What is Self-Edit Your Novel?
Self-Edit Your Novel is our longest-running course, from which more than 100 alumni have gone on to publishing success. You’ll learn how to self-edit your manuscript, ensuring it’s submission-ready for agents or self-publishing, and master narrative drive, voice, plot, and story development.
Who is this course suitable for?
This course is suitable for authors of fiction and narrative non-fiction of any length. We recommend it to authors who have either:
- A finished draft that needs to be polished and refined ahead of self-publishing or submitting to agents.
- A first draft near completion, so that the editing stage can be approached with confidence.
Who are the tutors?
This course is led by professional editors, and acclaimed authors, Debi Alper and Emma Darwin.
Debi Alper is the author of five published novels and has worked as a freelance editor and creative writing tutor for over twenty years. She is the lead tutor for Jericho Writers’ longest running course, the phenomenally successful Self-Edit Your Novel, which launched in 2010. Debi won the inaugural RNA Indie Editor of the Year Award in 2021 and also acts as a competition judge.
Emma Darwin’s bestselling novels have been nominated for several awards including the Commonwealth Writers and RNA Novel of the Year. She is the author of Get Started in Writing Historical Fiction, This is Not a Book About Charles Darwin, and renowned Substack 'This Itch of Writing'. Emma has taught at Goldsmiths and Oxford University, and is a creative writing tutor, editor, and mentor.
How much does the course cost?
This course costs £900 (Premium Members save 10%).
How long is the course?
6 weeks.
How much time should I spend on the course each week?
The course takes place entirely online, so it is tailored to fit around your schedule. The main aim of the course is to support you in developing key editing skills to apply to future manuscripts and writing projects. This will take dedication – the more you put into the course, the more you get out!
We recommend devoting at least 3 hours per week to the course content, tasks, and materials. The more time you put into this course, the more you’ll get out.
What time are the course webinars?
There are no live webinars for this course. Each week you will have access to a new, pre-recorded webinar with Debi which you can watch at a time of your choosing. The tutor interaction consists of a high-level of daily feedback and guidance via the platform forums, so we advise being as engaged as possible with these on a daily basis to get the most out of the course.
What genres are your courses suitable for?
We warmly welcome writers in almost every genre, from very literary to commercial. Our tutors work across a diverse list of categories, including both creative non-fiction and fiction writing. We certainly also welcome writers of YA and MG. If you are writing non-fiction or for much younger children, our courses may be less suitable – but feel free to ask.
You can find more information about Self-Edit Your Novel
here.
If you have any further questions about Self-Edit Your Novel, you can book a call with a member of the team
here, or you can get in touch with the team at
courses@jerichowriters.com.