Exploring Discovery Drafts
Plus, the Club Ed Certificate Program is now open for applications!
Coaching and Editing Discovery Drafts
Discovery drafts are typically the first draft of a novel that an author uses to explore the story they’re writing, whether the story has been prompted by a situation, a setting, a character, or a theme.
The discovery draft typically includes stops and starts, directions the story could take but doesn’t, characters that fade in and out, either an overly produced setting or a nonexistent one. It’s not a draft that’s ready for a developmental edit, which is typically done on a near-final draft of a novel that the author has revised several times and feels is in good shape.
With a discovery draft, the author typically doesn’t feel that way at all. They’ve got a lot of ideas that are bouncing around in the story and know they’ve got a sprawling mass or they’ve ground to a halt and have cut to the chase and wrapped the story up in a way they know is unsatisfactory.
They don’t want someone to point out where the characterization is inconsistent or how they could make the dialogue sparkle more. They know the characterization is inconsistent and the dialogue wooden. What they’re looking for is someone who can help them see, out of this welter of possibility, what the heart of the story is and where it might lead.
Whether the author has written an everything-but-the-kitchen sink draft or a skeleton draft that’s all bones and no flesh, you can help them, through coaching or editing, figure out where the most promising possibilities are in their story.
The Coaching and Editing Discovery Drafts class starts March 11, 2026. For more information, click here.
Editing for Character Development
Starts Monday! March 9 - April 5, 2026!
$375 (Members, save 10%) | How to edit for character development | 4 weeks | Instructor-led | Intermediate
In a well-written novel, the characters – especially the main character – will seem like real people who engage the reader’s attention if not the reader’s empathy. Authors often need our help in figuring out what to do about flat characters or unengaging protagonists.
The character must face obstacles to their story goals. Often, but not always, the character must also face the chance, even the need, to change over the course of the story. This character arc is hard to get right.
This class will help you help the author. We’ll cover:
What goes into creating a rounded character
Common tools authors can use to create rounded characters, such as character sketches
The intersection between character, plot, and setting
Creating effective character goals and motivations (which impact conflict)
How dialogue and action create character
Using perspective and point-of-view to shape character
What to do when the character doesn’t change
Making the character’s impact on the story world part of the character arc
and more!
Each week includes a new lesson and a new assignment to be submitted for the instructor’s feedback along with online discussions about developmental issues.
Intermediate classes are intended for those with some developmental editing experience or who have taken the Beginning + Intermediate DE for Fiction classes or the self-paced DE 1 through 6 classes.
The class is entirely online and asynchronous (you don’t have to be in any particular place at any particular time to participate) but weekly assignments are due by specific deadlines.
For more information or to register, click here.
The Club Ed Certificate Program Now Open for Applications!
The Club Ed Certificate in Developmental Editing for Fiction Program
Application period ends March 31, 2026.
A few times a year, I open the certificate program for applications. This is one of those times - now through the end of March.
If you’re thinking about becoming a freelance editor, particularly in developmental editing, this certificate program is for you! It provides all the basics you need to learn to edit effectively and to start your editing business.
This is the regular version of the certificate program - go at your own pace, take classes as they fit your schedule, and complete your certificate in one to three years.
More information about the fiction program can be found here.
If you’re interested in the nonfiction certificate program, that information can be found here.
How to Apply
To apply, just send an email to ClubEdResortDirector@gmail.com, outlining your background and noting any editing classes you’ve taken (especially Club Ed classes). There’s no fee to apply. Remember, the deadline to apply is midnight Pacific time on March 31, 2025.
You can purchase classes towards the certificate one at a time or you can purchase the course bundle for $1800. People who purchase the bundle are more likely to complete the certificate program, but it’s not required.
For more information about the course bundle and to purchase it, click here.
If you’ve already purchased some classes, get in touch to see how the money you spent can be applied towards the bundle and reduce the cost: ClubEdResortDirector@gmail.com
For Members
The next marketing challenge starts Monday, March 23 (through April 17). These are held every quarter and are a fun way to meet other editors and be accountable for doing those often-dreaded marketing tasks.
Also: I’ve added new report to the membership classroom. This is on editor contracts and includes a template editor-author agreement.
Membership information (such as coupon codes for the discount on PerfectIt software and dates of the marketing challenge) can be found on the course information page in the Membership Program “class.”
Please check there first to see if the information answers your question. Thank you!
Upcoming Classes
Instructor-led classes starting soon:
Editing for Character Development, starts Mar 9, 2026
Coaching and Editing Discovery Drafts, starts Mar 11, 2026 - this is the only time this class will be offered in 2026
Editing for World-Building and Setting, starts Apr 6, 2026.
Editorial Toolkit: Book Doctoring and Ghostwriting, May 6, 2026 - this is the only time this class will be offered in 2026
Advanced Developmental Editing for Fiction, starts May 11, 2026 - this is the only time the class will be offered as a group class in 2026, but you can arrange a one-on-one Advanced DE class here.
About Jennifer Lawler
I help editors figure out what the hell they're doing.
If you're an aspiring, new, or established book editor or story coach, I can probably help you learn how to do the work better and more profitably.
Through Club Ed, I offer developmental editing classes, a freelance editor membership program/support group, and a slightly bony shoulder to cry on.
I've worked as an editor for more than twenty years. I learned how to edit in the trenches of traditional publishing with its insane deadlines, pitiless competition, and crushing bureaucracy. To that I added a Ph.D in English literature with a specialization in medieval literature because of a long story.
Editorial clients have included Simon & Schuster, Girl Friday Productions, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Barnes and Noble Custom Publishing, and others, along with many independent authors.
For fiction self-paced classes, click here.
For fiction instructor-led classes, click here
For nonfiction self-paced classes, click here
For nonfiction instructor-led classes, click here