Before You Edit Your First Draft…
Read. Read. Read.
I choose three books to study after completing the first draft. One that’s similar in genre and plot, another that’s similar in tone, and a third that is completely different, but linked by a particular subject. For instance, I read A Convergence of Birds by Jonathan Safran Foer after I finished the first draft of The Sculptor. The link was that Birdie DuBois (not intentional!) is an assemblage artist who creates box poetry. A Convergence of Birds looks at the work of Joseph Cornell. Obviously, reading widely fills your editorial armoury, but I find it’s a curious project to position your own work alongside other books that you would want to read. Also, it’s helpful to have varying comparable titles when you come to marketing your book in the future.
I hope this has been useful and good luck with your writing. Any questions/feedback? Just pop them in the comments below! Take care everyone.
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All the best,
Gret Heffernan
Gret Heffernan is the Editor-in-Chief of www.backlashpress.com and author of The Sculptor and Dark Ansley, Book One and Book Two
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