“Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart. " – Stephen King
“Throw up into your typewriter every morning. Clean up every noon.” – Raymond Chandler
“Edit your manuscript until your fingers bleed…” – C.K. Webb
Has anyone else noticed that quotes about manuscript editing tend to be…grotesque? There’s a reason for that. Editing can be brutal. Painful, even. It can also be joyful, creative, and revelatory. This session explores the types of manuscript revision (manuscript critiques, developmental editing, line editing, self-editing, workshopping) and how to avoid the common pits authors fall into when navigating the revision process. We’ll then review the pitching and querying stage, including query/cover letters, book proposals, and tips for researching agents and publishers.
KATHERINE DON is an author, journalist, and developmental book editor. Her essays and journalism have appeared in TIME magazine, The Atlantic, Salon, and HuffPost, among others, and she’s currently a contributing writer and editor at Inside Philanthropy. She’s written or co-written nearly a dozen traditionally published nonfiction books, including Dodge County, Incorporated, co-written with Sonja Trom Eayrs, which won the 2025 Midwest Book Award. As a book editor, Katherine has collaborated with authors on award-winning books in genres ranging from literary fiction to thriller, memoir, mystery, horror, journalism, and prescriptive nonfiction.
