Editing: From First Page to Final Draft
On Saturday 4 July 2026, Write Links members met at the State Library of Queensland to take part in a workshop hosted by author/editor Liane McDermott and author/comma aficionado Annaleise Byrd.
To begin the session, Liane described the many ways in which editors can help take your manuscript from draft to done—from whole manuscript assessments, offering feedback on strengths and weaknesses, to structural edits that focus on the big picture items like plots, characters and pace.
They can also drill down to line editing, which works on sentence structure, word choice and dialogue flow. And for the real nitty-gritty, copy editing is where they’ll put all your commas away properly and set you straight on your there, they’re and theirs once and for all.
Next stop on the editing journey, we brushed up on grammar, syntax and style. For those of us who weren’t taught grammar in school, now is the ideal time to revisit the rules. Your story will end up word-salad without them!
Annaleise took us along to the next stop on our editing pilgrimage: common writing errors. There are many simple flaws that could creep into your writing, such as head-hopping, info-dumping, lack of conflict and repetitive structure. Once you know what to look out for, these pitfalls can be easier to avoid.
There are also some simple mistakes that are easily made in style and prose, such as too much telling and not enough showing. Overuse of adverbs when strong verbs can do the heavy lifting and using a passive voice instead of an active voice, can really make your story fall flat.
Next stop was a slide I’ve been waiting for my entire life: commas. Annaleise expertly explained the rule of FANBOYS with practical examples of when and how to use commas. She explained it SO CLEARLY I might actually remember it. Until I forget it. But that’s my problem, not Anna’s.
Some other things to avoid are using filler words that are like extra words to beef out a sentence when a simpler sentence would be clearer and less rambly without all of those additional words, if you get what I mean. Fragmented sentences can sometimes work for you in dialogue and voice but can be jarring when there’s not enough context. Like the last time we went there.
Tightening sentences can also make a huge difference to your writing, voice and clarity. Less is more. You can often Cut out the superfluous and still keep the meaning.
Opening sentences are very important. A good one will hook the reader straight away. A winning formula can be to include the character, something unexpected and an implied question. This makes the reader want to find out what happens next. Writers should try to find an opening sentence that could ONLY belong in their story.
First pages need strong opening lines. Within a first page, we should meet the main characters, find some action/hooks/curiosity and the hint of a problem. Liane and Annaleise shared first page samples of picture books and novels bravely submitted by Write Links members and performed a live edit, giving feedback on strengths along with some tips to make it shine. Big thanks to those who volunteered to have their work critiqued in front of the group.
Liane and Annaleise then shared two checklists containing a summary of their editing tips and tricks. Write Links members were invited to use these checklists to either perform a structural edit on their own picture book or create a stronger opening sentence/first page for their novel.
The workshop provided practical tools to make our stories shine, which will come in very handy as we prepare for the upcoming BookLinks Story Arts Brisbane (BSAB) kidlit conference in October.
Many thanks to Liane and Annaleise for hosting such an informative and practical session. It was really, really, really, really, really, really good invaluable!
By J. M. Wisbey
Follow J. M. Wisbey on Instagram at @JMWisbey
Follow Liane on Instagram at @lianemcdermott
Follow Liane on Facebook at Liane McDermott
Annaleise Byrd is the author of middle-grade portal fantasies Losing the Plot and Down the Plot Hole, and the picture book You Are Not a Pup!
Follow Annaleise on Instagram at @annaleisebyrd
Follow Annaleise on Facebook at Annaleise Byrd – Children’s Author
