September 2, 2025 • 17 mins
What if you've already done enough to work with an editor—right now?
You’ve been working on your novel for so long. Not just months—years, maybe even decades.
And yet you have a long way still to go. The day when you have a polished manuscript you’re proud to pitch or publish feels so far away, and you're starting to wonder if you're missing something crucial.
And in the back of your mind, you might be wondering:
When should you work with an editor?
How much more should you do before you start looking? How many drafts should you finish before you reach out? When is your story finally ready for an editor’s feedback?
That’s the question I’m answering in this episode—and the answer might surprise you.
You’ll learn:
- The one simple question that tells you it’s time for editorial help
- Why "finished" isn't a prerequisite for working with an editor
- The landscape of editorial support available at every stage (from idea to publication)
- How to find the right type of editor for where you are in your process
- The difference between "editor" and "book coach" and what each term suggests
Here's what I've discovered: most writers desperately want editorial support—they just don't know it exists at their stage of the process.
So in this episode, I’ll give you a simple metric to evaluate when you are ready for an editor, and show you what to look for when you are.
Links mentioned in the episode:
- Work with me in Next Right Step: alicesudlow.com/nrs
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You have been working on yourbook for so long, you've spent
(00:03):
months outlining, developing,drafting years, revising and
revising and revising, or maybeyou've spent those years
planning and plotting andresearching, and one day, pretty
soon you'll probably be ready towrite the first word, and all
this time in the back of yourmind, you're wondering.
(00:25):
When should you work with aneditor?
After all you like to plan, youwant to know where in your
process you should expect toinvest in editing.
Also, if you're honest withyourself, you're secretly kind
of miserable.
You've been struggling with yourstory for ages.
All that revising is starting tofeel like spinning your wheels
(00:47):
on story problems that youshould be able to solve, but
just can't crack.
But you're afraid of reachingout too early with half-baked
ideas, an unfinished manuscriptor a draft five that's riddled
with problems that you alreadyknow you need to solve.
After all editors need amanuscript to edit, right?
(01:08):
And if you already know theproblems are there, you should
just fix them, not pay someoneelse just to tell you, yes, you
were right.
Your story has problems.
So.
When exactly is the right timeto work with an editor?
That's the question I'm tacklingtoday.
And if everything I justdescribed sounded way too
(01:29):
painfully relatable, my answermight surprise you.
Here's a hint, it's earlier thanyou think, and that's a
wonderful thing.
(02:28):
Welcome to your next draft.
Today I'm going to answer one ofmy favorite questions.
When should you work with aneditor?
This is such a good questionbecause most writers do not know
about all the support availableto you or when you can seek it
out.
And if you've been here for awhile, you know that I am
(02:48):
passionate about equipping youwith the knowledge of the
publishing industry that willempower you to get all the
support you need exactly whenyou need it, and not get taken
advantage of along the way.
It's kind of the wild west outhere in the publishing world.
There are a lot of opportunitiesaround you and a lot of
pitfalls, and until you'repretty deep in it, most people
(03:11):
really don't know what's outthere.
So today I'm going to equip youwith my best advice on when you
should bring an editor into yourprocess.
And I'm going to share a lowkey, high impact way that you
can start working with aneditor, even if you're not quite
sure you're ready yet.
That's coming at the very end.
(03:32):
Now, when should you work withan editor?
Here's my short answer.
I recommend that you work withan editor when you are stuck.
This is my favorite metric fordetermining when it's time to
work with an editor.
Are you flowing?
Do you have clarity about whatyou're writing?
Do you feel confident about whatto do next?
(03:53):
Do you have a process that'sworking for you?
Are you making progress?
That feels good.
if that sounds like you, great.
Fantastic.
Keep doing what you're doing.
You have everything that youneed right now, and your writing
is bringing you creativefulfillment and joy.
There's no need to make a changeor bring in an editor.
Right now, there's not aproblem, so we don't have to
(04:14):
solve anything.
Now, are you stuck?
Is your story muddled and youdon't know how to solve it?
Do you feel like you're bangingyour head against a wall?
Like you have a thousand ideas,but you don't know what to do
with any of them?
Do you feel totally overwhelmed,lost and confused about what to
do next?
Is your process not working oryou don't have a process at all?
(04:38):
Do you feel stalled and unableto make progress?
If that sounds like you, this isa great time to bring in an
editor.
You have taken your writing asfar as you can easily go alone.
Yes, you can make more progresson your own, but it's going to
be slow and painful and full ofsecond guessing yourself.
(05:00):
An editor can help with all ofthis with un muddling your
story, helping you choosebetween all your ideas and
strategize how to implement themwith building a process that
works for you with marking theprogress you've made so far, and
setting expectations and goalsfor the progress that you'll
make next.
Now, you'll notice that I didn'tsay you should reach out to an
(05:21):
editor after you've hit aspecific milestone, like after
you've finished your first draftor your second, or the one that
you're hoping is your finaldraft.
The amount that you haveaccomplished is not the
measurement that I use todetermine when you should reach
out for an editor's.
That's because the landscape ofauthor support is enormous.
(05:44):
It is so much greater than mostwriters realize.
There is always, always, alwayssomeone who can help you with
exactly what you're strugglingwith right now.
If you're struggling to wrapyour head around the first spark
of an idea, there's someone whocan help.
If you've spent months or yearsplanning and researching, and
(06:07):
you're wondering whether youhave enough to start writing or
you need to keep preparing,there's someone who can help.
If you're trying to write yourfirst draft, but you can't
figure out how to fit writinginto your life or make it work
with your brain, there's someonewho can help.
If you stalled out halfwaythrough that draft and you have
no idea what happens next inyour story, there's someone who
(06:28):
can help.
If you finished your first draftand now you feel like you fell
off the map and you have no ideawhat to do next, there's someone
who can help.
If you have revised three draftsand now you've lost all
objectivity and you can't seethe forest for the trees,
there's someone who can help.
If you think you're finally doneand you want to start pitching
(06:51):
your manuscript to agents, butyou're worried you might be
missing something, there'ssomeone who can help.
If you have pitched agents andyou're getting rejections and
you don't know what's wrong orwhat to do with them, there's
someone who can help.
If you've pitched agentssuccessfully and you've gotten
book deals and you've writtenbooks that you're proud of, and
now you want to level up,there's someone who can help.
(07:15):
You get the picture.
If you are at literally anystage of the entire process from
idea generation to marketingyour book after publication,
there is always someone who canhelp.
And so the question is not, haveyou made enough progress to be
ready for an editor?
A much better question is, areyou stuck?
(07:38):
If so, there's someone who canhelp.
Now the trick, of course, isfinding the right person to help
with the specific things youneed at the specific points of
the process where you're stuck.
The internet is vast and thereare so many author service
providers out there, but knowinghow to find them, what search
(07:58):
terms to Google or how to vetpeople's websites to determine
whether they're the person youneed, well, that can get tricky.
So let me give you some languageto watch for and explain what
that language might tell you.
There are two main roles towatch for editor, or more
specifically developmentaleditor and book coach.
(08:19):
There's a lot of overlap betweenthose roles, but they're not
exactly the same.
Many editors consider themselvesbook coaches as well, and many
book coaches consider themselveseditors as well.
I personally am both.
I'm certified in Story Grid as adevelopmental editor, and I'm
certified in Author Acceleratoras a book coach.
I think of myself as a heavilyeditorial book coach or a
(08:41):
developmental editor who conveysfeedback via coaching, but there
are also many people whoconsider themselves one or the
other, but not both.
There are book coaches who donot consider themselves editors,
and there are editors who do notconsider themselves book
coaches.
We could get into all of thenitty gritty nuances between
those two roles.
And believe me, I'm tempted.
(09:03):
It is something I have spent alot of time thinking about, but
for the purposes of answeringour question, when should you
work with an editor?
There's just one difference.
I want to make sure that you'reaware of.
The role of Editor hastraditionally involved giving
feedback on a completedmanuscript.
Someone who leads with editor astheir role is more likely to
(09:24):
want you to have a completedmanuscript before they work with
you.
The role of book coachencompasses writer support at
every part of the writing,editing, and publishing process.
From idea generation, all theway to pitching, publication,
and even after someone who leadswith book Coach as their role
may be open to working with youbefore you've written a single
(09:46):
word.
Now these are loose generalguidelines, not hard and fast
rules.
For every service provider youfind, you'll want to investigate
to see what they specialize in.
Do they prefer to work with newwriters, beginning to plan their
first ever novel?
I know of several authoraccelerator book coaches who
love this stage.
My friends and colleagueSavannah Gibo built a fantastic
(10:09):
course and membership groupthat's perfect For writers who
are stuck here, Does the editoror book coach that you found
prefer to work with writers whohave been wrestling with one
story idea for a long time andwho do have a lot of content
drafted, but they're strugglingto get the plot to work?
My friend and colleague, KimKessler is brilliant at this
(10:30):
stage and I send writers her wayall the time.
does the person you found preferto work with writers?
Several drafts in after the bigpicture?
Plot problems are all solved torefine and polish the scenes and
pages and lines.
This is my specialty.
I love this stage and I can helpwriters so much more here than
(10:51):
at any of the previous stages.
All three of us are editors, allthree of us are book coaches,
and all three of us specializein different stages of the
writing, editing, and publishingprocess.
So to some degree, I supposethat defining editor versus book
coach isn't a hugedifferentiator, at least in our
case.
But I still want you to knowwhat those terms mean,
(11:12):
especially so that when you seethem on their own, someone who's
an editor but not a book coach,or someone who's a book coach,
but not an editor, you know whatthat might suggest?
Hopefully by now you're startingto see what most writers don't
realize when they're justgetting started.
There really is someone who canhelp you at any and every stage
(11:33):
of your process.
That means that the amountyou've accomplished in your book
simply is not a limiting factor.
There is no right amount to havedone before you reach out for
help.
You have accomplished enoughsimply by deciding to write a
book.
That's it.
That's all you need to do beforeyou reach out for support.
The limiting factor is also notdo you want to get an editor's
(11:56):
help.
In my experience, most writersdo, especially once they've
gotten a taste of just howpowerful it can be.
My clients regularly tell methat our calls are their
favorite hour of their week, andthey wish that they could have
this level of support for everybook they write.
So if it's not how much you'veaccomplished, and it's not
(12:16):
whether you'd like it or not,what is the limiting factor?
You can probably guess it's alimiting factor in most areas of
our lives.
It's budget.
Does your budget allow for it?
That's the one factor that canmake it a good idea to wait
rather than calling in supportearly and often.
In a perfect world where everywriter had infinite funds to
(12:38):
invest in their writing, I'dencourage you to bring in an
editor or book coach as early aspossible and work with them as
often as possible.
But since that's not the worldwe live in, I recommend this
Instead, bring in an editor orbook coach when you are stuck,
no matter what part of thewriting, editing, or publishing
(12:59):
process you're in.
And if you're not stuck, but youstill want support, bring in an
editor or book coach when youwant to level up.
A great editor or book coachwill be able to see
opportunities in your writingthat you haven't seen before,
and they'll help you hone yourskills and your story to make
the most of them.
(13:19):
That means we are the people youwant in your process When you're
stuck and you don't know how tosolve the problems you're facing
or when you're flowing, but youcan see that there's potential
left on the table and you knowyou need help to reach it.
The bottom line is this, thereis always, always, always a
service provider out there whocan help you with exactly what
(13:42):
you're struggling with.
The world is big.
The internet is vast, and thereare trustworthy professionals
who are experts in exactly whereyou're stuck.
So don't feel like you need todo more before you've earned the
right to work with an editor.
Don't feel like you need to makemore progress before you could
benefit from an editor'sfeedback.
Don't tell yourself that youneed to solve all of your
(14:04):
problems before you bring aneditor in.
Our job is solving problems andwe can help you find the root of
what's really getting you stuckso that you can move forward
with confidence and know thatyou're working on what matters
most in your story.
Now, if you do have a draft ofyour novel and you're feeling
editor curious, I have theperfect starter package for you.
(14:26):
It's called Next Right Step, andit's a one day manuscript
intensive where I will show youyour best next step to revise
your manuscript.
Here's how it works.
I'll send you a worksheet tofill out to tell me about your
story.
You'll send me your materials,your manuscript, your seamless,
and your completed worksheet.
Then I'll spend the day devotedjust to you and your story.
(14:49):
I'll dig into your materials andidentify exactly what's working,
what's not, and what you shouldfocus on next.
At the end of the day, we'llhave a call where I'll share
what I found.
I'll point you to your nextright step, and we'll start
exploring what it looks like tosolve the most important
challenges in your manuscript.
I'll have suggestions for how todo that with more editor support
(15:11):
or on your own.
It's all designed to help youget unstuck and create a clear,
actionable revision plan, custombuilt for you and your story,
whether that's with an editor oron your own.
And of course, it's designed togive you a taste of what it's
like to work with an editor ingeneral, and me specifically, in
(15:32):
order to make the most of nextright step, you'll need a
completed manuscript.
Remember, I'm a developmentaleditor who specializes in the
stage after you finished yourmanuscript.
That manuscript could be a firstdraft or a 10th draft or the
draft that you've submitted toagents, but you aren't getting
any bites on if you have a draftand you're feeling unsure what
(15:52):
it needs next.
Right Step is a great fit Rightnow, as of the moment that this
episode airs in September of2025.
I have about four spotsavailable for new next right
step clients.
If you'd like to be one of them,go to alice sulo.com/nrs and
fill out the form there to tellme about your story.
(16:13):
That's alice sulo.com/nrs, andthat link is in the show notes
as well.
And remember, there is always,always, always a qualified,
trustworthy professional outthere who specializes in helping
writers like you solve the exactproblems you're facing right
now.
If you're feeling stuck, there'sno need to struggle alone.
(16:36):
You have already done more thanenough to qualify you to work
with an editor or book coach.
So look around, reach out andfind the people that you need to
be on your team.
And if I'm the person that youlike on your team, go to alice
sudler.com/nrs and let'sconnect.
You've got this and you neverhave to go it alone.
(16:58):
Happy editing.
You have been working on yourbook for so long, you've spent
(00:03):
months outlining, developing,drafting years, revising and
revising and revising, or maybeyou've spent those years
planning and plotting andresearching, and one day, pretty
soon you'll probably be ready towrite the first word, and all
this time in the back of yourmind, you're wondering.
(00:25):
When should you work with aneditor?
After all you like to plan, youwant to know where in your
process you should expect toinvest in editing.
Also, if you're honest withyourself, you're secretly kind
of miserable.
You've been struggling with yourstory for ages.
All that revising is starting tofeel like spinning your wheels
(00:47):
on story problems that youshould be able to solve, but
just can't crack.
But you're afraid of reachingout too early with half-baked
ideas, an unfinished manuscriptor a draft five that's riddled
with problems that you alreadyknow you need to solve.
After all editors need amanuscript to edit, right?
(01:08):
And if you already know theproblems are there, you should
just fix them, not pay someoneelse just to tell you, yes, you
were right.
Your story has problems.
So.
When exactly is the right timeto work with an editor?
That's the question I'm tacklingtoday.
And if everything I justdescribed sounded way too
(01:29):
painfully relatable, my answermight surprise you.
Here's a hint, it's earlier thanyou think, and that's a
wonderful thing.
(02:28):
Welcome to your next draft.
Today I'm going to answer one ofmy favorite questions.
When should you work with aneditor?
This is such a good questionbecause most writers do not know
about all the support availableto you or when you can seek it
out.
And if you've been here for awhile, you know that I am
(02:48):
passionate about equipping youwith the knowledge of the
publishing industry that willempower you to get all the
support you need exactly whenyou need it, and not get taken
advantage of along the way.
It's kind of the wild west outhere in the publishing world.
There are a lot of opportunitiesaround you and a lot of
pitfalls, and until you'repretty deep in it, most people
(03:11):
really don't know what's outthere.
So today I'm going to equip youwith my best advice on when you
should bring an editor into yourprocess.
And I'm going to share a lowkey, high impact way that you
can start working with aneditor, even if you're not quite
sure you're ready yet.
That's coming at the very end.
(03:32):
Now, when should you work withan editor?
Here's my short answer.
I recommend that you work withan editor when you are stuck.
This is my favorite metric fordetermining when it's time to
work with an editor.
Are you flowing?
Do you have clarity about whatyou're writing?
Do you feel confident about whatto do next?
(03:53):
Do you have a process that'sworking for you?
Are you making progress?
That feels good.
if that sounds like you, great.
Fantastic.
Keep doing what you're doing.
You have everything that youneed right now, and your writing
is bringing you creativefulfillment and joy.
There's no need to make a changeor bring in an editor.
Right now, there's not aproblem, so we don't have to
(04:14):
solve anything.
Now, are you stuck?
Is your story muddled and youdon't know how to solve it?
Do you feel like you're bangingyour head against a wall?
Like you have a thousand ideas,but you don't know what to do
with any of them?
Do you feel totally overwhelmed,lost and confused about what to
do next?
Is your process not working oryou don't have a process at all?
(04:38):
Do you feel stalled and unableto make progress?
If that sounds like you, this isa great time to bring in an
editor.
You have taken your writing asfar as you can easily go alone.
Yes, you can make more progresson your own, but it's going to
be slow and painful and full ofsecond guessing yourself.
(05:00):
An editor can help with all ofthis with un muddling your
story, helping you choosebetween all your ideas and
strategize how to implement themwith building a process that
works for you with marking theprogress you've made so far, and
setting expectations and goalsfor the progress that you'll
make next.
Now, you'll notice that I didn'tsay you should reach out to an
(05:21):
editor after you've hit aspecific milestone, like after
you've finished your first draftor your second, or the one that
you're hoping is your finaldraft.
The amount that you haveaccomplished is not the
measurement that I use todetermine when you should reach
out for an editor's.
That's because the landscape ofauthor support is enormous.
(05:44):
It is so much greater than mostwriters realize.
There is always, always, alwayssomeone who can help you with
exactly what you're strugglingwith right now.
If you're struggling to wrapyour head around the first spark
of an idea, there's someone whocan help.
If you've spent months or yearsplanning and researching, and
(06:07):
you're wondering whether youhave enough to start writing or
you need to keep preparing,there's someone who can help.
If you're trying to write yourfirst draft, but you can't
figure out how to fit writinginto your life or make it work
with your brain, there's someonewho can help.
If you stalled out halfwaythrough that draft and you have
no idea what happens next inyour story, there's someone who
(06:28):
can help.
If you finished your first draftand now you feel like you fell
off the map and you have no ideawhat to do next, there's someone
who can help.
If you have revised three draftsand now you've lost all
objectivity and you can't seethe forest for the trees,
there's someone who can help.
If you think you're finally doneand you want to start pitching
(06:51):
your manuscript to agents, butyou're worried you might be
missing something, there'ssomeone who can help.
If you have pitched agents andyou're getting rejections and
you don't know what's wrong orwhat to do with them, there's
someone who can help.
If you've pitched agentssuccessfully and you've gotten
book deals and you've writtenbooks that you're proud of, and
now you want to level up,there's someone who can help.
(07:15):
You get the picture.
If you are at literally anystage of the entire process from
idea generation to marketingyour book after publication,
there is always someone who canhelp.
And so the question is not, haveyou made enough progress to be
ready for an editor?
A much better question is, areyou stuck?
(07:38):
If so, there's someone who canhelp.
Now the trick, of course, isfinding the right person to help
with the specific things youneed at the specific points of
the process where you're stuck.
The internet is vast and thereare so many author service
providers out there, but knowinghow to find them, what search
(07:58):
terms to Google or how to vetpeople's websites to determine
whether they're the person youneed, well, that can get tricky.
So let me give you some languageto watch for and explain what
that language might tell you.
There are two main roles towatch for editor, or more
specifically developmentaleditor and book coach.
(08:19):
There's a lot of overlap betweenthose roles, but they're not
exactly the same.
Many editors consider themselvesbook coaches as well, and many
book coaches consider themselveseditors as well.
I personally am both.
I'm certified in Story Grid as adevelopmental editor, and I'm
certified in Author Acceleratoras a book coach.
I think of myself as a heavilyeditorial book coach or a
(08:41):
developmental editor who conveysfeedback via coaching, but there
are also many people whoconsider themselves one or the
other, but not both.
There are book coaches who donot consider themselves editors,
and there are editors who do notconsider themselves book
coaches.
We could get into all of thenitty gritty nuances between
those two roles.
And believe me, I'm tempted.
(09:03):
It is something I have spent alot of time thinking about, but
for the purposes of answeringour question, when should you
work with an editor?
There's just one difference.
I want to make sure that you'reaware of.
The role of Editor hastraditionally involved giving
feedback on a completedmanuscript.
Someone who leads with editor astheir role is more likely to
(09:24):
want you to have a completedmanuscript before they work with
you.
The role of book coachencompasses writer support at
every part of the writing,editing, and publishing process.
From idea generation, all theway to pitching, publication,
and even after someone who leadswith book Coach as their role
may be open to working with youbefore you've written a single
(09:46):
word.
Now these are loose generalguidelines, not hard and fast
rules.
For every service provider youfind, you'll want to investigate
to see what they specialize in.
Do they prefer to work with newwriters, beginning to plan their
first ever novel?
I know of several authoraccelerator book coaches who
love this stage.
My friends and colleagueSavannah Gibo built a fantastic
(10:09):
course and membership groupthat's perfect For writers who
are stuck here, Does the editoror book coach that you found
prefer to work with writers whohave been wrestling with one
story idea for a long time andwho do have a lot of content
drafted, but they're strugglingto get the plot to work?
My friend and colleague, KimKessler is brilliant at this
(10:30):
stage and I send writers her wayall the time.
does the person you found preferto work with writers?
Several drafts in after the bigpicture?
Plot problems are all solved torefine and polish the scenes and
pages and lines.
This is my specialty.
I love this stage and I can helpwriters so much more here than
(10:51):
at any of the previous stages.
All three of us are editors, allthree of us are book coaches,
and all three of us specializein different stages of the
writing, editing, and publishingprocess.
So to some degree, I supposethat defining editor versus book
coach isn't a hugedifferentiator, at least in our
case.
But I still want you to knowwhat those terms mean,
(11:12):
especially so that when you seethem on their own, someone who's
an editor but not a book coach,or someone who's a book coach,
but not an editor, you know whatthat might suggest?
Hopefully by now you're startingto see what most writers don't
realize when they're justgetting started.
There really is someone who canhelp you at any and every stage
(11:33):
of your process.
That means that the amountyou've accomplished in your book
simply is not a limiting factor.
There is no right amount to havedone before you reach out for
help.
You have accomplished enoughsimply by deciding to write a
book.
That's it.
That's all you need to do beforeyou reach out for support.
The limiting factor is also notdo you want to get an editor's
(11:56):
help.
In my experience, most writersdo, especially once they've
gotten a taste of just howpowerful it can be.
My clients regularly tell methat our calls are their
favorite hour of their week, andthey wish that they could have
this level of support for everybook they write.
So if it's not how much you'veaccomplished, and it's not
(12:16):
whether you'd like it or not,what is the limiting factor?
You can probably guess it's alimiting factor in most areas of
our lives.
It's budget.
Does your budget allow for it?
That's the one factor that canmake it a good idea to wait
rather than calling in supportearly and often.
In a perfect world where everywriter had infinite funds to
(12:38):
invest in their writing, I'dencourage you to bring in an
editor or book coach as early aspossible and work with them as
often as possible.
But since that's not the worldwe live in, I recommend this
Instead, bring in an editor orbook coach when you are stuck,
no matter what part of thewriting, editing, or publishing
(12:59):
process you're in.
And if you're not stuck, but youstill want support, bring in an
editor or book coach when youwant to level up.
A great editor or book coachwill be able to see
opportunities in your writingthat you haven't seen before,
and they'll help you hone yourskills and your story to make
the most of them.
(13:19):
That means we are the people youwant in your process When you're
stuck and you don't know how tosolve the problems you're facing
or when you're flowing, but youcan see that there's potential
left on the table and you knowyou need help to reach it.
The bottom line is this, thereis always, always, always a
service provider out there whocan help you with exactly what
(13:42):
you're struggling with.
The world is big.
The internet is vast, and thereare trustworthy professionals
who are experts in exactly whereyou're stuck.
So don't feel like you need todo more before you've earned the
right to work with an editor.
Don't feel like you need to makemore progress before you could
benefit from an editor'sfeedback.
Don't tell yourself that youneed to solve all of your
(14:04):
problems before you bring aneditor in.
Our job is solving problems andwe can help you find the root of
what's really getting you stuckso that you can move forward
with confidence and know thatyou're working on what matters
most in your story.
Now, if you do have a draft ofyour novel and you're feeling
editor curious, I have theperfect starter package for you.
(14:26):
It's called Next Right Step, andit's a one day manuscript
intensive where I will show youyour best next step to revise
your manuscript.
Here's how it works.
I'll send you a worksheet tofill out to tell me about your
story.
You'll send me your materials,your manuscript, your seamless,
and your completed worksheet.
Then I'll spend the day devotedjust to you and your story.
(14:49):
I'll dig into your materials andidentify exactly what's working,
what's not, and what you shouldfocus on next.
At the end of the day, we'llhave a call where I'll share
what I found.
I'll point you to your nextright step, and we'll start
exploring what it looks like tosolve the most important
challenges in your manuscript.
I'll have suggestions for how todo that with more editor support
(15:11):
or on your own.
It's all designed to help youget unstuck and create a clear,
actionable revision plan, custombuilt for you and your story,
whether that's with an editor oron your own.
And of course, it's designed togive you a taste of what it's
like to work with an editor ingeneral, and me specifically, in
(15:32):
order to make the most of nextright step, you'll need a
completed manuscript.
Remember, I'm a developmentaleditor who specializes in the
stage after you finished yourmanuscript.
That manuscript could be a firstdraft or a 10th draft or the
draft that you've submitted toagents, but you aren't getting
any bites on if you have a draftand you're feeling unsure what
(15:52):
it needs next.
Right Step is a great fit Rightnow, as of the moment that this
episode airs in September of2025.
I have about four spotsavailable for new next right
step clients.
If you'd like to be one of them,go to alice sulo.com/nrs and
fill out the form there to tellme about your story.
(16:13):
That's alice sulo.com/nrs, andthat link is in the show notes
as well.
And remember, there is always,always, always a qualified,
trustworthy professional outthere who specializes in helping
writers like you solve the exactproblems you're facing right
now.
If you're feeling stuck, there'sno need to struggle alone.
(16:36):
You have already done more thanenough to qualify you to work
with an editor or book coach.
So look around, reach out andfind the people that you need to
be on your team.
And if I'm the person that youlike on your team, go to alice
sudler.com/nrs and let'sconnect.
You've got this and you neverhave to go it alone.
(16:58):
Happy editing.
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