Your Second Draft: How to Be Your Own Editor

by Alex Kourvo

You’ve finished your novel—congratulations! But now what? Staring at the pages, you feel a mix of pride and panic. There’s so much to fix, and you don’t even know where to start.

Your Second Draft is your personal roadmap through the revision process. Whether you’re tackling your debut novel or refining your tenth book, this hands-on resource will show you how to become your own editor, with a plan that keeps you focused from start to finish.

Alex Kourvo demystifies the revision process, breaking it into clear, actionable steps that help you identify what’s working and what’s not. You’ll breathe new life into your characters, streamline your plot, elevate your prose, and sharpen your voice, all without losing your original vision.

With examples from classic and contemporary fiction, this guide empowers you to edit with confidence. Stop dreading revision and start seeing it for what it really your chance to make something extraordinary.

Your story deserves the spotlight, and you have what it takes to make it shine. Let’s get started.

179 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 28, 2025

Reviews

[Bronwyn Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where are my fellow writer and editor peeps? ‘Cause I’ve got a book for you!

I was lucky enough to get to beta read Your Second Draft, and I have to tell you, it’s phenomenal. Kourvo’s advice is spot-freaking-on.

It often seems like people think that books on the craft of writing are for beginning writers only. And while that’s certainly true of some books, Your Second Draft definitely isn’t one of those books. Even multi-published, career authors will find plenty of takeaways that will help bring their stories to the next level. 



Kourvo’s insights, examples, and writing exercises (I love a good writing exercise, and there are plenty in Your Second Draft) feel less like a how to book and more like a chat with an especially wise friend. I honestly can’t say enough good things about this book, but I *can* tell you that if you’re looking to strengthen and evolve your writing skills, this book is for you.

And if you’re an editor, you may want to share this gem with your clients. I know I will be. In addition, this book would also be immensely valuable for critique partners and critique groups. Sometimes, writers struggle to provide feedback to their fellow writers, but Kourvo's work can also function as guidebook for offering helpful, constructive criticism.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much invaluable knowledge in this writing craft book & it's written in such an accessible way that any writer of any level will benefit from this mini-monster of a guide to revision. Kourvo breaks the revision process down not only from a story structure standpoint, but also from a mental prep standpoint. Often the biggest hurtle for a writer is getting past the voice in their head telling them they aren't good enough to write the book they want to write. Kourvo has every writers' back with this book. It will prepare you technically and boost your confidence so you can revise your book to the best of your ability and beyond. Highly recommended!

[Clif Flynt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex's book is straightforward and practical. Where other writing books say "make your hero interesting" this book says "show their strengths in a scene, not by telling the reader what their strength is. Make their flaws the flip side of their strengths, not random problems."
There's lots more, but that's the idea, practical things you can look at and fix in your b0ok, not vague feel-goods.
This book is an excellent how-to for turning your I-Wrote-A-Story into I-Wrote-A-Story-People-Want-To-Read.