Polishing Your Draft: The 5 Essential Layers of Editing

Everything you need to know to take your diamond in the rough and get it past the slush pile.

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Have you finished the first draft of a novel and you aren’t sure what to do next?

When you edit your manuscripts do you rely on spellcheck to do your editing for you?

Does the task of editing seem too big to handle?

Do you look at your manuscript and think it's a piece of junk? That no one would ever want to read it?

Are you looking to self-publish, or submit to a publisher, but you’re afraid this diamond in the rough won’t make it past the slush pile?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this course is for you.


Your Instructor


Robin Glassey
Robin Glassey

Robin grew up in Canada and moved to Utah in 1994, graduating from BYU with a degree in Psychology and working at LDS Hospital as a Psych Tech. She's an adoptive mom and former foster parent who began her professional writing career after a particular foster daughter returned to her birth parents.

Robin is active in the League of Utah Writers as the president in her local chapter, volunteering at conferences and presenting at local chapters. She also enjoys being a presenter and panelist at FanX Comic Convention, LTUE (Life the Universe and Everything), and at her local libraries and schools.

She spends her time analyzing her four teenage boys, participating in local writing groups, and writing clean YA fantasy, including the epic fantasy series, The Azetha Series.

Robin is addicted to sci-fi and fantasy, french fries, and Doctor Who. When all of her addictions collide she's in heaven.


 

Does this sound familiar?

I love learning. I always have. When I first began writing there was so much I had to learn about what makes a good story, how to create memorable characters, and what to do and what not to do. I was excited about my story ideas, but trying to get down on paper what was in my mind seemed impossible.

But then it happened—I managed to get that first draft completed.

I was thrilled!

It wasn't a work of art, but at least I had finished the story. What was I supposed to do next? In my first attempts at self-editing my work, I was more focused on grammar and style edits, fixing spelling mistakes, and learning where to use and not use commas.

As I attended numerous writing conferences and classes, information poured into my brain and I realized I needed to find a structured way of approaching editing, a way that would help me improve my drafts significantly, save me money in editing costs, and create a final product that I would be proud of.

As time went by, I began sharing my approach to self-editing manuscripts with others at conferences and workshops. I kept getting positive feedback from conference attendees about how much they enjoyed my Polishing Your Draft classes. I realized I wanted to offer this approach to more people in order to help them experience greater success with their writing.

Are you ready to polish your draft and experience greater success with your writing?

 

How will this course help you?

Polishing Your Draft: The 5 Essential Layers of Editing is a structured approach to editing your manuscript.

We often feel overwhelmed when faced with a huge task and we lack actionable steps to break that task down.

This course shows you how to approach your manuscript in organized layers, going from the big-picture editing of story structure and story arc, to the smaller picture edits that we typically do as writers, namely, grammar and style.

This course will provide you with the tools you'll need to improve your draft and hone your writing skills.

 

What is included in this course?

Polishing Your Draft: The 5 Essential Layers of Editing is a structured way of approaching your manuscript. In this course you'll learn how to self-edit your manuscript starting with big-picture edits, going all the way down to sentence-level edits.

The course includes instructional videos, slides, practical examples, and downloadable PDF checklists which you can use in order to edit your manuscript at your own pace and on your own schedule.

The course is divided up into 5 layers including:

Layer 1: Story structure, story arc, character arc, strong beginnings, hook, and conflict.

Layer 2: Creating characters your readers will love, eliminating unnecessary characters, combining characters, types of character questions that lead to more detailed characters, and the virtues of keeping a Character Bible.

Layer 3: Chapter editing with an emphasis on editing for mood, using the five senses, and tracking characters across space and time.

Layer 4: Paragraph editing: when to start a new paragraph, how to paragraph for emphasis, and paragraphing in today's digital world.

Layer 5: Sentence editing: frequent words and phrases, power words, end emphasis, passive and active voice, and basic punctuation tips.

Plus, when you enroll in Polishing Your Draft, you'll automatically receive a bonus module about the importance of alpha and beta readers.



Course Curriculum


  Layer 1: Story Structure Edits
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  Layer 1: Hook line and Sinker
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  Layer 1: The Art of Creating Conflict
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  Layer 4: Paragraph Edits
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  Layer 5: Reading Aloud
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  Wrapping Up
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  Bonus: Alpha & Beta Readers—Why You Can't live Without Them
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days after you enroll

 

Are you ready to change your writing life forever?

Where do you see yourself six months down the road, one year down the road, five years down the road?

Will you still be stuck in the same place, with your draft in a drawer, or gathering dust on a shelf?

Will you still be editing the same way, making minor corrections but not making substantive changes that get your draft up to snuff and reader-worthy or submission-worthy?

Are you ready to make a change in your writing life?

ENROLL NOW

There's zero risk and a 30-day money back guarantee. When you enroll, you'll have lifetime access to the course videos and pdf files. Watch and learn at your own pace.

Simply enroll below and select your preferred payment plan among the options listed.

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts as soon as you enroll. It's a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish. You can binge watch the whole course all at once, or you can pace it out and work on one layer's edits at a time. It's completely up to you.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you will have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.
What kinds of writing does this course work for?
The Polishing Your Draft course works best with fiction and creative non-fiction as it deals with layers such as story structure, character edits, chapter edits, paragraph edits, and sentence edits.
Will I need to purchase any additional software for this course?
No. There is no additional software necessary for this course. The cost of the course includes online videos and pdf filess which are accessed through an online account. Once the course is purchased, you will have unlimited access to the videos and pdf files.
Can I use this program if I'm a new writer?
Absolutely. Polishing Your Draft: The 5 Essential Layers of Editing is a great way to help new writers learn how to recognize story structure problems, two-dimensional characters, and weak writing and help you correct these problems, not just for one manuscript, but for future manuscripts as well. You'll learn how to craft strong beginnings and avoid some of the newbie mistakes beginning writers make when creating those first drafts. You'll also learn how to recognize passive voice as well as frequent words and phrases and eliminate them in order to strengthen your prose.
What if I'm an experienced writer? How will this program be beneficial to me?
Great question. The 5 Essential Layers of Editing will also give the experienced writer a systematic way of approaching editing which will save time and money if you’ve been paying for a developmental or content editor to do the work for you. Rather than taking a haphazard approach to editing your draft (which we've all done), you'll learn a systematic approach that takes you from the big picture edits of story structure down to the nitty gritty edits of sentence structure.
Does The 5 Essential Layers of Editing course replace having others critiquing my manuscript?
No. A manuscript shouldn't go to print without having others read it. As we work on our manuscripts we become plot blind and even word blind. Our brains fill in missing words or skip over incorrect words and fill in what it knows should be there. It’s always a good idea to have a fresh set of eyes looking at your manuscript and giving you feedback on your story. In Polishing Your Draft: The 5 Essential Layers of Editing you'll receive a bonus module about Beta Readers: who they are and how to use them.

Get started now!