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Writing and Editing Checklists: Everything You Need to Take Your Book from First Draft to Publication
After years of dreaming and hard work, you've finally finished the first draft of a novel! With traditional and self-publishing as competitive as ever, you need to take that rough diamond and polish it to perfection, but where do you start?
Enter a writing craft book full of tried and true advice and checklists that you can use to strengthen your words.
From better sentences to stronger characters and more powerful endings, these checklists are a masterclass in revision that can help pinpoint what your book is missing and make every sentence shine.
Packed with over 50 checklists that cover everything from show, don't tell, foreshadowing, world-building, POV, info-dumping, and outlining, plus tips that will teach you which words to cut, how to proofread, rewriting tricks and other editing essentials, you'll have all you need to take your book from the first draft to publication!
Enter a writing craft book full of tried and true advice and checklists that you can use to strengthen your words.
From better sentences to stronger characters and more powerful endings, these checklists are a masterclass in revision that can help pinpoint what your book is missing and make every sentence shine.
Packed with over 50 checklists that cover everything from show, don't tell, foreshadowing, world-building, POV, info-dumping, and outlining, plus tips that will teach you which words to cut, how to proofread, rewriting tricks and other editing essentials, you'll have all you need to take your book from the first draft to publication!
- GenresNonfiction
338 pages, Paperback
First published June 3, 2025
2 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
K.M. Allan
6 books62 followersK.M. Allan is an identical twin, but not the evil one. She started her career penning beauty articles for a hairstyling website and now powers herself with chocolate and green tea while she writes novels and blogs about writing.
When she’s not creating YA stories full of hidden secrets, nightmares, and powerful magic, she likes to read, binge-watch too much TV, spend time with family, and take more photos than she will ever humanly need.
Visit her website, www.kmallan.com, to discover the mysteries of the universe. Or at the very least, some good writing tips.
When she’s not creating YA stories full of hidden secrets, nightmares, and powerful magic, she likes to read, binge-watch too much TV, spend time with family, and take more photos than she will ever humanly need.
Visit her website, www.kmallan.com, to discover the mysteries of the universe. Or at the very least, some good writing tips.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 10, 2025
This is an excellent resource for writers of all levels. There is so much good writing advice packed into this volume and then made accessible via the checklists. Each section explains what you are looking for in your writing (with examples) and the checklist acts as a memory jogger. No more hunting around for multiple articles! This will be an excellent editing resource. So convenient and so thorough.
June 3, 2025
Who doesn’t love a checklist?!
I’ll be honest, editing is not my favourite part of the writing process. But I do love checklists! A task list that I can tick off is just what I need to see editing as a less daunting and achievable task.
Enter the writing companion I needed in my life!
#WritingandEditingChecklists Everything You Need to Take Your Book from First Draft to Publication by @KMAllan is such a great resource! There are clear and concise explanations with examples that proceed over 50 checklists to help you break down the editing stages:
Show, don’t tell
Foreshadowing
World-building
POV
Info-dumping
Outlining
And more!
Thank You to author #kmallan for providing me with an eBook! I loved this one! It’s by my side while I am currently editing, giving me the confidence to succeed!
I’ll be honest, editing is not my favourite part of the writing process. But I do love checklists! A task list that I can tick off is just what I need to see editing as a less daunting and achievable task.
Enter the writing companion I needed in my life!
#WritingandEditingChecklists Everything You Need to Take Your Book from First Draft to Publication by @KMAllan is such a great resource! There are clear and concise explanations with examples that proceed over 50 checklists to help you break down the editing stages:
Show, don’t tell
Foreshadowing
World-building
POV
Info-dumping
Outlining
And more!
Thank You to author #kmallan for providing me with an eBook! I loved this one! It’s by my side while I am currently editing, giving me the confidence to succeed!
May 30, 2025
Review originally posted on A Keyboard and an Open Mind 29 April 2025:
Every time I have read a useful checklist on K. M. Allan’s blog, I have thought “Oh, I’ll need this when I’m at that stage of the writing process, I’ll have to remember to come back!”
Fortunately, now I don’t have to keep an unwieldy set of bookmarks or something like that, I have them all in my hot little hands! And updated versions, too!
I’ve always been resistant to craft books, choosing instead to learn my craft by voraciously reading books in the genres I want to write. Most craft books feel a bit too “my way or the highway” for my liking, when we all know there are as many ways to write a book as there are books.
Allan’s new book acknowledges that not every chapter is going to apply to every writer, and the book is designed to be used as it best applies. She breaks down the factors that go into a checklist, providing examples from her own books and blog posts, and at the end of each chapter are literal checklists that the reader/writer can tick off as they work through their process.
As I was reading chapters on characterisation and world-building, I was going back to my current WIP and making notes based on the advice given in the book. It has already helped me strengthen the story and I’m only in the early stages of a first draft!
I have been fortunate enough to read an e-ARC of the book, but I have a physical copy pre-ordered so that I will be able to flip back and forth every time I’m working on a new project.
The Writing and Editing Checklist will be available from 3 June 2025.
Every time I have read a useful checklist on K. M. Allan’s blog, I have thought “Oh, I’ll need this when I’m at that stage of the writing process, I’ll have to remember to come back!”
Fortunately, now I don’t have to keep an unwieldy set of bookmarks or something like that, I have them all in my hot little hands! And updated versions, too!
I’ve always been resistant to craft books, choosing instead to learn my craft by voraciously reading books in the genres I want to write. Most craft books feel a bit too “my way or the highway” for my liking, when we all know there are as many ways to write a book as there are books.
Allan’s new book acknowledges that not every chapter is going to apply to every writer, and the book is designed to be used as it best applies. She breaks down the factors that go into a checklist, providing examples from her own books and blog posts, and at the end of each chapter are literal checklists that the reader/writer can tick off as they work through their process.
As I was reading chapters on characterisation and world-building, I was going back to my current WIP and making notes based on the advice given in the book. It has already helped me strengthen the story and I’m only in the early stages of a first draft!
I have been fortunate enough to read an e-ARC of the book, but I have a physical copy pre-ordered so that I will be able to flip back and forth every time I’m working on a new project.
The Writing and Editing Checklist will be available from 3 June 2025.
May 24, 2025
If you're a writer, in any genre, you NEED this book.
If you've found companions in books like Save The Cat and The Emotion Thesaurus, you NEED this book.
Whether you're drafting, editing, or planning your next project...you NEED this book!
I've been following K.M. Allan for many years, due to her incredible fantasy series, Blackbirch, and her brilliant blog which offers advice, tips, and glorious insights, for writers all over the world. So when I got the chance to read an ARC of the Writing and Editing Checklists I LEAPT for it.
What you have here is a book you can either read cover to cover, or flick between the chapters most relevant for your current stage in your work in progress. These in depth and extremely clever checklists will help you strengthen your prose, format your novel in such a way you'll keep readers turning pages, and encourage you to use your imagination even more so that your readers really see what you do when they pick up your book.
This book is a must-have for the modern writer!
I can't wait until the paperback is released, as I will be carrying a copy of this around with me wherever I go. Congrats, K.M. Allan - this is a gem!
If you've found companions in books like Save The Cat and The Emotion Thesaurus, you NEED this book.
Whether you're drafting, editing, or planning your next project...you NEED this book!
I've been following K.M. Allan for many years, due to her incredible fantasy series, Blackbirch, and her brilliant blog which offers advice, tips, and glorious insights, for writers all over the world. So when I got the chance to read an ARC of the Writing and Editing Checklists I LEAPT for it.
What you have here is a book you can either read cover to cover, or flick between the chapters most relevant for your current stage in your work in progress. These in depth and extremely clever checklists will help you strengthen your prose, format your novel in such a way you'll keep readers turning pages, and encourage you to use your imagination even more so that your readers really see what you do when they pick up your book.
This book is a must-have for the modern writer!
I can't wait until the paperback is released, as I will be carrying a copy of this around with me wherever I go. Congrats, K.M. Allan - this is a gem!
June 3, 2025
Wow! What a brilliant idea! This book is incredibly powerful and destined to reside at the elbow of every good author, and me!
And I will admit to being a little despondent that I didn’t have the book at my elbow as I was editing my first books. As a pantser the editing always looms like a dark cloud over the joys of pouring out that first draft.
But who doesn't love a checklist? Now pantsers (and plotters) can choose the list that suits you and work through the suggestions. Each list comes with a short intro so it's easy to decide if that list is for you, right now. No pressure, just helpful hints and solid advice.
And that's just the editing section.
The writing elements are a must for early and emerging writers. Tension, backstory, action beats, foreshadowing and so much more. I wish I'd had this ten years ago.
Allan's calm, confident and inviting voice plus helpful examples make everything doable.
This is a much needed and beautifully presented work.
I was delighted to read the ARC, and now have my own paperback copy on order.
And I will admit to being a little despondent that I didn’t have the book at my elbow as I was editing my first books. As a pantser the editing always looms like a dark cloud over the joys of pouring out that first draft.
But who doesn't love a checklist? Now pantsers (and plotters) can choose the list that suits you and work through the suggestions. Each list comes with a short intro so it's easy to decide if that list is for you, right now. No pressure, just helpful hints and solid advice.
And that's just the editing section.
The writing elements are a must for early and emerging writers. Tension, backstory, action beats, foreshadowing and so much more. I wish I'd had this ten years ago.
Allan's calm, confident and inviting voice plus helpful examples make everything doable.
This is a much needed and beautifully presented work.
I was delighted to read the ARC, and now have my own paperback copy on order.
June 30, 2025
The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Being ignorant of your own ignorance. In other words... you don't know what you don't know and all of that.
This book reminds you what to look for. What you don't know to look for. What you did know but in the heady-rush to publish you totally forgot. A checklist book for the organised and for the not so organised. A brilliant assistant. A must have for all authors and would be authors. A reminder.
... a checklist!
K.M. Allan makes it easy to pick and choose and use the various checklists within this book to remind you of all the things you should know, or don't know, or forgot. A bunch of checklists to strengthen your writing & editing and get you ready for publishing. This is a book every writer needs to have in their armoury of research materials. Pop it right next to Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (Jessica Brody) or So You Want to Be a Writer (Allison Tait & Valerie Khoo).
What else do you need to know?
This book reminds you what to look for. What you don't know to look for. What you did know but in the heady-rush to publish you totally forgot. A checklist book for the organised and for the not so organised. A brilliant assistant. A must have for all authors and would be authors. A reminder.
... a checklist!
K.M. Allan makes it easy to pick and choose and use the various checklists within this book to remind you of all the things you should know, or don't know, or forgot. A bunch of checklists to strengthen your writing & editing and get you ready for publishing. This is a book every writer needs to have in their armoury of research materials. Pop it right next to Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (Jessica Brody) or So You Want to Be a Writer (Allison Tait & Valerie Khoo).
What else do you need to know?
May 13, 2025
I was excited to read an ARC of this book and as a creative writing tutor and editor, I can honestly say I will be recommending this book to all of my students and any aspiring writers I make contact with. Personally, my brain likes checklists so this is a great format for me. It covers absolutely everything you can think of with regards to writing and editing and is a great little book to refer back to time and time again. You can jump around the chapters and pay attention to what suits you at the moment in your own writing journey. I think the editing checklists are so valuable too - they will enable writers to ensure their work is as clean as possible before spending money on an editor. This is a fantastic companion book for writers of all stages and genres. Highly recommended!
June 4, 2025
For years, K.M. Allan’s writing blogs have been a source of information and inspiration, and publishing her writing craft and editing wisdom in a book format is yet another generous gift to writers at all levels. From the first page, K.M. Allan takes your hand and gently guides you through the editing minefield with an arsenal of comprehensive and easy-to-follow checklists, with in-depth examples from her novels. The Kindle version is brilliant with hyperlinked sections to whisk you to the next checklist. The paperback will have a permanent place next to my laptop when it arrives. If you want to take your writing to the next level, sharpen your prose, and polish your drafts, this book is a must-have for your writing toolbox. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews