The Art of Editing: The Journey from First Draft to Final Draft

Derek Taylor Kent — Wed, 20 May 2026 20:46:21 GMT

Current Revision posted to Editorial Assessments by Derek Taylor Kent on 5/20/2026 8:46:21 PM

So you finished your book? That's great! But now comes the hard part. How can you self-edit so that it's in good enough shape for critical readers, agents, and publishers? How do you know if you need a professional editor?

Bestselling author Derek Taylor Kent has worked with some of the top editors from the top publishing houses and knows what they are looking for in a manuscript. In this webinar, he'll teach you strategies for editing that will make it less daunting, and even fun! Plus he'll review the most common grammatical issues that most authors don't even know about, but make their writing appear amateur instead of pro. This is not to be missed for any writers who have finished or are near finished with their first drafts.

Here is the handout referenced in the session:
www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../3073.Art-of-Editing_5F00_Kent_5F00_ALC-Handout.pdf
www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../TheArtofEditingTheJourneyfromFirstDrafttoFinalDraft26.mp4

About the Author:
Derek Taylor Kent is the author of 20 books encompassing a wide variety of audiences and genres. He has also produced 15 audiobooks to date and has written 6 screenplays. Along with being an instructor for the ALC, he teaches at the Writing Pad in Los Angeles and is a freelance story editor. Derek received a 3-book deal from HarperCollins for his middle-grade book series "Scary School", and his Mystery/Thriller book "Kubrick’s Game" was #1 on Amazon three times and was optioned by Bobby Cohen Films. His middle-grade novel "My Homework Ate My Dog!" was awarded Best Middle-Grade Fiction Book of 2020 by Kops-Featherling Book Awards, and there was a bidding war for his picture book "El Perro con Sombrero", which was published by Holt/Macmillan. In addition, Derek Founded Whimsical World children’s publishing brand with wife, children’s author and ALC speaker Sheri Fink, with a mission to inspire, delight, and educate children of all ages while planting seeds of self-esteem and high achievement. Discover more at www.DerekTaylorKent.com and www.WhimsicalWorldBooks.com.

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, Recorded Webinar

The Art of Editing: The Journey from First Draft to Final Draft

Author Learning Center — Wed, 20 May 2026 20:44:49 GMT

Revision 5 posted to Editorial Assessments by Author Learning Center on 5/20/2026 8:44:49 PM

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, Recorded Webinar

The Art of Editing: The Journey from First Draft to Final Draft

Derek Taylor Kent — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 14:14:00 GMT

Revision 4 posted to Editorial Assessments by Derek Taylor Kent on 12/8/2021 2:14:00 PM

Here is the handout referenced in the session:
www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../Art-of-Editing_5F00_Kent_5F00_ALC-Handout.pdf

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../TheArtofEditingTheJourneyfromFirstDrafttoFinalDraft.mp4

About the Author:
Derek Taylor Kent is the author of 17 books encompassing a wide variety of audiences and genres. He has also produced 15 audiobooks to date. He received a three-book deal from HarperCollins for his middle-grade series 'Scary School' and his picture book 'El Perro con Sombrero' was published by Holt/Macmillan after a multi-publisher bidding war. It has been one of the best-selling bilingual picture books in the world since its release in 2015. His puzzle-thriller for an adult audience, 'Kubrick's Game', was published by Evolved Publishing and twice became the #1 best-selling book on Amazon and received a Reader's Favorite Gold Medal. He recently founded the brand Whimsical World with his wife, children's author and ALC speaker Sheri Fink, with a mission to inspire, delight, and educate children of all ages while planting seeds of self-esteem and high achievement. He taught writing and publishing classes for several years at The Writing Pad in Los Angeles. Discover more at www.DerekTaylorKent.com and www.WhimsicalWorldBooks.com.

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, Recorded Webinar

The Art of Editing: The Journey from First Draft to Final Draft

Author Learning Center — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 13:39:06 GMT

Revision 3 posted to Editorial Assessments by Author Learning Center on 12/8/2021 1:39:06 PM

Here is the handout referenced in the session:
www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../Art-of-Editing_5F00_Kent_5F00_ALC-Handout.pdf

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../TheArtofEditingTheJourneyfromFirstDrafttoFinalDraft.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, Recorded Webinar

The Art of Editing: The Journey from First Draft to Final Draft

Author Learning Center — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 13:14:38 GMT

Revision 2 posted to Editorial Assessments by Author Learning Center on 12/8/2021 1:14:38 PM

Best-selling author Derek Taylor Kent has worked with some of the top editors from the top publishing houses and knows what they are looking for in a manuscript. In this webinar, he'll teach you strategies for editing that will make it less daunting, and even fun! Plus he'll review the most common grammatical issues that most authors don't even know about, but make their writing appear amateur instead of pro. This is not to be missed for any writers who have finished or are near finished with their first drafts.

The Art of Editing: The Journey from First Draft to Final Draft

Author Learning Center — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 19:48:51 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Editorial Assessments by Author Learning Center on 12/7/2021 7:48:51 PM

About the Author:
Derek Taylor Kent is the author of 17 books encompassing a wide variety of audiences and genres. He has recorded/produced 15 audiobooks (12 in 2020 alone), including the audiobook for this thriller 'Kubrick’s Game', which won the Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal for Best Fiction Audiobook of 2017. The audiobook for his middle-grade book 'Scary School' was named by Audiofile Magazine as best children’s audiobook of the year. Derek's middle-grade novel 'Principal Mikey' became a #1 best-seller and was just released on audiobook. He recently founded the brand Whimsical World with his wife, children's author and ALC speaker Sheri Fink, with a mission to inspire, delight, and educate children of all ages while planting seeds of self-esteem and high achievement.