Faber Writing Academy > Courses > Online > Edit and Submit Your Novel
online
online

Edit and Submit Your Novel

w/ Nell Pierce

After reading your full manuscript and providing you with a reader's report, author and former agent Nell Pierce will lead you through the process of re-drafting your novel, by focusing on key ideas and strategies from plotting to characterisation and style. Over six monthly sessions, you’ll workshop your re-drafts and stress-test the decisions you’ve made, exploring what works and what could be made stronger in your novel.

Tuesdays 6:30pm – 8:30pm (AEST/AEDT), 5 May – 30 October, 2026

Online
Advanced

$2500/ $2125 alumni

 


Apply Now

Have you finished a draft of your novel – maybe even the second or third draft – and have a niggling feeling that it’s not quite there yet? Have you stared at your own work so closely, for so long, that you’ve started to lose perspective?

In Edit and Submit Your Novel, author and former literary agent, Nell Pierce, will begin by reading through your novel and providing you with a reader’s report explaining what’s currently working well and what could be stronger. In the first session of the course, you will be provided with this report which will inform your roadmap to redrafting.

Over the following five sessions, in an intimate class of twelve fellow writers, Nell will lead you through the process of re-drafting, by focusing on key ideas and strategies from plotting to fine-tuning character arcs and finessing style. You’ll workshop your re-drafts and stress-test the decisions you’ve made, exploring what works and what could be made stronger in your novel.

The course will conclude with an Industry Day where you’ll have the opportunity to pitch your manuscript to a variety of agents and publishers.

During this course, you will be provided with:

  • Feedback on your full manuscript, delivered as a 2500 word report including a synopsis, overview, report on strengths and weaknesses and a summary.
  • 6 x monthly classes covering each step in the revision and polishing process.
  • The ability to stay connected with fellow committed novelists, building a close-knit community of trusted readers.
  • 1 x one on one consultation with your tutor.
  • A complimentary copy of a recent A&U publication.

Writers you'll be working with:

Nell Pierce

Nell Pierce is the author of the novel A Place Near Eden (Allen & Unwin, 2022), winner of the Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award. Her short fiction has been published in The American Scholar. She holds a Master of Fine Art in Fiction Writing from the New School in New York City. Nell has worked as an Associate Literary…

Course outline

Session 1 Tuesday 5 May 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Introductory session where students receive their reader’s reports and work with their tutor to plan what they need to prioritise in a redraft of their novels.

Session 2 Tuesday 2 June, 6:30 – 8:30 
Introduction to structural editing.
Workshop 1: students will be put in groups of 3 and workshop re-drafted material.

Session 3 Tuesday 7 July, 6:30 – 8:30
Charting sub-plots and themes across a manuscript.
Workshop 2: students will be put in groups of 3 and workshop re-drafted material.

Session 4 Tuesday 4 August, 6:30 – 8:30
Character arcs. Who are the characters driving your novel? What are their motivations, backgrounds, how can we make them compelling in the worlds we create? Will they tell us how they feel or will we gauge how they feel through their conversations, their physical expressions, ways of moving, their actions – or in all these ways?
Workshop 3: students will be put in groups of 3 and workshop re-drafted material.

Session 5 Tuesday 1 September, 6:30 – 8:30
Introduction to line editing.
Close consideration of sentence structure and patterns of rhythm and imagery across a full manuscript.
Workshop 4: students will be put in groups of 3 and workshop re-drafted material.

Session 6 Tuesday 6 October, 6:30 – 8:30
Preparing a publishing submission.
Identifying your novel’s place in the market and comparable titles.
Final beta-reader pairings: your tutor will group you in small groups of three, and you will be walked through the steps of beta-reading two of your peers’ re-drafted manuscripts.

Industry Day: Friday 30 October
On this day will have the opportunity to pitch your novels to a variety of agents and publishers.

Please note the exact course content may change depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the group’s manuscripts.

Praise for this course

“The reader’s report was a great way to set up the course!” – 2025 participant

“I loved chatting with Sophie [2025 tutor] and the group about my novel and my goals. Having deadlines is of huge benefit! It kept me engaged with my writing!” – 2025 participant

How to Apply

To apply for Edit & Submit Your Novel, you will first need to fill out this application form and provide us with a full draft of your novel by no later than Friday 20 February, 2026 – but the earlier the better, to ensure your tutor has the most time to read your work closely.