One of the things that helped me most as a starting writer was joining a writer's group; in my case it was the Brussels Writers' Circle (BWC). The feedback I receive from people there is extremly helpful, especially from professional editors who join us on and off. If anyone is looking to join a writers' group, I highly recomend the BWC. We meet on Tuesdays, alternating between in-person meetings (if you are in Brussels) and zoom meetings if you are anywhere else in the world.
I finished the first draft of the manuscript on December 17th. I waited for my beta-readers to finish and setup a brainstorming session to go over the plot arc and character development yesterday, but it had to be postponed due to weather. I didn't want to start editing until I got all of their feedback, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to add another facet of descriptive text to the scenes. Mostly around the sense of smell. Like "an old warehouse that smelled of dust and lubricating oil". I also got the strong sense that I needed to change one of my secondary characters from beautiful and captivating to plain, but with an easy confident smile that draws the MC in.
This was a very important video for me. I am getting closer and closer to the developmental edit phase. I did have an 'editorial consult" done by Reedsy on the first third of my book. I just wanted to know if I actually had the talent for all of this. I did find out that I needed to refocus my vision. It needed to be sharper and the pacing had to fit with where I wanted the audience to view the story. So, I had to revise a major section before moving on. Anyway, I am getting there. And, I have found I enjoy improving the story in anyway it's needed.
Thank you for this video. I’ve just started the developmental edit and I am overwhelmed by it. I know the new changes will make my story better but oh the work ahead is daunting.
😂 That's my current crossroads. Spending some time to decide which story is the one I really need to write first. Will save the rest for something else. It's so much work! Give me line edits any way over the big picture stuff. 😅
I just finished the first act of my first book. It’s much harder than I realized but considering I started in early December, I’m happy with the progress. My goal is to have the first draft done by February.
I have learned a lot from betas and most of all, my editors. I could focus on points I have always missed or never really understood. Not easy with dyslexia on top of it but I manage more or less. I read it several times over, use prowritingaid which has been really good and having a really beta, has helped me to fix so many issues before it gets edited. Although now I'm asking myself if I should develop my first three chapters only since it's so expensive.
How much have you researched about plot structure? Emily Brock has amazing videos breaking down story mechanics. I mean, it's GOLD. Also Brandon Sanderson's lectures are entertaining and have a lot of meat to them. I'd say start with BS's lectures, then check out Ellen Brock and others... (I've watched BS's lecture series 5x and I'm still learning stuff as I progress in my writing skills.)
@@5Gburn A fair bit throughout the years I've been writing. Also read the book safe the cat which helped me. Nearly got an agent too. Haven't seen any of the lectures of the two you mention, so I will give them a shot too. Thanks.
Hi Alyssa, I was wondering if people ever have a developmental edit done on JUST the first few chapters vs the entire manuscript? I’m going to be submitting query letters in the near future and have worked with beta readers and done multiple revisions, but before I have the first 3 chapters copy edited I’m wondering about having them get a developmental treatment too. I’d prefer to hold off of doing the whole manuscript since publishing houses have their editors do a developmental edit if they pick up the book. What are your thoughts?
Thank you so much for posting. This is the first video that actually made sense to me. Now I know waaay more clearly how much further or in depth I need to go before consulting a developmental editor. Again, thankyou so greatly for posting this video. I hope I can find your other video on developmental editing as I will need to view that too. Much love to you and have a beautiful year.
I'm so happy to hear you found the video helpful! In case you had any trouble finding it, here's another video with more information on developmental editing: ua-cam.com/video/gbhqjXmjkk4/v-deo.html Wishing you all the best!
Always do at least one self edit before you send to a second set of eyes. If you already know there's issues, you would waste both your time and their time to be called out on issues you already know are there.
I love when new writers discover that writing the first draft is the easy part. 😂 The first draft is just a you telling the story to yourself. Once you finally know your story, then you can begin to polish that turd in to a jewel.
I'm doing my dev edit now, and I have slashed 17k words and added a new character which storyline will require an additional 8-10k. It'll be worth it, but dang. And that's one of *several* plot changes I'm making. Gleeeee! 😂😭
@@5Gburn That's awesome. Happy New Year. I wish you the best with your project. I'm currently working on two stories for my clients at the same time. I'm a ghostwriter and I've averaged a novel every three to four months since 2009. Good thing I only have to make basic edits. My clients have editors to do developmental edits.
@@OlettaLiano Thanks! One thing I wonder about ghostwriters: You stick to romance, mystery, and thriller, am I right? Or do you venture into fantasy and sci-fi? Ghostwriting strikes me as a place where real-world assumptions (the readers' assumptions about the world that require less worldbuilding) make the job a bit easier to accomplish in such a short time (because dang! 4 months?!). Or do you also write other genres but for a higher price tag? 🤔 Genuinely curious.
@@5Gburn About 60% of what I write is romance. But the rest are urban fantasy and sci-fi. My clients give me their basic story Ideas and a list of scenes they want. Then we do a few days of brainstorming to make their vision clearer to me. I use the Hollywood Plotting method to write a lean outline (very little description in this phase.) Then I begin fleshing it out until it's done. I'm taking a break from ghostwriting this year to write a few books for myself to self publish under my name. Happy New Year.
I cannot find your story self-accessment after I entered my email address and subscribed chapter break on your website. Instead, I just got teleported to a pages with all your articles. How should I solve this problem?
I could be sitting on the first hand origens story of some of the greatest storytellers of our time told by Joe Rogan the most prolific storyteller in human history & you & your editors & lawyers & your corporate publishers will never be ready to edit Bryan Adams & the Beacon Hill Base Brats lol.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
One of the things that helped me most as a starting writer was joining a writer's group; in my case it was the Brussels Writers' Circle (BWC). The feedback I receive from people there is extremly helpful, especially from professional editors who join us on and off. If anyone is looking to join a writers' group, I highly recomend the BWC. We meet on Tuesdays, alternating between in-person meetings (if you are in Brussels) and zoom meetings if you are anywhere else in the world.
I finished the first draft of the manuscript on December 17th. I waited for my beta-readers to finish and setup a brainstorming session to go over the plot arc and character development yesterday, but it had to be postponed due to weather. I didn't want to start editing until I got all of their feedback, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to add another facet of descriptive text to the scenes. Mostly around the sense of smell. Like "an old warehouse that smelled of dust and lubricating oil". I also got the strong sense that I needed to change one of my secondary characters from beautiful and captivating to plain, but with an easy confident smile that draws the MC in.
Man when you said you need to improve your grammar before the edit a vision of thousands of dollars burning entered my mind and I passed out.
This was a very important video for me. I am getting closer and closer to the developmental edit phase. I did have an 'editorial consult" done by Reedsy on the first third of my book. I just wanted to know if I actually had the talent for all of this.
I did find out that I needed to refocus my vision. It needed to be sharper and the pacing had to fit with where I wanted the audience to view the story. So, I had to revise a major section before moving on.
Anyway, I am getting there. And, I have found I enjoy improving the story in anyway it's needed.
As someone who is writing his fifth book of a series of seven, I have videos like this so great!
Thank you for this video. I’ve just started the developmental edit and I am overwhelmed by it. I know the new changes will make my story better but oh the work ahead is daunting.
Good luck with your edits - you've got this!
Hope it went well! I'm standing at the base of Developmental Edit mountain myself and I'm tired already. 😅
When I finished my manuscript and sent it out to my editor, she advised me that I have 3 different books in one 😂
😂 That's my current crossroads. Spending some time to decide which story is the one I really need to write first. Will save the rest for something else. It's so much work! Give me line edits any way over the big picture stuff. 😅
I just finished the first act of my first book. It’s much harder than I realized but considering I started in early December, I’m happy with the progress. My goal is to have the first draft done by February.
I have learned a lot from betas and most of all, my editors. I could focus on points I have always missed or never really understood. Not easy with dyslexia on top of it but I manage more or less.
I read it several times over, use prowritingaid which has been really good and having a really beta, has helped me to fix so many issues before it gets edited. Although now I'm asking myself if I should develop my first three chapters only since it's so expensive.
How much have you researched about plot structure? Emily Brock has amazing videos breaking down story mechanics. I mean, it's GOLD. Also Brandon Sanderson's lectures are entertaining and have a lot of meat to them. I'd say start with BS's lectures, then check out Ellen Brock and others... (I've watched BS's lecture series 5x and I'm still learning stuff as I progress in my writing skills.)
@@5Gburn A fair bit throughout the years I've been writing. Also read the book safe the cat which helped me. Nearly got an agent too.
Haven't seen any of the lectures of the two you mention, so I will give them a shot too. Thanks.
Finished 1st draft (73,000) words.
Got a 77 on the Story assessment!!!
Editing as we speak. Already tired.
Keep up the great videos! 🫡
I finished my manuscripts two days ago and shall now begin to learn editing. But I am also drafting a future project.
"Danger, Will Robinson!" It's possible to do, but beware of "Shiny New Object Syndrome".
Congratulations on finishing your manuscript!
Thank you Alyssa!
Hi Alyssa, I was wondering if people ever have a developmental edit done on JUST the first few chapters vs the entire manuscript? I’m going to be submitting query letters in the near future and have worked with beta readers and done multiple revisions, but before I have the first 3 chapters copy edited I’m wondering about having them get a developmental treatment too. I’d prefer to hold off of doing the whole manuscript since publishing houses have their editors do a developmental edit if they pick up the book. What are your thoughts?
Thank you so much for posting. This is the first video that actually made sense to me. Now I know waaay more clearly how much further or in depth I need to go before consulting a developmental editor. Again, thankyou so greatly for posting this video. I hope I can find your other video on developmental editing as I will need to view that too. Much love to you and have a beautiful year.
I'm so happy to hear you found the video helpful! In case you had any trouble finding it, here's another video with more information on developmental editing: ua-cam.com/video/gbhqjXmjkk4/v-deo.html Wishing you all the best!
Happy New Year!
Same to you! 🎉
Can you also do developmental edit video tips for non-fictional work?
Thanks so much!
Always do at least one self edit before you send to a second set of eyes. If you already know there's issues, you would waste both your time and their time to be called out on issues you already know are there.
I love when new writers discover that writing the first draft is the easy part. 😂 The first draft is just a you telling the story to yourself. Once you finally know your story, then you can begin to polish that turd in to a jewel.
I'm doing my dev edit now, and I have slashed 17k words and added a new character which storyline will require an additional 8-10k. It'll be worth it, but dang. And that's one of *several* plot changes I'm making. Gleeeee! 😂😭
@@5Gburn That's awesome. Happy New Year. I wish you the best with your project. I'm currently working on two stories for my clients at the same time. I'm a ghostwriter and I've averaged a novel every three to four months since 2009. Good thing I only have to make basic edits. My clients have editors to do developmental edits.
@@OlettaLiano Thanks! One thing I wonder about ghostwriters: You stick to romance, mystery, and thriller, am I right? Or do you venture into fantasy and sci-fi? Ghostwriting strikes me as a place where real-world assumptions (the readers' assumptions about the world that require less worldbuilding) make the job a bit easier to accomplish in such a short time (because dang! 4 months?!). Or do you also write other genres but for a higher price tag? 🤔 Genuinely curious.
@@5Gburn About 60% of what I write is romance. But the rest are urban fantasy and sci-fi. My clients give me their basic story Ideas and a list of scenes they want. Then we do a few days of brainstorming to make their vision clearer to me. I use the Hollywood Plotting method to write a lean outline (very little description in this phase.) Then I begin fleshing it out until it's done. I'm taking a break from ghostwriting this year to write a few books for myself to self publish under my name. Happy New Year.
I cannot find your story self-accessment after I entered my email address and subscribed chapter break on your website. Instead, I just got teleported to a pages with all your articles. How should I solve this problem?
Hi there - please send me an email at hello@alyssamatesic.com and I will send it to you!
First to write first! 😂
Nope. It just keeps getting longer and longer and longer and longer…
Best wishes Alyssa. Is it just me or you dressed youself for special occasion?
She's always dressed well. That's how we all should be at home :)
I could be sitting on the first hand origens story of some of the greatest storytellers of our time told by Joe Rogan the most prolific storyteller in human history & you & your editors & lawyers & your corporate publishers will never be ready to edit Bryan Adams & the Beacon Hill Base Brats lol.