Author Archives: John Robin
How to do a developmental edit: understanding how it works before you hire an editor
You’ve likely heard the term “developmental editing” tossed around. The term will vary from editor to editor, much like how “hot yoga” can mean a lot, depending on which studio you go to. This is because editing has become the … Continue reading
Checklist before you publish your book
You’ve just finished your book and you’re ready to self-publish. You don’t have a lot of money, so hopefully you can do most things yourself. If you had a dream checklist that would help you feel more confident, what would … Continue reading
Time in, words out: a writer’s tug-of-war
How do you measure progress at the keyboard? Many writers like to use word count. A good day’s work is measured based on how many new words you write. Some writers prefer page count. This is the same as word … Continue reading
Posted in John's blog, Writing Tips
Tagged word count tracking, writing productivity
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The art of rewriting: getting the most development mileage from your edits
I work with an amazingly talented writing client. Every week for 39 weeks now, he’s submitted his novel-in progress, usually 10-20 pages each week. We’ve made it through draft 1. We took a short break where I did an analysis … Continue reading
Your perfect writing week vs your real writing week
You can’t be perfect with your writing every week. As much as we want to hit our word count goals, or make progress in our current draft just like we said we would, the fact remains that when we make … Continue reading
The Iliad: a review
I do not usually post my book reviews on my blog, though Goodreads does have a link to past reviews (right-hand column). As I’ve run out of things to blog about, at least for the present, I figure I’ll start … Continue reading
Learn Something New Every Day
In the last year, I have learned a lot about myself as a writer. Probably the most unexpected lesson: I enjoy writing educational nonfiction. I’ve written 12 courses now on the platform Highbrow (click here to see all my courses). … Continue reading
