Troubleshooting Your Novel: Essential Techniques for Identifying and Solving Manuscript Problems

Authors can tell when a novel is close to completion-they can feel it. They might have worked on their manuscript for months, maybe even years, and they're ready to send it in. Well ... almost ready. There's something that's just not quite right about the story, the plot, the characters-but they're not sure. They sense that it's weak somewhere, but they're not sure how to strengthen it, or it's too flabby and they don't know where to trim it, or it has dead spots and they're not certain how to ratchet up the tension. Whatever the issue, to publish their novel successfully, authors must make sure their stories are the sharpest they can possibly be before they send them to an agent or editor, or before they launch into the self-publishing realm. Troubleshooting Your Novel allows authors to pinpoint the issues that plague their manuscripts-and offers practical, easy ways to fix the issues and strengthen the story overall. Award-winning novelist Steven James guides them through the process of making their books the best they can be.