Blog: From Nonfiction to Fiction - Page 2 of 6

What I got back from my developmental editor

Chad S. White on December 19, 2025

Six weeks after handing my debut novel off to a developmental editor, I’ve got feedback that will drive the next few rounds of edits. Here’s what I received:

35-page developmental review letter

This letter discusses my novel at a high level, delving into:

The writing and story’s strengths. For example, my story’s high-concept premise has a lot of potential; it has plot twists and reveals that will surprise the reader; and the worldbuilding is fantastic with solid depth.
The writing and story’s areas for improvement. For example, the story has pacing issues; the plot needs to be better framed around the overall premise; and blocking issues during the action scenes make it harder for the reader to visualize what’s happening.
The ideal audience for the book. Category: Commercial. Audience: Adult. Bracket: Teens + 20-somethings + Adults. Genre: Science Fiction. Subgenre: Near Future Dystopian.
The plot and structure. It dissects the story’s three major plotlines, pointing out opportunities to clarify, improve, and simplify.
Plot holes, of which there are only a few minor ones.
The premise. It compares the jacket copy I provided to the story itself.
The stakes. While the stakes I created are present and high, it recommends ways to emphasize those stakes.
The story’s beginning. I’ve rewritten and edited chapter 1 more than any other part of my novel … and I have more work to do there. It’s so hard to nail the opening, because there’s just so much to set up.
The main characters, including their goals, development, and hero moments—and how all of that ties into the overall story question.
The setting and descriptions, which are conveyed well with good details, except in chapter 1. (womp, womp)
The theme. While my subthemes are clear, my main theme is less so.

Nine articles, plus other recommended content

To help me better understand how to fix some of the issues in my novel, my developmental editor also gave me nine articles. Beyond that, they suggested watching a particular Star Trek episode and the show Pluto, each paying attention to particular elements. They also suggested reviewing two books on novel writing I’d previously read, and reading four additional books on craft.

In-line edits

These aren’t copyedits, but notes on specific spots where the narrative gets confusing, where more details are needed, character motivations need to be clarified, etc. I’m making my way through these now.

The opportunities highlighted in-text will join the list of 43 to-dos I compiled from the developmental review letter. Most require edits in particular moments in the story, but a few are global edits that will require their own rounds of read-throughs. Nearly all of the feedback is addressable, but a few items would seriously impact the plots of books 2 and 3 in the trilogy. When I sit down with my developmental editor in a month or two for a consultation, our conversation will focus on those trickier items and how to find the least disruptive fixes.

Overall, I’m thrilled, as there’s nothing terminal in the feedback.

Book manuscript format guidelines

To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication…

Subscribe on Substack →

Why I use my middle initial: Meet my googlegangers

Chad S. White on December 12, 2025

When I got married 19 years ago, there were 15 other Chad Whites on the Bed Bath & Beyond wedding registry. Soon after, I started running into some of those Chads … on Google.

If you google “Chad White” you’ll see that I’m up against some pretty popular Chad Whites. Those sharing page 1 of the Google search result with me include:

Chad White, an adult film star with 67K followers on Instagram
Chad White, an underwear model and actor with 183K followers on Instagram
Chad White, a chef who competed on Top Chef and has 7.8K followers on Facebook

The other Chad Whites that appear on page 1 of Google search results with me

I’ve consistently ranked behind those first two for as long as I can remember. And considering the NSFW nature of their content, I saw it as … problematic for my personal branding. (No offense, other Chads. Live and let live.)

Rebranding as ‘Chad S. White’

I got the idea to add my middle initial to my name from New York Times bestselling author Jay Baer, who was Jason Baer when I first met him around 15 years ago. At the time, there were at least two other better-known Jasons in the digital marketing and customer experience industry. However, there were no well-known Jays. So, he took on the nickname to separate his personal brand from the other Jasons.

I made the shift to Chad S. White with my third book. It took some effort to get Amazon and others to merge my previous books and “Chad White” author bios with “Chad S. White,” but it wasn’t too painful.

Now, my authorship is not only clear on Amazon, but Google results for “Chad S. White” only show information about me, including an Overview, links to my LinkedIn and X accounts, headshots, a YouTube clip, and more.

Searching 'Chad White' versus searching 'Chad S. White'

ChatGPT is also crystal clear about who I am when my middle initial is used. Amusingly, it included this note at the end of its answer when I asked it what it knew about me:

“If you meant a different Chad White (e.g., the chef from Top Chef or another public figure with the same name), let me know — there are several other notable individuals with that name.”

Is your personal brand tangled up with others?

Who are your googlegangers? Are they in the same industry as you or in related industries that may cause confusion? Are they involved in industries or activities you’d rather not be associated with? Do they hold views you’d rather not be associated with?

If you have concerns, consider taking greater ownership of your personal brand by rebranding. Who would you be competing with in Google results if you …

Added your middle initial to your name?
Added your middle name?
Went by your middle name instead of your first name?
Went by a nickname instead of your first name?
Went by your first and middle initials?

If you’re fortunate enough to have a unique name, or even just an uncommon last name, be thankful.

To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication…

Subscribe on Substack →

Using unconventional formats, in small amounts

Chad S. White on December 6, 2025

Unconventional formats are story structures that eschew the typical narrative flow of traditional formats, such as the three-act play, the Hero’s Journey, or Save the Cat. They are often less concerned with chronological time flow. And they can allow for modes of communications that are much more casual or much more formal, which can be more revealing or less revealing, depending on the device used.

Unconventional formats include vehicles such as:

Letters, postcards, emails, and DMs (epistolary novels)
Diary entries
Obituaries
Blog posts
Social media posts and forum threads
AI prompts and outputs
Outlines
Transcripts and scripts
Legal forms
Police reports, disciplinary reports, case reports, and progress reports
Recipes
Instruction manuals
Lists

How I use these in my sci-fi trilogy

While entire stories can be written in these unconventional formats, I’ve enjoyed weaving them into my sci-fi trilogy (Project T.A.G.) to change up the storytelling mode. For instance, in book 1, a messenger delivers a letter that a character reads, reacting to every few sentences. Later, the MMC writes a letter home, commenting to himself as he goes about all the details he’s not including.

In book 2, the MFC struggles to write a letter to her father, saying too much and then editing it down to its simplest, irrefutable core. That rewriting process shows readers details and feelings that would have otherwise stayed hidden had only the final letter been included.

In book 3, one of the antagonists edits video content, including using strikethroughs to indicate word changes in the script. And later, to show the passage of time, one of the government leaders reads monthly tournament ranking reports—which is what I’m working on right now.

To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication…

Subscribe on Substack →

Meet the author

Chad S. White on November 24, 2025

Wordle player

I hit 1,000 Wordle games played just this past week. My starter word used to be “stare,” which gave me my only “Wordle in 1” badge. However, after losing to several –er words, I changed my starter word to “taser.”

My Wordle stats when I hit 1,000 games played last week

Broadway in Boston season ticket holder

My wife Kate and I met and fell in love in New York City and frequently went to Broadway shows. For nearly our entire time in Boston, we’ve been season ticket holders of Broadway in Boston. Some of my all-time favorite shows: The Producers, Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, Hamilton, Fun Home, and Six.

Fan of IKEA bookcases

We have more than a dozen Kallax bookcases around our house. And those are Markor bookcases behind me in all my book review videos.

Visited Berlin

In January, I visited Berlin for several days with my eldest son Ben. We went to the Stasi Museum, Berlin TV Tower, Berlin Cathedral, The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, and more. I was most struck by how Germans didn’t try to hide their dark history. They want it out in the open so no one forgets.

Below are pictures of sections of the Berlin Wall.

Related posts:

About the author (Aug. 17, 2025)

Join me on my writer’s journey from nonfiction to fiction

To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication…

Subscribe on Substack →

Query response rates and times: QueryManager and QueryTracker vs. email submissions

Chad S. White on November 22, 2025

I’ve kept detailed records of all 30 of my query submissions to date in a spreadsheet and I’ve found the query response rate varies wildly based on whether the submission was made via QueryManager or QueryTracker or via email. However, the difference in query response times is much more muted.

Query response rates

Of the 14 queries I submitted via QueryManager and QueryTracker, I’ve heard back from 100% of them. Of the 16 queries I submitted via email, I’ve heard back from only 38% of them.

In the defense of email submissions, the vast majority of the agents said they didn’t always respond with rejections and to assume that no response means they’re not interested. Given the low response rate, I appreciate that so many of them set that expectation.

That said, most of the rejections I got via QueryManager and QueryTracker were generic rejections, which begs the question: If literary agents using those platforms can copy and paste a generic rejection into the system, why can’t agents using email do the same and close the loop on the submission?

I assume it’s because emailed rejections probably invite more follow-up emails, but perhaps the responses could include a line that discourages replies. I don’t know if that would help, but I do know as an author that it’s really nice to have a definitive answer and not wonder if your email was overlooked or <gasp> routed to junk.

Query response times

Regardless of the submission method, response times averaged 49 days. For submissions via QueryManager and QueryTracker, I heard back in 54 days, on average. For submissions via email, it was 44 days.

However, the spread was huge. I got three responses in less than a day—with all of those submitted via email. One of those speedy responses was a request for the full manuscript, which felt awesome, despite it leading to a “great writing but not for me in the end” rejection.

At the other end of the spectrum, I got 5 responses after more than 100 days. None took more than 6 months to respond—which I’d heard was not completely out of the question. Even with these late-comers, I was grateful to have responses.

Query feedback

While authors like Jennifer Fawcett say, “Rejection can be a goldmine of feedback,” my experience so far as been in line with that of editor and ghostwriter Jacqueline Salmon. She says, “Gone are the days of polite rejection letters—typed, mailed, and sometimes even offering helpful feedback or suggestions for improvement.”

As expected, the form rejections didn’t include any useful feedback. However, there also wasn’t any in the positive-tilting rejections like the “great writing” one and another saying, “This project is too similar to one already on my list.”

Of course, 30 rejections is feedback in and of itself. Some introspection led me to:

Rework the first 50 pages to accelerate the introduction of characters and conflict
Identify and correct weaknesses in my query letter
Decide to work with a developmental editor

Once I’ve finished edits from them, I’ll do another round of outreach with a stronger manuscript and query letter, and hope for better traction.

The spreadsheet I use to track my query letter submissions

To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication…

Subscribe on Substack →

Book review: ‘The Fantasy Fiction Formula’ by Deborah Chester

Chad S. White on November 16, 2025

I read The Fantasy Fiction Formula on the recommendation of my developmental editor and found it to be highly helpful. It covers all the fundamentals of novel writing, from formulating a story plan to crafting a story climax, but also gives you a lot of tools to understand those elements better.

For instance, it includes a lot of charts and lists, including ones for different types of opening hooks and different story roles. One of my favorite frameworks is SPOOC, which shows you how the Situation, Protagonist, Objective, Opponent, and Climax all work together. Having a clear SPOOC gives you a massive headstart on writing your query letter and jacket copy. The book also includes plenty of drill exercises.

I give it 5 stars, 20 dog ears, and 5 Post-its.

For my dystopian sci-fi trilogy, two concepts from The Fantasy Fiction Formula were particularly helpful.

The moral dilemma

Chester says that “a well-written third act requires the protagonist to be cornered and forced to deal with some kind of inner dilemma. … Whatever the inner dilemma happens to be, passing this part of the final test requires the protagonist to reveal their true nature and face the internal problem squarely.”

Moral dilemmas feature prominently in the climaxes of each book in my dystopian sci-fi trilogy. But after reading Chester’s advice, I tweaked the climax of Book 3 to make the dilemma even more stark and the resulting cost even higher. [evil laugh]

The hidden story

Novels often contain as many as three story lines, says Chester.

The ongoing story
The back story
The hidden story

This was my first time encountering this concept, which I found fascinating. Chester explains that the hidden story is “running parallel to the ongoing story, although most of the time it’s not on view. Readers are unaware of it, but writers have to know what’s happening off-stage to their nonviewpoint characters.”

Fundamentally, that makes perfect sense. Of course, things are happening that you aren’t showing. What I found really interesting was that I was routinely revealing the hidden story, particularly with my antagonists.

In other craft books, I’d read about writers cheating their way to big twists and surprise reveals by artificially withholding information. Instead of being impactful, these can make readers feel cheated. Moreover, they’ve robbed themselves of the opportunity to create suspense by revealing breadcrumbs of the struggles to come.

In my trilogy, I make the hidden story visible to create dramatic irony, which is when the reader knows more than the characters do. Then readers have to experience the tension of wondering if the heroes will avoid the coming danger (Nope!) and then painfully watch as danger blindsides our unsuspecting heroes.

That said, turnabout is fair play. And sometimes the antagonists are unaware of what our heroes have been up to and don’t account for that in their plans. [evil laugh]

Book review: ‘Story’ by Robert McKee

To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication…

Subscribe on Substack →

What’s in my 683 pages of book notes

Chad S. White on November 15, 2025

In addition to my book files, I have a separate book notes file for Project: T.A.G., my dystopian sci-fi trilogy. That file is currently 683 pages, and includes over 100,000 words of copy I’ve cut or substantially rewritten, but wanted to save. The remaining 50,000 words are focused on two very different aspects of the project:

Continuity & story details

Information about each of the two superpowers, the Union of Nations and the Global Assembly, including the national anthems I wrote for them
Cast list, including details on appearance, backgrounds, motivations, mannerisms, speech patterns, etc.
A timeline that goes from 2048 to 2116, even though the action in each book takes place over a year or less, academy-style, between 2104 and 2106 over the course of the three books in the series
Locations around the world where scenes take place
A list of all weapons, equipment, and technologies used by characters
Themes for each book
A list of mirror scenes and echoes
The playlist for each book

Publication & marketing plans

Comparable books
Back cover copy and flap copy (book description, bio, etc.)
Potential blurb contributors
Notes on book cover concepts
Website updates to make, including creating an electronic press kit
Pre-publication launch marketing plan
Post-publication marketing plan

Along with my book notes, I have a separate spreadsheet to track my querying efforts. I also have a separate doc to plan my blog and social media content that has a running list of topics and draft posts for this trilogy and the next four novels I have planned.

To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication…

Subscribe on Substack →

Why have I read so many books on novel writing?

While I’ve written five nonfiction books and nearly 4,000 articles and posts, I knew I didn’t know nearly enough about novel writing. I’d taken a couple of courses on it in college, but that was long ago and those were workshops rather than instructional. What I needed was a masterclass in novel writing, so I set out to create one for myself.

I started off with Hooked by Les Edgerton and How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card, both of which my eldest son gave as birthday presents. Then I bought a few more books on craft I found at Barnes & Noble. And then I started buying the craft books mentioned in the craft books I was reading, plus ones mentioned in articles I’d read.

Admittedly, some advice is repeated by multiple authors, but I’ve found that just reinforces what the fundamentals are. At the same time, truly unique advice and frameworks have stood out, especially once I got a dozen books in.

Both kinds of advice were helpful, since I was writing and revising my novels as I read these books on novel writing. As I read, I reflect on what I’ve written in previous chapters and whether it needs tweaking. Or I can adjust my outline for future chapters, which happened after I read The Fantasy Fiction Formula—which I highly recommend.

I’ve since read two more craft books, and I have six more in the TBR pile on my desk. Every one I read makes me a little better writer.

Some of the books on novel writing I’ve read

To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication…

Subscribe on Substack →

The Age of De-Skilling: Who do you want to be?

Chad S. White on November 7, 2025

From the gramophone to compass to the computer, advancements in technology routinely cause people to abandon skills, says The Atlantic’s Kwame Anthony Appiah in The Age of De-Skilling (link to gift article).

“It’s a reassuring pattern—something let go, something else acquired,” he says. “But some gains come with deeper costs. They unsettle not only what people can do but also who they feel themselves to be.”

Of course, AI is the next big advancement that’s causing the current cycle of de-skilling. The question is: What skills will people be giving up? And how will that impact their identity?

In these cycles, people have several paths available to them:

1. The cyborg

They can use the technology collaboratively, keeping their skills while gaining speed, precision, or other benefits from the technology.

2. The monitor

They watch over the technology as it does their former job, stepping in to assist when the technology falters. In this role, the person invariably loses skill and their former identity.

It’s around these two choices that most of the conversation about AI has revolved. Will you be the “human in the loop” that stays actively engaged in your craft? Or will you be the “human on the loop” that merely oversees and signs off on the work the technology does?

But I think there are two other options.

3. The innovator

Freed from some aspects of their profession or task, they specialize in one or more of the remaining aspects. In the age of AI, this means focusing on very niche subject areas where there’s relatively little domain knowledge—or, more commonly, being on the forefront of new discoveries. The innovator doesn’t compete with the new technology. Instead, they expand knowledge or pioneer new methods, which over time improve the new technology or fuel the next technology innovation.

4. The artisan

Some people will continue doing things the old way. They will maintain their skills and identity, but compete directly with the new technology. In some cases, a critical mass of consumers will appreciate this human- or hand-crafted product or service, making it a viable choice. In other cases, there won’t be a viable market.

I recognize that not every person in every instance will have full discretion over which of these paths they take as AI spreads across industries. However, in my day job, I’m going to lean into being a cyborg and specialist, as that makes me the most valuable as a digital marketer. And in my night job as a novelist, I’m going to lean into being an artisan, as that best aligns with my values as a novelist.

The final paragraph of *The Age of De-Skilling* by Kwame Anthony Appiah in *The Atlantic*

Related posts:

Where to draw the line with genAI

Confession: I love em-dashes

To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication…

Subscribe on Substack →

Query response: ‘This project is too similar to one already on my list’

Chad S. White on November 1, 2025

When I first read this query response from one of the agents I reached out to, I was bummed. They already have a novel that’s similar to mine, I thought.

Then I became concerned. Oh no, they have a novel that’s similar to mine. I need to make sure mine is published first. I thought about how I might accelerate my timeline—which essentially meant abandoning querying and self-publishing.

Is being first really better?

But then I realized that publishing isn’t about being first. If anything, it’s about NOT being first. That’s why literary agents want to see successful comps—and ideally very recent comps—and most ideally lots of recent comps. They want as many reassurances as possible that they’re not going out on a limb.

There’s safety in numbers, which is to say that’s what creates established audiences. The more successful books there are that are similar to yours the better, because people seek out books that are similar to ones they’ve already read and enjoyed.

So, I’m taking a deep breath and sticking with my original plan and query more agents after I’m done working with my developmental editor. And if this other book beats mine to market, that’s all the better.

In the meantime, the fact that a major literary agent has signed a book that’s similar to mine is a form of validation. It means there’s a higher chance another agent will see the value of my novel. It’s far from a guarantee, but it’s a positive sign. At least that’s how I’ve chosen to see it.

A query response from one of the literary agents I approached about my dystopian sci-fi novel

To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication, subscribe on Substack →