South - The Who, What, and When of Editing – Ōtautahi Author Fest

Presentation suitable for Beginner and Early Career Writers

Learn about the different stages of editing and who you might reach out to during the various stages to help you with your stories.

In this session, we’ll break down what the stages of editing are with respect to the publication of a book, including when you might reach out to editors and beta readers.

• Learn what is often referred to as developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading.
• Understand the difference between a critique partner, a beta reader, and an ARC reader.
• And discover where to find editors, critique partners, and beta readers.

Location: Sydenham Room, South Library

Age: 16 years +

Free

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Kiwi Judy L Mohr (pronounced “more”) is a writer, developmental editor, and writing coach, with nearly a decade of experience of helping other writers feel confident in claiming the title of “writer”. She loves working with newer writers, just finding their way in the publishing industry. And some of her clients have gone on to traditionally publish.

Her book Hidden Traps of the Internet: Building and Protecting Your Online Platform (published 2024) focuses on how one can protect themselves on the internet, highlighting the many security and financial loopholes that exist within the different components that go into building an online platform. Judy is also a contributor to Putting the Science in Fiction, published by Writer’s Digest in 2018. For her fiction, Judy was awarded an Honorable Mention in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest in 2020, and she was a semi-quarter finalist in the ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition in 2022.

She's a member of the New Zealand Society of Authors, Sisters in Crime, the Australian Crime Writers' Association, SpecFic New Zealand, and the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA). She is also the co-founder of Canterbury Writers, an online network for writers in her home region and the international stage.

To throw a little more crazy into her life, Judy is a mother of two young adults and a cat. (Yes, she gladly admits that she's an overachiever.) When she isn't writing, editing, or volunteering in her local community, she can be found in her backyard with a camera in her hand, enjoying the world around her — no doubt scouting for locations to hide the bodies.

You can find out more about Judy's various projects on her personal website (judylmohr.com) or follow her on Instagram (@JudyLMohr). For editorial advice or writing tidbits, check out the Black Wolf Editor's Blog (blackwolfeditorial.com/blog).