To celebrate 13 weeks of winter, Winterviews is conducting interviews with various book and author communities across the internet. Once a week, we’ll interview a new community to find out what makes that community great.
Join us on the hashtag #13Winterviews, or join in the fun with tonight’s community spotlight, Revise & Resub! Without further ado, lets get down to the interview!
Can you tell us a little bit about Revise & Resub?
The heart of Revise & Resub is our annual #RevPit contest. Each year, our editors each select one manuscript out of up to one hundred submissions. Then they provide a full developmental edit on that manuscript and work with the author to implement the changes. It’s an intense process but also super rewarding.
What prompted the idea to start Revise & Resub?
The founding editors knew each other from a previous pitch contest, and when that one ended, we decided to revamp the concept to focus more on the process of editing and revision and not as much on the end goal of getting an agent. So we have a showcase at the end so the authors can show off some of what they’ve been working on, and while it isn’t specifically geared toward agents, several of our authors have received requests via the showcase. It’s always very exciting when that does happen!
In what way has being a part of Revise & Resub made you stronger as a professional?
Until I joined this community of editors, I didn’t realize how isolated I felt. As someone who works from home full time, it’s wonderful to have a strong group of colleagues to talk to about my business—and they understand what I’m going through. It’s been a great resource for me and also really helped my mental health. The editors are also very supportive and encouraging in terms of sharing information, resources, and helping each other grow. Being in that kind of environment really helps me approach my everyday work with the same energy.
What three things does someone not know about Revise & Resub?
- We created an e-learning course to get you started with revisions. You can find it here: https://blog.reedsy.com/learning/courses/editing/novel-revision-practical-tips-rewrites/
- The editors have a super secret slack group. We use it during the annual contest, but we actually use it all year.
- We remember your submissions from previous years. It’s always so cool to see how an author’s writing has changed and grown.
Who are some of your biggest/most positive influences in the community or in general?
There are too many to name! But it’s not just the big influencers; it’s also the people who maybe only have a few hundred followers. Seeing how writers make the time and energy to keep going—even when they’re exhausted, when they’ve had to take a break, when they’ve faced rejection—it’s truly inspiring. Then to see how they support each other through all of that as critique partners, mutuals, or friends is just incredible. There’s so much love for books and writing and other writers and just an amazing amount of bravery in the #RevPit community. That’s what keeps us going.
#RevPit
@ReviseResub
https://reviseresub.com
Hosting Authors
Jeni Chappelle
