Author resources
Tools for the long work of writing.
A practical starting point for preparing your manuscript, gathering useful feedback and deciding what to revise before you approach an editor.
For first-time authors
Your first book deserves patience, not panic.
- → Understanding the editing stages
- → What to fix yourself first
- → How to brief an editor
- → Setting realistic timelines
For experienced authors
A sharp second reader for the work you know best.
- → Series consistency and continuity
- → Genre expectations and positioning
- → Fresh eyes on a stuck draft
- → Editorial partnership across books
Author toolkit
Six practical starting points.
Use these prompts as a starting point for your own working notes. Downloadable templates are not available on this sample site.
Self-edit checklist
Read once for structure before correcting sentences. Mark chapters that repeat a point, scenes without a change, and questions you have left unanswered.
Manuscript preparation guide
Keep one clean, numbered version of the manuscript. Record the current word count, genre, intended readers and whether the draft is still changing.
Revision planning worksheet
Sort notes into big-picture, scene or chapter, and sentence-level changes. Tackle the biggest decisions first so later polish is not wasted.
Beta reader question set
Ask where attention wandered, what felt unclear and which moments stayed with them. Seek observations rather than asking readers to prescribe fixes.
Style sheet template
Track names, place names, dates, spellings, invented words and formatting conventions. Keep the record alongside your manuscript.
Editor briefing template
State what the book is trying to do, what stage it is at, what feedback you need and which decisions you do not want an editor to make for you.
Editorial glossary
Words editors use, explained.
- Beta reader
- A non-professional reader who gives feedback on a draft.
- Developmental edit
- Structural, big-picture editing of story or argument.
- Editorial letter
- A detailed written report accompanying an edit.
- Line edit
- Sentence-level editing for voice, rhythm and clarity.
- Style sheet
- A record of spelling, usage and formatting decisions for consistency.
- Tracked changes
- Edits shown visibly in Word so the author can accept or reject them.
- Proof
- A typeset version of the book prepared for final checking.
- POV
- Point of view — whose perspective the story is told through.