Editing WTF Virtual Writing Workshop
An Editing & Revising Bootcamp
101: Saturday, November 12, 10am PST - 2:30pm PST
Taught by: Zan Romanoff, Aminah Mae Safi, and Amy Spalding
Have you completed a first draft and have no idea what to do next? Do you know there's something not quite working with your manuscript but aren't sure how to figure out, well, what? Do you have a pile of notes and yet no idea how to start implementing them?
The Editing WTF virtual writing workshop, an editing and revision bootcamp, is here to help! Get tips and actual executable advice from three authors with backgrounds in teaching and coaching. Each workshop features three sessions, focusing on the heart of your story, actual ways to dig into editing, and how to sort through conflicting feelings and notes to make sure your manuscript becomes its very best!.
Learn the very real methods three authors have used in their own writing and revising, and get tips that may even make your first drafting less painful!
The first WTF virtual writing workshops were romcom/romance-focused, but this one is for all genres/all writers! The methods we'll be discussing and teaching are applicable across stories and genres, so no matter if your story is a sweeping adventure or a techy sci-fi or, yes, a very swoony romance, we've got you!
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: $200 Attendance Fee
Regular: $250 Attendance Fee
We will send the workshop information and link to the email address connected to your PayPal account. If this isn't where you'd like this information sent, please contact us using the form below to let us know which email address you'd prefer.
Amy will send an initial registration confirmation within 48 business hours of payment, and will follow up with you the week of the workshop(s) with a Zoom link and any other info.
Editing WTF SESSIONS
101 - Saturday, NOVEMBER 12
The Key to Your Story's Heart - 10am-11am PST
Taught by Aminah Mae Safi
The Key to Your Story's Heart will enable you to dial in what is essential to your story. The core of this class is meant to enable you to define the heart of your story so that you can feel confident, whether you need to cut down words, flesh out scenes, or re-write a sequence.
We're going to be doing hands on work to figure out how to unlock the heart of your story. And, hopefully, fall in love with editing along the way.
First Draft in the Streets, Second Draft in the Spreadsheets - 11am-12pm PST
Taught by Amy Spalding
Y'all, writing a book is very hard, and rewriting one can be even more difficult. There are so many ways to break down writing a draft into smaller, more manageable pieces -- what about rewriting?
In First Draft in the Streets, Second Draft in the Spreadsheets, Amy Spalding will guide you through her revision process using, yes, Excel (or Google Sheets, or whatever program works for you, and of course that includes just jotting things into a notepad) to take the chaotic feelings of editing and organize them into something not only manageable -- but may even help you edit (and draft!) faster and with a bit less pain. Make sense of that mess of notes and the even more tangled clump of book feelings you have about where that draft needs to go.
Comfort Break - 12pm-12:30pm PST
Eat a snack, take a quiet moment, pet your cats!
Dealing With Multiple (Revision) Partners - 12:30pm-1:30pm PST
Taught by Zan Romanoff
So you've figured out what the core of your story is, and you've got your Excel sheet ready for notes once you get them. But turning notes into to-do's isn't straightforward-- especially if you've asked more than one person to read.
In Deadling with Multiple (Revision) Partners, we'll discuss how to take the raw material of feedback from readers and turn it into a coherent revision plan. How do you deal with conflicting advice? Are you ever allowed to ignore a reader note? And will your ego ever recover from being told you didn't do this perfectly on the first try?? (The answer to that last one is yes, but sometimes it takes a while, and that's okay!)
All-Author Q&A - 1:30pm-2:30pm PST
Led by Zan Romanoff, Aminah Mae Safi, and Amy Spalding
Zan, Aminah, and Amy will answer your questions about editing and revision, publishing, and more!
HEAWTF Instructors
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Zan Romanoff
Zan Romanoff is the author of three young adult novels and a good number of ghostwritten romance titles. (No, she can't tell you which ones!) Her non-fiction has appeared in print and online for BuzzFeed, Eater, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic and The Washington Post. She lives and writes in LA.
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Aminah Mae Safi
Aminah Mae Safi is the author of four novels, including Tell Me How You Really Feel (Feiwel & Friends) and Travelers Along the Way: a Robin Hood Remix (Feiwel & Friends, 2022). She loves Sofia Coppola movies, Bollywood endings, and the Fast and Furious franchise.
Her award-winning short stories can be found in Fresh Ink (Crown Books for Young Readers), Freshman Orientation (Candlewick Press, 2023), and Out of Our League (Feiwel & Friends, 2023). Her writing has also appeared at Salon and Bustle. When not writing, she can be found teaching at the low residence MFA program at Antioch University as well as instructing new writers at the UCLA Extensions Creative Writing program.
Amy Spalding
Amy Spalding is a bestselling author and freelance book editor. Her young adult novels include the bestselling We Used to Be Friends, and The Summer of Jordi Perez, which was selected as a best book of 2018 by NPR, the Boston Globe, Buzzfeed, and more. Her adult romance debut, For Her Consideration, releases in 2023 from Kensington.
Frequently Asked Questions
What platform will this be hosted on?
Editing WTF will be hosted on Zoom.
I'm only interested in one of the sessions. Can I take just this session?
No, this workshop is only available as a full day. But we think you'll get a lot out of each one!
Will this workshop be available after it's over?
At this point, there are no plans to make a video of the workshop available. However, we hope to host more workshops in the future so you can join us at a later date!
Could you host this at a different time/different date instead? It's not great for my time zone!
Right now, all instructors are on Pacific Time, and so we have scheduled as best as we can to work with all schedules. Keep an eye out and sign up for updates, but at this point we plan to stick to Saturdays.
I'm already a published author, but I'd like to take this workshop. Does that make sense, or is this geared for unpublished authors only?
Great news, this workshop is geared for all writers -- from anyone who may want to write someday, to those who've already been published. We'd love to have you!
I have another question not addressed here!
Scroll down to the contact form below (below the Mailing List signup, and get in touch with us!
Copyright Zan Romanoff, Aminah Mae Safi, and Amy Spalding