When your novel is accepted for publication, your publisher will send you notes guiding you in a ‘Structural Edit’ of the manuscript. You will be asked to return to your manuscript and look at ‘big picture’ issues, often relating to the plot, characters, and chronology of your story. This problem-solving process requires a high level of knowledge and skill in order to find the necessary solutions.

Many writers can be intimidated by zooming out this far—and just as many feel lost and bewildered in the process. This course is designed to teach you how to make the most of a set of ‘Structural Edit’ notes, while also allowing you to work on your manuscript in real time, based on a detailed manuscript report provided to you at the start of the course.

This course is designed for students who have at least the first 50,000 words of their manuscript finished. This is a highly practical, specialised program that will work best for students who are at an advanced stage in their writing process. Priority will be given to graduates of the Faber Writing Academy’s Writing A Novel program.

You will submit 50,000 words to our Structural Editor, who will read your manuscript-in-progress and provide you with a detailed report. You will then meet as a part of a very small group—maximum four participants—where you will learn the best ways to approach a structural edit, before having a one-on-one problem solving session with our editor, after which you will continue to report in with the group.