#91: Student Spotlight: How She Went From First Draft to Landing Her Dream Agent with Jamie Varon
In today’s episode, I’m sitting down with Jamie Varon to talk through her incredibly inspiring story of how she went from writing the first draft of her novel to landing her dream agent. Here’s a preview of what’s included: [04:15] A quick introduction to Jamie Varon (including a timeline of her writing, editing, and publishing journey) as well as a summary of her novel, Main Character Energy [17:45] Jamie describes what it’s like working with her agent—including what it’s like receiving fee...
9 Mai 20231h 8min
#90: How to Choose the Best Point of View for Your Story
In today’s episode, I’m going to walk you through how to choose the best point of view and tense for your story. Here’s a preview of what’s included: [01:35] Point of view is the lens through which your story is told. It’s whose eyes the reader will experience your story through. [01:56] In first person point of view, your protagonist is the narrator. They’re telling the story in their own words, from their own perspective, and filtering things through their own worldview and biases. [04:...
4 Apr 202319min
#89: Student Spotlight: How She Used Short Stories to Hone Her Craft (and Publish Her Debut Novel) with Pauline Yates
In today's episode, I’m sitting down with Pauline Yates to talk through how she used short stories to hone her craft and publish her debut novel. Here’s a preview of what’s included: [03:05] An introduction to Pauline Yates and her story, Memories Don’t Lie. [03:55] How she used short stories to hone her craft and practice submitting her work to publishers (and spoiler alert: she’s now published many of her short stories!) [13:45] Pauline’s take on what it was like to work with me (and how ...
21 Mar 20231h 1min
#88: Perfectionism vs. Procrastination: What's REALLY Going On?
In today’s episode, I’m talking about how perfectionism is really just another form of procrastination. I also share some words of wisdom to help you get back on track and moving forward with your writing again. Here’s a preview of what’s included: [02:20] My two cents on how perfectionism and procrastination are linked and what to do if you find yourself stuck in a neverending loop of procrastination [05:25] A recent story about how I did an imperfect presentation (and got called out on it...
14 Mar 202314min
#87: First Chapter Analysis: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
In today’s episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the first chapter of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. Join me and fellow developmental editor, Abigail Perry, as we talk through the first chapter of this popular fantasy novel. Here’s a preview of what we talk about: [03:45] A very quick summary of the first chapter [16:45] A macro analysis of the first chapter using 7 key questions from Paula Munier's book The Writer’s Guide to Beginnings [26:55] A micro analysis of the scen...
28 Feb 202338min
#86: A Week in the Life: 7 Days Behind the Scenes with Savannah (February 2023)
In today’s episode, I’m taking you behind-the-scenes with me throughout my entire week, and I’m going to share what I’m working on, what big projects I’m focused on right now, and basically, anything that happens during the week. I'm always curious as to how people set up their day and what they're working on and how they choose what they're going to actually work on that week. So, I thought you might be curious to know what I do all day as an editor and book coach—what I focus on and h...
21 Feb 202329min
#85: Student Spotlight: How She Overcame Her Fear of the Blank Page (and Indie Published Her Novel) with Jennifer Lauer
In today's episode, I’m sitting down with Jennifer Lauer to talk through how she overcame her fear of the blank page and indie published her debut novel. Here’s a preview of what’s included: [03:00] An introduction to Jennifer Lauer and her story, The Girl in the Zoo [09:30] What the beginning of the writing process looked like for Jennifer—and when she finally realized that her fear of the blank page was preventing her from writing [14:45] What happened when Jennifer finished the first...
14 Feb 202348min
#84: The 6 Scenes Every Status Story Needs
In today’s episode, I’m covering the key scenes that every status story needs. I’ve also included examples of how they show up in the movie The Devil Wears Prada. Here’s a preview of what’s included: [01:40] Status stories center around the protagonist’s inner need for respect that manifests as a specific desire to achieve or accomplish something in the external world. [02:40] Readers of status stories want to feel hopeful that the protagonist will succeed. They want to read about someone w...
7 Feb 202312min
