Diane Vallere | Updates

Edit: Phase 2

Diane Vallere — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I left off Phase 1 just as our developmental edit lands in our inbox. We’ve already cycled through the anticipation, the dread, the acceptance, all of which has come from our own minds. Now it’s real. Now it’s an email with attachments. Now it’s time to face the music.

We left off with “how bad can it be?” which, let’s be honest, is our brain’s way of buffering our nervous creative self with the worst-case scenario so we can (hopefully) be pleasantly surprised. This is a good time to remind ourselves that we paid for this edit because we want to make our books the best they can be. We invested in our project. We will not ignore the feedback given, because if we do that means we threw money away and I don’t know about you, but that’s not in my nature!

Phase two of an edit for me goes something like this:

Okay, that makes sense
Ooh! She liked that sentence!
Huh. I thought I fixed my timeline issue
Oooh, that’s a good suggestion
Another timeline issue?
I swear that sofa was blue in the last scene!
Someone read my book!

Developmental edits are the shiniest of new objects in a writer’s toolbox. I want to immediately fix everything RIGHT. AWAY. But the twenty-four hours after getting an edit back are the most sensitive. I’ve found it’s best to read through all the comments first, then walking away before making a single change to avoid a) getting defensive b) making quickie, rash edits c) ignoring good feedback d) understanding the mountain of work that comes after finishing and revising and polishing a draft.

Give Phase 2 the space it requires. Let the feedback simmer in the back of your mind. Absorb the comments, good and bad, and recognize how lucky you are to have a roadmap forward. But don’t put off your revisions indefinitely. Phase 3 is when the magic happens.

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Edit: Phase 1

Diane Vallere — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Last year, I booked an editor to do a full developmental edit on my first historical mystery. As I sit typing this, I know the edit will come back to me soon. I’m equal parts antsy and nervous. My response to edits is multipronged and goes something like this:

Ooh! Someone read my book! What did they think? Tellmetellmetellme!
What if they didn’t like it?
What if they hated it?
I hope they liked something about it
What if they have nothing constructive to tell me?
Maybe I should open the email tomorrow.
(5 minutes later): How bad can it be?

The most important reason I’ve found for paid edits is if you spend your own money, you’ll listen to what your editor says.

It’s been a few years since I had a full developmental edit on a book. I’ve been writing new books in ongoing series with characters I know very well, and I’ve relied on beta reads before moving into the copy edit and proofread phases. Every one of my first-in-series books has benefited from a developmental edit (also called a content edit), and because this is my first book in a new genre, it’s worth the investment.

Arranging an edit and mentally processing an edit are two different things. Three, really, that shake out like this:

Phase 1: (Before Edit/Anticipation)
Phase 2(a): Reaction (1st 24 hours after reading feedback)
Phase 2(b): Reaction Once the Sting of Feedback Has Worn Off

Right now, I’m in Part 1. The edit will arrive in my inbox soon. This is the first feedback I will get on a project I love. Feedback from a skilled editor will shine a light on plot holes and opportunities, it will reinforce what worked and nudge me to revise what didn’t. I know this. I know all of this.

And more than anything else, I know that receiving this edit is a step forward in the journey of this book and any time we get to take a step forward, I say, ready, steady, GO!

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Best Reads of 2025

Diane Vallere — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It was a good year for reading. I found new authors, enjoyed new books by favorite authors, and lucked into some books that have been around for a while that somehow missed me. This list is massively swayed by my own personal interests, but I recommend them all.

Let's start with my favorite book of the year!

THE VERIFIERS by Jane Pek

This was a breezy jolt of fun. It's cozy yet modern. The main character is likable and smart, she asks the right questions and pulls at the right threads.

Happy reading!

Diane

p.s. This blog post was brought to you by MURDER ITALIAN STYLE and CONTESTING THE WOOL, my two 2025 releases :)

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Book Recommendations: Mid-Century Women (non-fict)

Diane Vallere — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I have an ongoing interest with the lives of women during the mid-century years. What work they found, the challenges they faced, their victories and their battles.

If you enjoy non-fiction 20th century history with a focus on women, here are five stand-out non-fiction reads you won't want to miss. (All links go to Goodreads).

The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush

If you know me, then you know I like astronauts and the space race. Add in my interest in non-fiction about women in mid-century America, and you can see why I picked up this book!

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Tweak, tweak, tweak

Diane Vallere — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A few years ago, I discovered that I have a tendency to reuse certain phrases, so I made a graphic for that stage when I think the book is done but it hasn't yet gone off to an editor. It's helped to turn this into a game of sorts: do a search for the word or phrase, see how many times I've used it, and then knock it down as far as I can. I can get "really" from over fifty to under three. I'm allowed one "turns out," "all things considered," and "despite the fact" per manuscript.

I remember hearing an author say when she finished her draft she went through it systematically removing every instance of "was" that she could find. Tedious, but probably effective! That's next on my list.

This is a spinoff from one of my existing series and I'm excited to share it with the world, but baby steps :)

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Hooking: A Writer's Guide to Selling Yourself

Diane Vallere — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

*I first wrote this over a decade ago, and aside from a questionably provocative title, the advice still stands.

It’s the day –that day—that you agreed to step in front of your reading public to promote your book. Maybe it’s a book fair. Maybe it’s a signing. Maybe it’s a table by the checkout line at the grocery store. Whatever/wherever it is, one thing is for sure. Where you’re going is like another dimension to the writer, it’s the polar opposite of sitting in a chair not speaking, hammering out words on a keyboard, occasionally using words that, if your mother was around, would get your mouth washed out with soap.

You want to sell your book, and by selling your book, you are selling yourself. Only, your skirt isn’t short enough, you don’t feel good in fishnet stockings, and God bless the bookstore people, but they chose not to set your table up in a red-light district. With so many things stacked against you, what are you going to do?

I used to work for a luxury-goods retailer. We like to say that we don’t carry anything anybody needs. Our business was built on wants and desires. As much as I need people to shop so I could pay my rent, I never approach customers by saying, “Please buy something so I don’t have to live in a cardboard box.”

Think about your book in the same terms. Nobody needs it, but you want people to want it. Based on years of interacting with customers, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. Here are basic tips that you can use when selling your book to the public:

1. LOOK BUSY. Often comical but always true: customers approach busy sales staff instead of those idling by the register. When you aggressively approach a customer, she/he instinctively becomes defensive and closed off. How often have you heard the words, “May I help you” and how often have you automatically responded, “No thanks, just looking”?

Customers want to make their own decisions, but they occasionally want help. They do not want to feel like something is being pushed on them. If you appear unapproachable (or desperate) a customer will bypass you to find someone who appears busy and not so obviously needy.

2. DON’T WASTE PEOPLE’S TIME. Be efficient, be aware. If someone wants to chat you up while other customers are in line with cash in hand, politely ask them to step to the side so you can attend to everyone.

I’ve been on the customer side of this one, and after fifteen minutes of waiting behind one person, I set down the book I had planned to buy and walked away. The author was aware of my presence but appeared not to care about my time. I could have interrupted her conversation to pay but was more interested in seeing how she handled the situation. I don’t know if she was as interested in how I handled it--by putting my cash back in my wallet and leaving.

3. CAREFULLY CONSIDER FREEBIES. People will take stuff that is free. Don’t overextend your budget, and don’t offer the equivalent of a glass bowl of peanuts in a strip club. Somebody else’s hand has been in that bowl. Let’s keep it clean, folks!

Yes: if it relates to the book you’re promoting.

Yes: if it is small and portable.

Yes: if it is a minimal investment.

Yes: if it is individually wrapped.

Suggestions: ½ cans of soda or aqua pods, sourballs (consider a sugar-free version, too), M&Ms, bookmarks. For alcohol, be sure to check with your venue first.

4. GET OFF YOUR PHONE. This is an important event for you, for your career. These next few hours should trump whatever else exists in your life and should be treated with the same care you’d treat your writing time. Still, we all have personal emergencies. If Uncle Fred is in the hospital and you’re expecting an update to his condition, let the people helping out with the event know. Arrange a place you can check your phone periodically so you don’t look preoccupied to the people who showed up. Besides, Uncle Fred will be fine. He’s not the first person to put his hand down a garbage disposal and he won’t be the last.

5. HAVE A RAFFLE. This one small idea can trigger a three-pronged result:

👉🏻Acquire email addresses for future customers. It stands to reason that you will interact with people who don’t buy your book the day of your event. Getting their name and address for the future will let you keep in touch via a newsletter, thus keeping your name and product relevant.

👉🏻It gives you another reason to talk to people and a way to look busy. If the golden rule of the day is to avoid the words “Please Buy My Book”, then this should become your default phrase: “Would you like to enter a raffle?”

👉🏻The right raffle prize is an additional way for you to define your book through a visual medium. Example: For DESIGNER DIRTY LAUNDRY, my fashion-themed mystery, I could raffle off any number of fashion items or a collection of more than one, limited only by my imagination and what I am willing to spend. Having a visual presentation by my table will draw people interested in this sort of thing to me and allow me to say, “My mystery is set in the retail fashion industry.” I may not get as many names and emails as if I was raffling off a $25 AMEX gift card, but the people who will enter to win this kind of giveaway already have an affinity for my subject. They are my target customers.

6. GIVE AWAY WHATEVER YOU’RE ALLOWED TO GIVE AWAY. Find out if the store validates parking, offers free gift wrap, or has a monthly calendar of events. Offer these freebies to customers before you’re asked. You’ll be supporting the store and you’ll have something to say other than “Please buy my book.”

Nobody said hawking your book was going to be easy, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. You’re building your community here. You’re paving the way for your next event, and the event after that. You’re making friends in the industry, finding readers for your books, and building a reputation. And when it’s all over, be sure to remember the all-important last step: THANK EVERYONE. Thank your customers. Thank the bookstore staff. Thank the raffle enterers. Thank the woman who took a handful of sourballs and the man who asked if the store had a restroom. Thank Uncle Fred for not interrupting your event. And thank yourself. You’re the one who made it all happen when you decided to become a writer.

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If you're looking for more tips for writers, check out PROMOPHOBIA: Taking the Mystery out of Promoting Crime Fiction. It won the Agatha Award!

#tipsforwriters #promophobia

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Football is back!

Diane Vallere — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This originally appeared in the Weekly DiVa, a weekly email that goes out to members of my readers club. If you'd like to receive it every Sunday morning, you can sign up here.

Football season is back. I enjoy football more now than I ever did in the past, and some of that is because I get inspired by the game, the players, and the mindset of athletes in general. I don't get too down when my team loses, especially early in the season, because those losses are like guide rails that indicate whether what they're doing is working or if they have to change course/tactics. Would that we all had signs like that.

I suppose we do, though. We do things, every day, we either try new things or we keep on going through our routine the way we always have, and sometimes things go our way and sometimes the don't. But if you think of all of it as feedback, then you start to see how much control you have, how many choices have led you to where you are right now, and how a different choice, a different investment, a different approach to something you want, can have a massive impact. You start to see that a lot of what we have is what we believe we get to have, and some of the work is just that--believing we get to have/be/do what we want.

Yeah, there are going to be setbacks. There are going to be things that don't turn out the way we want. But that's not the end of the line. It's just a checkpoint to see how badly we want what we said we want, how willing we are to find a different way to get to our end zone.

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