I love the editing process. Editing a manuscript is like choosing which photos of a vacation to share with others. Even though I could easily upload every blessed photo of a trip to Facebook, I don’t. Why? Because they’re not all great, and I only want to share the best. I edit my trips. Because I don’t want to bore people; I don’t want them to flip through a few photos, see that they’re kind of mediocre, and pass on the rest. I want them to wish they were on that trip with me!

Editing is your chance to reframe and refine the trip that is your story. You can crop out the stuff that, now that you look at it again, actually detracts from the main thing you want people to focus on. You can delete the bits that, for the life of you, you can’t remember why you'd decided to include in the first place. You can tweak this or that color or shadow a bit to make the atmosphere feel more like real life. You can rearrange things to make sure your reader is getting the best and most satisfying experience of the material.

Your story is a trip you're taking readers on, so make sure it's the absolute best experience possible by not flooding them with the superfluous, the mediocre, and the banal.

Amanda Hampson

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Amanda Hampson is a bestselling author of eight novels, including The Tea Ladies historical cozy crime series. Her work champions the fabulosity of older women.

Gina LaManna

Gina LaManna is the USA Today bestselling author of over fifty novels. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and three little boys.

RIFT IN THE SOUL by Faith Hunter

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Nell Ingram draws her powers from deep in the earth, and uses them to help Psy-LED, the Psychometric Law Enforcement Division, which solves paranormal crimes. When a local vampire calls to report a dead body on her compound, Nell knows she and her team have to be ready for anything.

But the dead body is just the beginning of a mystery that involves supernaturals of all kinds, including some of the most powerful vampires in the country. As Nell gets closer to the truth, she begins to understand that the perpetrator is tracking her too—and that there is something personal about this crime. Something with roots that go almost as deep as those in Soulwood.

THE LADY WITH THE DARK HAIR by Erin Bartels

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HEARTSONG by TJ Klune (paperback)

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The Bennett family has a secret: They're not just a family, they're a pack. Heartsong is Robbie Fontaine's story.

All Robbie Fontaine ever wanted was a place to belong. After the death of his mother, he bounces around from pack to pack, forming temporary bonds to keep from turning feral. It’s enough―until he receives a summons from the wolf stronghold in Caswell, Maine. Life as the trusted second to Michelle Hughes―the Alpha of all―and the cherished friend of a gentle old witch teaches Robbie what it means to be pack, to have a home. But when a mission from Michelle sends Robbie into the field, he finds himself questioning where he belongs and everything he’s been told.

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DORIAN GRAY by Christian Klavier

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