Reviewing SUDDEN PREY by John Sandford Considering characterization and its impact on story in a bestselling crime series

[by Ross Browne]

Anyone familiar with my taste in books probably knows how much I love John Sandford and admire his skills as a writer. One reason I like his Lucas Davenport series so much is that these deftly plotted novels usually go deep into the minds of deranged killers in seriously […]

By |2024-01-19T23:23:47+00:00|Book Reviews|Comments Off on Reviewing SUDDEN PREY by John Sandford Considering characterization and its impact on story in a bestselling crime series

Reviewing CASINO ROYALE, by Ian Fleming: A Most Pleasant Surprise Considering thriller craft and the delights of the unexpected in the first James Bond novel

[by Ross Browne]

Up until last week, one notable blind spot in my reading life was Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. I loved the movies of the Sean Connery and Roger Moore era but, unimpressed by a later book in the series (written by one of four authors who took the helm after Fleming […]

By |2025-02-11T21:18:47+00:00|Book Reviews|Comments Off on Reviewing CASINO ROYALE, by Ian Fleming: A Most Pleasant Surprise Considering thriller craft and the delights of the unexpected in the first James Bond novel

Revise Your Book, Hollywood-Style A novelist, screenwriter, and editor shares his take on a secret weapon for manuscript revision

[by John Robert Marlow]

Are you an author who

  • Has never tried using an outline?
  • Likes the idea of outlining, but gave up on it because it was too much trouble—or just didn’t work for you?
  • Uses an outline for initial story planning, but not for revisions?
  • Would rather have a root canal than use an outline?

If so, you’re not alone. Let’s […]

By |2025-09-04T15:44:20+00:00|The Writer’s Craft|Comments Off on Revise Your Book, Hollywood-Style A novelist, screenwriter, and editor shares his take on a secret weapon for manuscript revision

Spotlight on Developmental Editing An overview of why it’s needed, how it works, and what to expect from the process

What Developmental Editing Really Is—and Why It Comes First

When many people think of editing, they picture cryptic symbols and scribbled margin notes in red or blue pencil—move this paragraph, delete those words, add a hyphen, fix that spelling, capitalize this letter. And yes, that’s part of the process. But it’s only one part, […]

By |2025-06-18T17:50:48+00:00|The Editor’s Craft and Process|Comments Off on Spotlight on Developmental Editing An overview of why it’s needed, how it works, and what to expect from the process

Spotlight on Sentence-Level Editing Demystifying the differences between line editing, copy editing, and proofreading

In an earlier blog post we talked about the importance of developmental editing and why the focus on big-picture stuff – structure, book-spanning issues like plot or organization, character development, dialogue, and that sort of thing – needs to come first, before you spend too much time worrying about the finer points of style and wording. This […]

By |2024-01-07T18:06:55+00:00|The Editor’s Craft and Process|Comments Off on Spotlight on Sentence-Level Editing Demystifying the differences between line editing, copy editing, and proofreading

Still More About Our Sentence-Level Editing Services A guide for authors trying to decide which level of service is appropriate

Line editing, copy editing, and proofreading are all hands-on services where your editor works with the words on the page directly. While there is some degree of overlap in the purview of each service, these are three fundamentally different kinds of editing that serve three very specific objectives. Understanding what each service is and […]

By |2025-04-16T20:00:43+00:00|The Editor’s Craft and Process|Comments Off on Still More About Our Sentence-Level Editing Services A guide for authors trying to decide which level of service is appropriate
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