As chance would have it, my allotted post on revision tips has fallen on the eve of my first structural edit for book three. So, no better time to think through the process, and gird my loins for the ordeal to come.

Because publisher edits – particularly the first set – are something of an ordeal. And not just for me, it seems. Structural edits put the fear of God into most writers; I know cos I’ve been hanging out on social media long enough to see plenty of posts about the arrival of the ‘dreaded’ notes for a new book.

After all, it’s a big moment. You’ve slogged your way through your first draft, revised and polished till it shines, then you send it off and sit and wait. And wait. Chew off all your fingernails. Start on your toenails. Then your editor cheerily announces that the notes will…