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How to Self-Edit Your Novel (virtual) with Sarah Mian

Publishers and agents expect a manuscript to be nearly publication-ready upon submission, so it is crucial that writers develop the skills to self-edit. But how can you see your work objectively? Using a step-by-step strategy, we’ll tackle

  • common story problems to watch out for;
  • what to leave in (and what to leave out);
  • the goal of each chapter (and how to structure chapters as complete story units);
  • defining and evaluating scenes (and their function in the larger story);
  • tips to make sentences leaner and more evocative;
  • and much more!

Whether you have a finished manuscript or one in progress, this course will help you achieve the clarity and discipline necessary to turn a first draft into a page-turning novel

About the instructor: Sarah Mian is an author and screenwriter whose debut novel, When the Saints, won the Margaret & John Savage First Book Award, the Jim Connors Book Award, and was a finalist for the national Stephen Leacock Medal. She lives in Queensland, Nova Scotia.

Recommended experience level: New, emerging, and early-career fiction writers (About recommended experience levels)

Participant cap: 12

Location: Zoom

Dates of 5-week workshop: Tuesdays, Jan 13 + Jan 20 + Jan 27 + Feb 3 + Feb 10, 2026 (7:00pm to 9:00pm Atlantic)

Registration for 2026 General Members: $229

Registration for non-members: $294 (includes 2026 General Membership in WFNS)

Registration for this workshop is closed

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Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) uses the following terms to describe writers’ experience levels:

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children, writing for young adults, and others) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

Occasionally, WFNS uses the phrase “emerging and established writers/authors” to mean ‘writers and authors of all experience levels.’

The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the above definitions. A workshop’s participants should usually have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with info, strategies, and skills that suit their experience. 

For “intensive” and “masterclass” workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If uncertain about your experience level with respect to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca