Self-Editing Essentials for Fiction: Polishing plot, characters, scene, and prose

You finished your book. That's freaking amazing. Now let's make sure it gets readers turning pages and becoming fans. You worked too hard—doing what 97% of people don't do (finish a book)—to fall short at the crucial self-editing stage. If your plot sags in the middle, your characters feel flat, or your scenes lose steam, readers won't stick around. Agents won't either. This book teaches you how to self-edit like a professional editor (because, hi, I am one), so you can stop second-guessing every sentence and start making your manuscript actually work. You'll learn how to: Fix story structure so readers stay hooked from page one to the end Sharpen POV, plot, and character arcs in a way that empowers you Cut exposition that's secretly boring everyone Deepen interiority without resorting to telling Polish scenes, dial up tension, and make your prose sing Clean up the technical stuff so you're not paying an editor to fix basic punctuation This isn't a linear read; it's a toolbox. Choose from 29 targeted topics across 4 editing passes—Story, Scene, Writing, Technical—and focus on what your manuscript needs most. No fluff.