Advanced Self-Editing Master Class with Roz Morris

This class is now over and is unavailable for purchase. Sign up to receive announcements about upcoming classes.

The magic happens when you rewrite.

Most novelists don’t write their books perfectly on the first draft. The real magic happens when they edit, restructure, refine and rewrite, so that the story is as compelling as possible. If you’ve ever had a developmental edit, you’ll know how thorough this process is.

But how do you do this for your own book? How do you get the required objective distance? How do you develop an editor’s X-ray vision to discover the weaknesses—and unique strengths—in a manuscript that’s 80,000 words long, or even longer?

This three-week course with Roz Morris will show you how. You’ll learn how to spot opportunities to deepen characters, sharpen the plot, restructure if necessary, strengthen the themes and refine the language. You’ll learn how to create a realistic project plan to take a rough manuscript and polish it to professional standards. And if you have a novel you’ve abandoned, this course will inspire you to revisit, find its true potential and fix it.

Important: Writers should have a completed draft or finished a significant part of one to benefit from this class.

This course will cover: 

  • Why revising is a highly creative process—and not just about reworking your sentences
  • Overview of the steps for improving your novel
  • A tool to create a structural survey of your entire novel before you begin rewrites and build a master plan for change
  • Characters—too many, too few? Do they do enough? Finding the right balance
  • Beginnings, middles, ends and subplots—including the placing of crescendos to keep readers gripped.
  • Variations on the common story structures 
  • Using themes to add coherence and create a satisfying experience for the reader
  • For the incomplete or abandoned book: how to decide if it has potential, and how to get it started again
  • Language—finally we polish the style: tips and suggestions to keep a consistent voice

Who should take this course

  • Writers who want to learn self-editing skills
  • Writers who have abandoned a draft or a manuscript and would like to resurrect and finish it
  • Writers who have been urged to improve their use of characters and structure, perhaps after feedback from a publisher, editor, agent, critique groups or beta readers
  • Fiction writers of all genres, including literary fiction

Highlights from the first class

How do I know if this course is worth the cost?

This is an important question, and it’s a tough one to answer—especially since so much online education is available free of charge. Furthermore, every student is different, and a valuable course for one person can end up being a disappointment to another. For this reason, we offer full refunds if you register, attend or watch your first session, and fail to get the information you were looking for. Please contact us to request a refund.

Do I have to attend the live course?

No. Everyone who registers will get access to the recordings. However, if you’d like to attend live, keep reading.

How do I attend the live course?

This class uses Zoom webinar technology. You will join through your Internet-connected computer or mobile device. When you register, you will receive information via email on how to join the class. If you don’t receive it within 1 hour of registering, please contact us.

  • When:
    • Part 1: Thursday, April 15, 2021
    • Part 2: Thursday, April 22, 2021
    • Part 3: Thursday, April 29, 2021
  • Time: 1 p.m.–2:15 p.m. Eastern / 10 a.m. Pacific / 6 p.m. British
  • Fee: $79 (regardless of when you register)

The webinar is broadcasted via the internet with live audio delivered through your computer or mobile device speakers. The visual presentation is displayed directly from the presenter’s computer to your computer screen. The Q&A is managed through a chat-style submission system with questions read and answered by the presenter for the entire class to hear.

Closed captions are provided during the live class. For students joining the class through the Zoom app on a mobile device, you can enable/disable the closed captions through your settings.

Register for the course ($79)

About the instructor

Roz Morris is an author, book doctor, writing coach and ghost-writer. She has extensive experience at both ends of the editor’s pen. As an editor, she has coached and developed writers of all levels, some of whom have won major awards.

She teaches a masterclass for The Guardian newspaper based on her series Nail Your Novel, is a regular on the Litopia Pop-Up Submissions show where she critiques manuscripts alongside literary agent Peter Cox, and is a prolific blogger on writing craft, writing productivity and the publishing world.

She also writes fiction and memoir, is a publishing associate for Vine Leaves Press, and was longlisted for the World Fantasy Award. She lives in London, UK.

Our students love Roz’s courses, her teaching methodology and her energy. Attendees are always challenged by the content and inspired by her delivery.

Matt Buttell and Emma Cummins

THE GUARDIAN MASTERCLASSES

Roz’s breadth of knowledge and astute coaching style left me feeling empowered and informed. I regularly recommend her to writers, regardless of how long they’ve been in the game.

Libby O’Loghlin

CO-FOUNDER AND EDITOR, THE WOOLF LITERARY QUARTERLY

One hour with Roz has transformed a lifetime of ineffective writing habits.

Mark Keith

AUTHOR

Register for the course ($79)

You’ll receive the following

  • Access to three 75-minute interactive classes. After 60 minutes, Roz will take questions using in-class chat/text. Each class will end after roughly 75 minutes.
  • A recording of each class—audio and video. This is especially helpful if you have a conflict with the class time or something comes up and you can’t make one of the sessions. Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials for 90 days. You do not have to attend the live events to get a recording of the presentation.
  • Presentation slides. All participants receive copies of the slide presentations in PDF form.
  • Rough transcripts. We use Otter to create automated transcripts of each class, which we’ll share with you in addition to the audio and video recordings.

Event Attendance & Anti-Harassment Policy

We strive to provide an environment where all present—whether attendee, presenter, or staff—can feel supported. In order to ensure a welcoming event, here is what we expect from all who participate.

  • That the presenter and the presenter’s work be treated with respect by attendees and that all attendees treat each other with respect and a generosity of spirit.
  • That attendees will refrain from harassment of any sort including (but not limited to) comments or questions of a racist, homophobic, sexist/sexual, or threatening nature. This includes actions that disrupt or interfere with anyone’s ability to participate. Offenders will be disconnected from the live event.

System Requirements to Join the Webinar

We will be using Zoom webinar technology.

You’ll need:

  • An internet connection: broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE)
  • Speakers: built-in, USB plug-in or wireless Bluetooth

Recommended bandwidth:

  • 600kbps (down) for high-quality video and 1.2 Mbps (down) for HD video
  • If you connect through audio only: 60-80kbps (down)

Supported operating systems:

Supported tablet and mobile devices:

  • Surface PRO 2 running Win 8.1
  • iOS and Android devices
  • Blackberry devices

Supported browsers:

  • Windows: IE 11+,  Edge 12+, Firefox 27+,  Chrome 30+
  • Mac: Safari 7+, Firefox 27+,  Chrome 30+
  • Linux: Firefox 27+,  Chrome 30+

For a detailed listing of system requirements, check Zoom’s site.

Register for the course ($79)
Have questions about this class? Contact us.