth@bethbarany.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethbarany/

CREDITS
EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://get.descript.com/0clwwvlf6e3j
MUSIC: Uppbeat.io
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465

Transcript

Hey everyone, Beth Barany here. Coming to you for the How to Write The Future podcast. I am doing a limited series for you on how to transform your novel with the seven editing tips for best-selling success.

So How To Write The Future podcast is a podcast for science fiction and fantasy writers to help you create positive optimistic futures in your stories. That's the mission.

I am a creativity coach and writing teacher. And I am fascinated with both the process of writing, creativity, and getting the work done. So that's what I'm here to help you do. I'm going to share with you today a few tips. And actually, I'm going to be doing a series.

So over the next four episodes, we'll be covering these seven tips. I'm keeping them short and sweet. And then stay tuned to the end because I have a special invitation for you.

So in this series, I'm going to cover my thoughts on what it takes to be a bestseller.

Today, I'm just going to talk about my stance.

So stay tuned to the end. Like I said, I'm going to be sharing with you a special offer and invitation.

So in this short series that I'm doing this, these four episodes, I'm going to talk about unique models and frameworks that you can use to edit your novel. I'm also going to talk about actionable steps that you can take, uh, right now to attract your ideal reader. And the whole point of all of this is so that you can unleash your story's potential and transform your manuscript into a publish-ready masterpiece.

I believe that writers write to be read. We write for ourselves. We write for our friends and we write for the world.

So my mission is to help you bring your book out into the world, a book that you feel proud of, not a book that follows some cookie cutter. Or some written or unwritten expectation. But I'm really interested in your unique and singular vision and bringing that out into the world.

So on that end, these next four episodes are going to invite you to assess your strengths and weaknesses, focus on genre, center your character, align your language.

So, this is very important. and this is something I say to myself all the time.

We write for ourselves. And we edit for our readers. So if you're listening to this and you're like, oh, but I don't have a first draft finished, I encourage you to keep writing. 

And write for yourself for the joy of it, for the love of it because you are just into it. 

And then when it comes to editing, that's when we start to think about our readers, reader expectations, and the marketplace. But if you are stuck in your first draft, it may be because you're thinking too much about editing. And all that comes with it.

So, listen to this when you're ready for editing. And go and write your book.

And here is a statement that I have heard so much so often is that writing is rewriting. It is quite an amazing process to be able to take a first draft and turn it into something that others enjoy love, they even forget they're reading. It is so wonderful.

So I'm going to end on this for Part One. And I encourage you to go ahead and wait and listen to part two when it comes out next week, Monday, for more on my seven tips for best-selling success.

I want you to think about how we could follow a recipe for editing and there's lots of recipes out there, step-by-step. Or we could take what we know about how to edit a novel and tailor it, customize it to you.

And that's what I have my attention on when I teach in my mastermind program.

So, let me just tell you a few bits and pieces about that program. We teach a 12-month-long program for science fiction and fantasy writers and our whole attention in this mastermind program is to help you take your first draft, which by the way, awesome. Congratulations for finishing a first draft. We help you unleash the story's potential that is there and your beautiful, messy first draft, transform that into a publish-ready masterpiece. Now we have room for three more people in this program right now. We accept people all year round, but right now I'm doing a big marketing push and inviting people into our program.

In this 12-month group mastermind program, we teach and coach you to develop a discerning eye so that you can do the story edits and line edits of your own story.

And we do that in a small group, in an intimate group, where you get to both edit other people's work and get input on your own and do it in a very supportive, constructive environment. And we focus on story editing or developmental editing to help you shape the story into a compelling read. And that tends to look at the big picture story elements, and then there's line editing.

We also focus on line editing to help you create that easy-to-read novel while keeping your unique voice and style.

This is where we get down to the word level. Story and developmental editing is about the story, where the scenes are, the order of scenes. What scenes do you need? The character arcs. Are they clear?

Line editing. We're getting into the nitty gritty of words.

So I want to leave you today with this quote: "What would life be if we had new courage to attempt anything?" A quote, a beautiful quote by Vincent Van Gogh.

So think about it. We need courage to do anything creative in life. And I invite you to step into your courage. And decide if now is the time to come and edit your novel with us because creativity is our superpower. With the power of the imagination, we can bring curiosity, courage, compassion, and connection. And get our novels edited. 

Here's my special offer and invitation. If you're curious about working together and you want to explore if this group is right for you definitely schedule a complimentary call. The link will be in the description. And like I said, I have three spots open for the group and I have only one spot open for working solo with me. All right.

That's it for this week.

Thank you so much for listening. Please do, like, and share this podcast if you are a fan, if you think a friend of yours would benefit from it.

And write long and prosper.