LIVE EDITS: Discover How to Love Editing Your Story -
Make It Powerful!
IT'S A MYTH that self-editing has to be difficult and painful.
It doesn’t.
In fact, editing is where art is made.
It can be joyful and deeply satisfying.
But you need two things:
There is a trick - a simple mindset shift - needed
As well as technical self-editing skills - 30 easy-to-learn rules that professional authors use.
And when you apply those two things to your stories
you can ENJOY self-editing and your craft and confidence will be transformed.
You just have to follow the right steps...
WANT TO FINALLY GAIN CONTROL OF YOUR WRITING SO YOU CAN ENJOY THE PROCESS MORE?
JOIN LIVE EDITS NOW!
The Live Edits reveal the deep magic of editing but much of the depth in the 6-session class comes from the bi-weekly videos.
Those videos will cover:
They include the following:
ANALYSIS OF TYPICAL PROSE PUBLISHED BY THE FOLLOWING:
Top literary journals and markets including The Atlantic, Modern Love, Tiny Love Stories, The Paris Review, Tin House, The New Yorker, and The Harvard Review.
Top speculative fiction literary markets including Asimov’s, Apex, Lightspeed, and Fantasy & Science Fiction.
The Big Five publishers: Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, Hachette, Penguin Random House.
Independent Publishers including Algonquin Books, Akashic Books, and Greywolf Press.
Small Presses including Alice James Books, Brooklyns Arts Press and Codhill Press.
Classic Authors including Chekhov, Zora Neale Thurston, Katherine Mansfield, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Virginia Woolf, and Hemingway.
Modern classic authors including Ann Patchett, Toni Morrison, Raymond Carver, Alice Munro, Chinua Achebe, Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Alice Walker, Ralph Ellison, Kenzaburō Ōe, Shirley Jackson, Junot Diaz, Joan Didion.
Modern speculative fiction authors including Alice Hoffman, N.K.Jemisin, Neil Gaiman, Kurt Vonnegut, Ursula K. LeGuin, Octavia Butler, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, and Kelly Link.
Pulitzer Prize-Winners (Fiction): The Netanyahus 2022 Joshua Cohen, The Night Watchman 2021 Louise Erdrich, The Nickel Boys 2020 Colson Whitehead, The Overstory 2019 Richard Powers, Less 2018 Andrew Sean Greer, The Underground Railroad 2017 Colson Whitehead, The Sympathizer 2016 Viet Thanh Nguyen, All the Light We Cannot See 2015 Anthony Doerr, The Goldfinch 2014 · Donna Tartt.
Popular authors including John Le Carre, P. D. James, Nora Roberts, Dean Koontz, Danielle Steele, Dan Brown, David Balducci, John Grisham, J. K. Rowling.
New York Times Bestsellers including Colleen Hoover, Nora Roberts, James Patterson, Danielle Steele, Dean Koontz.
2 PM January 13
2 PM January 27
2 PM February 10
2 PM February 24
2 PM March 24
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?
It's for you if:
~ You've written (or started) a story and aren't sure how to edit it.
~ You've tried editing and aren't sure if you made things better or worse. (We've all done it!)
~ The thought of self-editing makes you feel overwhelmed or tentative.
Hi, I'm Tessa Smith McGovern. I’m an award-winning author who absolutely loves helping writers write and publish.
I've been a writing instructor for 23 years and have taught since 2011 for The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, NY.
My books have been published traditionally by Sourcebooks/Random House as well as independently (so I know how wildly different the two editing processes are!). Both books were bestsellers in their categories on Amazon.
WHAT DOES THE LIVE EDITS PROGRAM COVER?
~ 6 sessions twice a month (90-minute) on Zoom with lifetime access to recordings.
If you can't make a session, you can always watch the recording. We sometimes learn more from an edit on someone else's story because we aren't emotionally involved and can see more clearly.
~ Weekly video lessons on the 30 rules of self-editing (with transcripts)
~ Weekly video analysis of prose published in top markets such as The New York Times' Modern Love' and Tiny Love Stories', The Paris Review, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, etc.
~ Edits of one double-spaced page of your story which you can then apply to each page of your story. (Anyone who doesn't get edited one week will go to the top of the list for the next session.)
~ Laser-focused instruction on the line editing skills every writer must have.
~ The terms professional editors use to line edit so you can easily understand them
~ Editing guidance from the premier textbook used to teach fiction writing to MFA students in U.S. colleges.
You'll learn how to make your story the strongest it can be on your own before getting feedback from the fresh eyes of professional editors or submitting for publication.
This saves you money and time and aids in the process of developing your writing craft as well as your sensibilities as an artist.
It also gives you the vocabulary you'll need to easily communicate with professional editors.
Please Note: Learning these editing skills is fun and so rewarding!
There's a reason authors write and edit stories their whole lives long - it can be deeply satisfying and joyful when you use the right approach.
You'll learn all the skills a writer needs to make their first drafts powerful.
AND WHAT ELSE WILL THIS DO FOR YOU?
1. You'll feel wonderfully empowered to know that you've got these skills in your toolbox.
2. You'll feel a new confidence in your writing (and your excitement to write will explode!)
3. You'll be secure in the knowledge that you can now do justice to the ideas and stories in your head.
3. You'll know the satisfaction of applying a time-tested, professional editing system to your stories - you'll line edit your stories using the same process professional writers use.
4. You'll become part of an elite group of writers with high-level knowledge who are confident in their ability to WORK the creative process and have fun on the journey to publishing.
By the end of this program, your ability to edit your stories will be transformed.
Remember, editing your fiction becomes easy once you know the rules. It can become fun, and so deeply rewarding!
And the best part? You have lifetime access to the recordings
By the end, you will have exploded your editing knowledge and skills.
You'll super-charge the soul-affirming journey of becoming the writer you long to be.
Once your learning expands, it can never go back. You'll continue to evolve into a more sophisticated craftsperson and artist.
Any questions, email Tessa at tessasmithmcgovern @ gmail.com.
I look forward to seeing you soon!
Tessa
Client Testimonial
“Tessa was a remarkable teacher, not just of writing in the digital age, but of the art and craft of writing in general. Her vision was timeless and inspired, and her course was truly life-changing for me.”
Jeanne Chinard, The Writing Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, NY
Client Testimonial
"[Tessa]...brought fresh energy, inspiration, and creative ideas to her workshop. The impossible no longer feels impossible, thanks to Tessa. I am 300% glad to have studied with her.”
Ellen Luborsky, PhD
Student, The Writing Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, NY Fall 2020
Client Testimonial
“Tessa['s]...knowledge of the internet, the publishing world, and the steps to successful digital publishing is current and extensive. She has valuable insight into the psychology of writing and writers.”
Jeanette Gould, The Writing Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, NY
