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Editing Your Own Work in Separate Passes

EditingCressida Farrow-Bassey
I once sat in a windowless office in Bloomsbury, staring at a manuscript that had been “self-edited” by an author who clearly thought that adding more adjectives was the same thing as adding more meaning. I watched my editor drain three cups of lukewarm tea while we performed what felt less like a revision and more like an autopsy. Most of the advice you find online about how to edit your own writing is fluff designed to make you feel like a creative genius, but the reality is much grittier: editing isn’t about finding the “right” words, it’s about having…

How a Book Actually Gets Published

PublishingCressida Farrow-Bassey
I remember sitting in a windowless editorial office in 2004, surrounded by the smell of stale coffee and the hum of a photocopier that never quite worked, listening to a senior editor explain that a mid-list debut was “an investment in prestige.” It was a lovely sentiment, but prestige doesn’t pay the rent, and it certainly doesn’t cover the cost of a decent lunch. Most people think they’re entering a glamorous partnership with art, but when you peel back the glossy jacket, you realize that understanding how traditional publishing works is less about finding your soulmate and more about navigating…

Writing Regularly Without Waiting to Feel Like It

WritingCressida Farrow-Bassey
If you are still waiting for a lightning bolt of divine inspiration to strike before you sit down at your desk, I have some bad news: you are going to stay broke. Most of the “gurus” out there will tell you that you need a sacred morning ritual, a specific brand of notebook, or a quiet cabin in the woods to find your flow, but that is just expensive nonsense designed to sell you planners. The truth about how to start writing regularly is far less romantic and significantly more boring. It isn’t about finding your muse; it’s about managing…