Learn How to Self-Edit Your Novel
Self-Editing
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The first Self-Editing course begins on 1 August 2026. The cohort is limited to ten fiction writers.
The problem with editing
Editing your own novel is difficult. After spending months or even years inside a story, it can be hard to see the wood for the trees. You know what each scene is meant to achieve, what every character is thinking, and how all the pieces are supposed to fit together. That knowledge makes it harder to experience the manuscript as a reader will.
Writing and editing are also very different skills. Writing is about creating the story. Editing is about stepping back, diagnosing problems, and deciding what needs to change. Many writers begin self-editing without knowing what questions to ask or what they should be looking for.
Often, the problem is not a lack of effort. It is not knowing what you do not know. If every weakness had been obvious while you were writing the first draft, you would probably have fixed it then.
This means writers can end up editing blind. They polish sentences while larger structural problems remain, miss weaknesses that are hiding in plain sight, or make changes that create new problems elsewhere in the book.
Professional editors approach manuscripts differently. They work with a defined set of questions, proven best practices, and a process that separates structural decisions from character, pacing, continuity, and sentence-level work.
Applied correctly, this editorial mindset can transform a manuscript. Self-Editing will teach you to think like an editor, approach your novel with new eyes, and make each revision with a clear purpose.
The course is led by Gary Smailes, a developmental editor with twenty years of professional experience.
Price and payment
The complete four-week course
$200 USD
Two payments of $100 USD.
The first payment is due after Gary confirms your place. The second payment is due on 15 August 2026.
How the course works
- Study the lesson material for that week's editing pass.
- Apply the lesson to a supplied practice manuscript.
- Watch Gary demonstrate how an experienced editor approaches the same material.
- Compare your decisions with Gary's demonstration.
- Apply the process to your own completed manuscript.
You will not submit your practice edit for individual assessment. The comparison is designed to show what you noticed, what you missed, and why different editorial decisions may be appropriate.
The course follows four separate editing passes. Each week has a different purpose, a fresh copy of the practice manuscript, and an exercise for your own book.
Module 01 · The Whole-Book Pass
The Whole Book
Find the largest and most important problems before rewriting scenes or polishing sentences.
You will assess the premise, intended reader, genre expectations, beginning, middle and ending, plot structure, cause and effect, stakes, conflict, and whole-book pacing.
Lessons
- Thinking Like an Editor
- Premise, Reader and Genre Expectations
- Beginning, Middle and Ending
- Plot, Cause and Effect, Stakes and Conflict
- Whole-Book Pacing and Revision Priorities
You will learn to
- Identify the central premise and story promise.
- Assess the overall structure, main plot, and central conflict.
- Find missing, rushed, slow, or unnecessary sections.
- Distinguish symptoms from underlying causes.
- Choose the three changes that would most improve the manuscript.
Your manuscript: Write a short developmental overview and identify your three main revision priorities.
Module 02 · The Character and Scene Pass
Characters and Scenes
Assess whether characters drive the story and whether each scene earns its place.
You will examine goals, motivation, internal and external conflict, relationships, consequences, point of view, narrative distance, scene purpose, turning points, and dialogue.
Lessons
- Character Goals, Motivation and Development
- Conflict, Relationships, Stakes and Consequences
- Point of View and Narrative Distance
- Scene Purpose, Structure and Turning Points
- Dialogue and Making Decisions About Scenes
You will learn to
- Find unclear motivations and inconsistent behaviour.
- Evaluate conflict and change within a scene.
- Identify point-of-view and dialogue problems.
- Enter and leave scenes at stronger moments.
- Decide which scenes to remove, combine, expand, or rewrite.
Your manuscript: Assess your protagonist's motivation and development, then examine several important scenes.
Module 03 · The Pacing, Exposition and Continuity Pass
Pacing, Exposition and Continuity
Control how information reaches the reader and how effectively the story moves.
You will examine exposition, backstory, repetition, missing information, description, showing and telling, transitions, reader orientation, emotional development, continuity, and consistency.
Lessons
- Revealing Information at the Right Time
- Exposition, Backstory, Description and Repetition
- Pacing Within Scenes
- Transitions, Reader Orientation and Emotional Development
- Continuity, Consistency and Revision Side Effects
You will learn to
- Control when information is revealed.
- Find explanation or repetition that interrupts the story.
- Recognise overwritten and underwritten sections.
- Improve transitions and reader orientation.
- Find continuity errors and problems created by earlier revisions.
Your manuscript: Apply the module checklist to a selected section and identify recurring developmental habits.
Module 04 · The Line-Editing Pass
Line Editing and Revision Planning
Improve clarity and readability without removing your individual voice.
You will cover clarity, unnecessary words, stronger verbs, precise word choice, sentence construction and rhythm, repetition, passive construction, filtering language, paragraph structure, dialogue punctuation, and common grammar and punctuation problems.
Lessons
- The Different Levels of Editing
- Editing for Clarity and Concision
- Word Choice, Stronger Verbs and Precision
- Sentence Construction, Rhythm and Paragraphs
- Grammar, Punctuation and Revision Planning
You will learn to
- Make sentences clearer and more concise.
- Strengthen word choice, rhythm, and sentence variation.
- Recognise common grammar and punctuation problems.
- Protect voice while improving readability.
- Organise every revision in the correct order.
Your manuscript: Line edit a selected section and complete a revision-planning worksheet for the whole book.
Practise on a complete story
You will receive a complete practice manuscript of approximately 8,000–12,000 words, with a beginning, middle, and ending.
The manuscript is long enough to contain realistic structural, character, pacing, continuity, and prose problems, but short enough to reread during the four-week course. You will receive a clean copy for each pass so earlier changes do not hide later problems.
See how an editor makes decisions
Each one-hour group session includes approximately ten minutes reinforcing the week's principles, thirty-five minutes of practical editing demonstration, and fifteen minutes for questions and preparation for the next pass.
Live attendance is optional. All four sessions are recorded, and the exact dates, times, timezone, joining arrangements, and recording access details are supplied before payment.
What you receive
- The complete practice manuscript and a clean copy for each pass
- A written guide for each module
- Four practical editing checklists
- Exercises for your own manuscript
- Gary's editing notes or edited practice manuscript
- Recordings of all four live sessions
- A final revision-planning worksheet
- A basic manuscript-formatting guide
Who this is for
- Fiction writers with a completed full first draft
- Writers preparing for beta readers or a professional editor
- Authors considering self-publishing
- Writers who struggle to see weaknesses in their own work
- Newer or experienced authors who want a repeatable process
What is not included
- One-to-one coaching or unlimited private support
- Individual assessment of your practice edit
- Detailed feedback on your own manuscript
- A personal developmental or line edit
- A promise that you will finish revising in four weeks
Leave with an ordered revision plan
You are not expected to complete a full edit during the course. You will leave with experience of four separate passes, repeatable checklists, a clearer understanding of your manuscript, and a realistic plan that puts structural work before sentence-level polish.
Questions
Do I need a completed manuscript?
Yes. The course requires a completed fiction first draft because each week includes work on your book as well as the practice manuscript.
Must I attend the sessions live?
No. Live attendance is optional, and recordings of all four sessions are included.
Will Gary edit my manuscript?
No. You will learn a method and apply it to your own work, but the course does not include a personal edit or detailed manuscript feedback.
When do I pay?
Nothing is paid through this page. If Gary offers you a place, the first $100 USD is due when you accept it. The second $100 USD is due on 15 August 2026.
Does requesting a place guarantee one?
No. Gary confirms availability manually. A place is secured only after it is offered, you accept the course terms, and the first payment is received.
Request a place on Self-Editing
The first cohort begins on 1 August 2026 and is limited to ten writers.
Request your place