The Author-Editor Method
A developmental self-editing program for fiction writers
Learn a professional self-editing process for diagnosing and revising your own novel. In eight weeks you'll read your manuscript through a developmental editor's eyes, find the problems that matter most, and leave with a clear, prioritized plan for your next draft. And you won't do it alone: every week you meet us live for group coaching on your own book.
- Weekly live group coaching
- 8 weeks, online
- Starts 19 October 2026
- Work on your own novel
- $897
With Ann Ljungberg & Helena Hansen, Make Books Better
8 weeks from "Something isn't working"
to "I know what to revise, and why."
You know the book isn't there yet. You just can't see why.
You've finished a draft. Maybe two. You've rewritten chapter one so many times you could recite it at a dinner party (please don't). And still, something's off.
Here's the thing: those are symptoms. The real problem usually sits somewhere else, and that's why tinkering with sentences doesn't fix it. You can polish a scene until it shines and the book will still sag, because the scene was never the problem.
Developmental editors are trained to find the problem behind the problem. The Author-Editor Method teaches you to do that with your own manuscript.
See. Diagnose. Decide. Revise.
Four moves developmental editors make with every manuscript. Once you know them, you can make them with yours.
the book that's actually on the page, not the one in your head.
what's helping the story and what's hurting it.
what needs to change, what stays, and why.
in the right order, instead of starting on page one and tinkering.
Every week ends with something real for your novel
No abstract lectures you'll forget by Tuesday. Each week you learn one part of the developmental editor's toolkit and use it on your own manuscript straight away.
From Writer Brain to Editor Brain
How developmental editors read differently from writers. How to get some distance from your own work and evaluate what's actually on the page rather than what you meant to put there.
You produce: your Manuscript Snapshot
Find the Story You're Actually Telling
Story promise, premise, genre expectations, central conflict, your protagonist's goal, stakes, theme and emotional core. Is the manuscript delivering the book it promises?
You produce: your Story Compass, a one-page definition of the book you're creating
Structure: Does the Story Hold Together?
Story architecture, causality, turning points, escalation, beginnings, middles and endings. How to spot structural trouble without forcing your novel into one formula.
You produce: your Story Structure Map
Character: Why Should We Care?
Goals, motivation, agency, internal and external conflict, arcs, relationships and emotional stakes. And why "I don't like this character" is rarely a useful diagnosis.
You produce: your Character & Arc Diagnostic
Scenes, Pacing & Narrative Momentum
What makes a scene earn its place. Purpose, tension, conflict, change, pacing and information flow. How to recognize scenes that are good on their own and bad for the book.
You produce: your Scene Diagnostic: keep, strengthen, combine, move or cut
The Problem Behind the Problem The heart of the method
How developmental editors tell symptoms from causes, and connect problems across structure, character, POV, stakes, pacing and scenes.
You produce: your Manuscript Diagnosis, the 3 to 5 issues with the biggest impact, and the evidence behind them
From Diagnosis to Editorial Decisions
You know what's wrong. Now what? How to generate solutions, weigh ripple effects, protect the heart of your story, and avoid fixing one problem by creating three new ones.
You produce: your Revision Decisions
Build Your Revision Roadmap
How professional editors prioritize developmental work. What to fix first, what can wait, and how to sequence a major revision.
You produce: your Novel Revision Roadmap, the plan for your next draft
It's easier to see in someone else's book first
Every week, before the live call, you get a short piece of fiction to analyze. Then we take it apart together. It usually goes something like this:
Then comes the good part: "Now go look for this in your own manuscript." That's where the skill sticks.
- Learn it
- →
- See it in someone else's writing
- →
- Practice diagnosing it
- →
- Apply it to your own book
Mondays are where it all comes together
Self-editing is lonely work. You stare at your own pages until they stop making sense. So every week, for eight weeks, you meet us and the group live, and bring your book with you.
Mondays at 9am PT / 6pm CET, starting 19 October.
We take the week's Editor's Eye Lab apart together, so you see exactly how an editor gets from symptom to cause.
2 to 3 participants bring a real problem from their manuscript, and we diagnose it live. Everyone learns from every book.
Your questions about your own novel, answered by two developmental editors. Stuck? This is where you get unstuck.
You leave every call with one concrete decision or revision priority for your book.
Can't make it live? Every call is recorded, and you can send your question in advance.
Eight weeks of self-editing your novel, with editors beside you
8 weekly group coaching calls
Live with Ann and Helena, Mondays at 9am PT / 6pm CET. Teaching, Lab, Clinic and coaching on your own manuscript. Recorded if you can't make it.
8 weeks of training modules
One part of the developmental editor's toolkit each week, ready before Monday's call.
The Author-Editor Workbook
Structured prompts, diagnostic checklists, decision trees and space to build your revision plan as you go.
Manuscript Health Check
A guided audit at the start: structure, character, pacing, POV, stakes and reader experience. Your baseline.
Weekly manuscript assignments
Every lesson becomes work on your novel. You leave each week with one concrete decision or revision priority.
Editor's Eye Labs
Sample scenes analyzed together, so you train the diagnostic eye before you turn it on your own pages.
Live Manuscript Clinics
Part of every coaching call: 2 to 3 participants bring a specific story problem, we diagnose it live, and everyone learns from it.
Diagnostic tools & frameworks
The Problem-Behind-the-Problem Diagnostic, the Keep / Cut / Combine / Move / Rewrite / Expand framework, Story Triage and the Revision Risk Map.
Final Revision Roadmap Review
A live workshop where you pressure-test your revision priorities before you head into the next draft.
For the moments every novelist hits
The Self-Editing Reset
What to do when you're too close to the manuscript and can't see it clearly anymore.
When to Stop Revising
How to tell whether the book needs another developmental pass, or whether you're polishing the doorknobs.
Preparing for Outside Feedback
How to know when you're ready for beta readers, a developmental editor, or querying.
Built for writers with a draft and a hunch
This is for you if...
- You have a complete (or nearly complete) draft of a novel
- You can feel something isn't working, but can't pin down what
- You want to revise with a plan instead of starting over at page one
- You'd like to understand how a developmental editor thinks, so you can use it on this book and the next
- You can give the program a few hours a week for eight weeks
This isn't for you if...
- You're looking for line editing, copyediting or grammar help. We stay at the developmental level on purpose.
- You want someone to edit the book for you
- You're hoping to finish a full revision in eight weeks. You'll leave with the diagnosis and the plan, and a clear first step.
- You want to become a professional editor. That's what DEEC is for.
Two developmental editors, one method
Ann Ljungberg
Author coach, editor and writing course leader. Ann has spent a decade training developmental editors in Sweden, with more than 100 people through her Swedish-language program. Her home turf is structure, which makes her very good at finding the hole in the floor of your second act.
Helena Hansen
Developmental editor with a background in literary science, specializing in manuscript development. Helena co-founded Make Books Better with Ann, and together they built DEEC, the certification program for developmental editors.
Everything you need to revise with a plan
- 8 weekly live group coaching calls with Ann and Helena (recorded)
- 8 weeks of training modules
- The Author-Editor Workbook
- Manuscript Health Check
- Weekly manuscript assignments
- Weekly Editor's Eye Labs
- Live Manuscript Clinics
- Diagnostic tools and frameworks
- Final Revision Roadmap Review
- 3 bonuses: Self-Editing Reset, When to Stop Revising, Preparing for Outside Feedback
Starts 19 October. [PAYMENT PLAN? e.g. 3 × $309]
Save my seatBefore you ask
Do I need a finished draft?
You'll get the most out of it with a complete or nearly complete draft, since every week you apply the method to your own manuscript. If you're a few chapters from the end, you'll still be fine.
Will I finish my revision in eight weeks?
No, and we won't pretend otherwise. You'll finish with a clear diagnosis of what your novel needs and a prioritized roadmap for your next draft. That's the part most writers get stuck on, and it's what makes the actual revision go faster.
Will you edit my manuscript?
We won't edit it for you. You'll learn to do it yourself, with guidance. In the Manuscript Clinics, some participants bring a specific story problem each week, and we walk through how we'd diagnose it.
Does it work for my genre?
Yes, as long as it's fiction. The method doesn't force your book into one formula, and genre expectations are part of what we look at in week 2.
How much time does it take?
Plan for the weekly group coaching call plus the Editor's Eye Lab and your manuscript assignment. [X] hours a week is a good estimate.
What if I miss a group coaching call?
Every call is recorded, so you can catch up whenever it suits you. Send your question in advance and we'll answer it on the call. That said, the calls are where most of the progress happens, so come live when you can.
How is this different from DEEC?
DEEC is an eight-month certification for people who want to work as developmental editors for other authors. The Author-Editor Method is for writers who want to use a developmental editor's process on their own novel.
Stop guessing. Start revising with a plan.
Eight weeks from now, you could know exactly what your novel needs, and what to do first.
Join the Author-Editor MethodQuestions first? Write to us. We answer every one.