Jobe Reflects on Novel Revision

Well I turned in a major novel revision yesterday, folks, and MAN OH MAN was it some hard work. This draft crossed the finish line with only 46k words, 186 pgs, seven chapters of about 25-30pgs ea. I cut roughly 9k words of scenes that didn't work--and that was just the balance after adding in …

Submission Process with Jobe

I've been asked to take a look at the submission process, so here's a handy list: 1. Finish writing your piece. Revise it a lot. Decide that it's ready. 2. Pick 10 lit mags. You can find lists of accepting mags online or in print. Writer's Market is a favorite, as well as Poetry Market. …

Jobe asks for Revision Advice from GCP

I asked for revision advice from Garry Craig Powell. Here's what he had to say: I go back and re-read for sense, to see if I have written parts that are superfluous (often the case, sadly) or if I have not written parts that need to be there (also a fairly frequent occurrence). I look at …

Jobe does a Revision Interview with Nelson Terry

Happy Fourth to everybody. Today I'm going to share a mini-interview I did with my friend, writer Nelson Terry. Of course the topic is: Novel Revision! Q: What's your plan of attack? A: Does the dialogue make sense? Does it sound like something actual people would say in real life? Don't be afraid to cut something …

Jobe on Revising A Novel

One of my big summer projects is to work one-on-one with my professor John Vanderslice and revise the novel manuscript I wrote in his Novel Writing class. While we agreed that a summer is not really enough time, I thought tough goals would be a good way to keep myself in check. Advice that I've received so …