Muse & the Marketplace 2018

We've all worked through a first draft—whether it's a paragraph or a full manuscript. Getting to the end is a huge achievement, but after you add that final period, what do you do? This session will present two perspectives on next steps: one from the writer before she submits to an agent and one from an agent before she submits to an editor. You'll learn that every scene must have its purpose, no matter how beautiful the writing, and every character must have her place no matter how striking her description. We'll use actual examples from edited texts to show how much a draft can change. Plus, we'll work through a few examples from the audience. This is a combined lecture-guided editing so bring a one paragraph description of your book, or preferably your pitch, and hand it in before the session starts. We will choose approximately 13 samples to edit together - on the spot.