Intuitive Editing

“Editing your own writing can feel like doing your own brain surgery.…”

After you’ve completed your manuscript and you’re standing at the foot of Revision Mountain, climbing to the summit can feel impossible. It’s hard to look at your own writing with the objective eye needed to shape it into a tight, polished, publishable story—but just like writing, self-editing is a skill you can learn.

Developmental editor Tiffany Yates Martin has spent her career in the publishing industry honing practical, actionable techniques to help authors evaluate how well their story is working, where it might not be, and how to fix it.

With a clear, accessible, user-friendly approach, she leads writers through every step of deepening and elevating their own work, as well as how to approach the edit and develop their “editor brain,” and how to solicit and process feedback. Intuitive Editing doesn’t offer one-size-fits-all advice or rigid writing “rules”; instead it helps authors discover what works for their story and their style—to find the best version of their vision.

Whether you’re writing fiction, narrative nonfiction, or memoir; whether this your first story or your fiftieth, Intuitive Editing will give you the tools you need to edit and revise your own writing with inspiration, motivation, and confidence.

New: Intuitive Editing Supplemental Materials

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I’ve worked with literally dozens of editors in my career, and Tiffany Yates Martin is one of the very best. She has pushed and cajoled and teased me into my best work ever… With Tiffany’s guidance, you, too, will discover depths to your work that you never knew existed.

Barbara O’Neal, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids

[Tiffany’s] advice is sound, thoughtful, no-nonsense and given with the compassion that every author and their book deserves.

Elisabeth Weed, agent, the Book Group

Tiffany’s wise approach is one I wholeheartedly applaud.

Jane Friedman, author of The Business of Being a Writer

I’ve worked with literally dozens of editors in my career, and Tiffany Yates Martin is one of the very best. I’m telling you now…buy this book right now and USE it.

—Barbara O’Neal, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids

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Martin puts the magic of her editorial genius in your hands with Intuitive Editing. Loaded with tips and techniques designed to help delve deeper into your story, this guide is a must-have in any author’s craft book arsenal.

—Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post bestselling author of the Everything series and Last Summer

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Intuitive Editing is a book that should be on every writer’s bookshelf. Tiffany’s approach is straightforward, her information essential for every writer, and her knowledge and ideas will fire the imagination and enhance every story. A must-read.

—Sejal Badani, USA Today, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Trail of Broken Wings and The Storyteller’s Secret

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We’ve always asserted that Tiffany Yates Martin has a superpower—the ability to make any manuscript shine. Now she’s sharing her editing secrets. Trust us—don’t revise another novel until you’ve absorbed every word of this book.

—Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, authors of The Two Lila Bennetts

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Tiffany Yates Martin is an editorial genius and for some reason, she’s given us the gift of her brain in Intuitive Editing. Her insights are astounding…should be on every writer’s bookshelf.

—New York Times–bestselling author Kate Moretti

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Martin is more than an insightful editing guru; she understands the writer’s mind. Indispensable!

—Sonja Yoerg, Washington Post–bestselling author of True Places and Stories We Never Told

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Intuitive Editing belongs on every author’s bookshelf. Martin’s advice goes way beyond the ‘how-to’ of editing and provides a big-picture strategy for making your work shine. Best book on editing or writing that I have ever read.

—Bette Lee Crosby, USA Today–bestselling author of Emily, Gone

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Authors, if you can’t be lucky enough to have Tiffany as your editor, then Intuitive Editing is the next-best thing. Her advice is sound, thoughtful, no-nonsense and given with the compassion that every author and their book deserves.

—Elisabeth Weed, literary agent, the Book Group

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This book is a must have tool every author needs in their toolkit. When you are ready to go deeper, to dig into the revision process, using Tiffany’s Intuitive Editing strategies will help you take your writing to the next level.

—New York Times– and USA Today–bestselling author Steena Holmes

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Tiffany Yates Martin is an exceptional editor, so of course her advice and counsel in Intuitive Editing is exceptional as well…. This book is a must-read that will take you from idea to finished manuscript.

—New York Times–bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch

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It’s not an exaggeration to say that Tiffany Yates Martin is one of the most influential support people in my writing career. To think that you, too, can get her levelheaded and experienced advice on how to develop the confidence and agency needed to navigate the unpredictable landscape of publishing is a true gift for any writer. Don’t sleep on this book.

Ann Garvin, USA Today bestselling author of There’s No Coming Back from This

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The Intuitive Author is a writer’s must-have, a true keeper, but it won’t live on the shelf with all my other writing books—it’ll live on my desk where its inspiration will always be within easy reach. If you’re serious about both surviving and thriving as a writer, you need this book.

—Bestselling memoirist Rachael Herron

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With this book, Martin offers what’s too long been missing from writers’ shelves: a guide to the emotional, personal, and yes, even spiritual aspects of navigating the writing life. This book is a balm for the writer’s soul in the best possible way: practical tips, reasoned exploration of what it means to be both human and artist, and guidelines for making the writing life work in any given moment as well as for a lifelong creative journey. Reading this book is like sitting down with a wise creative coach over a cup of your favorite hot beverage and receiving generous measures of encouragement, wisdom, practical advice, and motivation, all in a well-organized, thoughtful manner.

Sharon Short, author of Trouble Island/Jess Montgomery, author of the Kinship Historical Mysteries

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For anyone who dares to embark on a writing career, The Intuitive Author is required reading…. As an author and editor to successful writers, Tiffany has witnessed firsthand the radical changes in the business, the emotional anguish, and what tools writers need to pack in their arsenal. Her latest must-read is the companion to carry you through the battleground. She dives inside the complicated ups and downs, the necessary resiliency and risks, and the courage and stamina needed to survive. No one has their finger on the pulse of this business more than Tiffany Yates Martin…. This book will be an eye-opener for many, but it will also inspire and ignite your creative flame in the best possible way. Guaranteed.

Rochelle B. Weinstein, bestselling author of This Is Not How It Ends

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This book is the best friend that every writer needs, but few are ever lucky enough to find. You may never have met Tiffany Yates Martin, but she certainly knows you—and deeply understands your writer’s soul. This is a wise, compassionate and inspirational book that you will read, reread, dip into, and treasure for the entirety of your writing life.

Peter Cox, founder, Litopia Writers’ Colony, the net’s oldest community for writers

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Tiffany Yates Martin’s The Intuitive Author is the book equivalent of a wise best friend whispering in your ear, ‘You’ve got this.’ It’s the first writing book I’ve read that doesn’t focus on craft or the professional side of writing but on the writer, helping each of us to figure out just what we want out of our career and how to make that happen. Publishing is a daunting, mercurial, kick-you-in-the-crotch industry, yet Martin—with wit, empathy, experience, and grace—teaches authors how to gain agency and autonomy in a business that often feels out of our control. This is a truly unique and valuable book that will help you joyfully slide into the driver’s seat of your career and, dare I say it, your life.

Erin Flanagan, Edgar-winning author of Deer Season

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Writers: Read this book. The Intuitive Author is the chiropractic realignment your hopes, dreams, and writing goals need. What a relief for your career!

Therese Walsh, editorial director of Writer Unboxed and author of The Moon Sisters

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What Tiffany Yates Martin offers in The Intuitive Author is as practical as it is inspirational—a guide to figuring out what’s important to you as a writer and how to hold true to those things. The highest praise I can offer is that after months of being stalled, it got me writing again. Writers: This is a must-add title for your writing desk.

Amy Jones, editor-in-chief of Writer’s Digest

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Tiffany Yates Martin provides the perfect balance of hard-to-hear truths and honest-yet-hopeful experience that every author needs to make their dreams of being a professional writer a reality. The Intuitive Author is a much-needed resource, filled to the brim with wisdom and tips that every author needs to know. It should be required reading and belongs on every author’s bookshelf.

Amy Collins, literary agent, Talcott Notch

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Writers need honest guidance on what it takes to sustain a publishing career, but it can be hard to offer that honesty without amplifying writerly anxiety and negativity. Tiffany’s wise approach is one I wholeheartedly applaud: prioritize resilience in the face of new and old industry challenges. Every writer is going to encounter trouble, and Tiffany shows that it’s how you respond that matters.

Jane Friedman, author of The Business of Being a Writer

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—Sejal Badani, USA Today, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Trail of Broken Wings and The Storyteller’s Secret