Last summer, I was a few chapters into a new revenge thriller and I couldn't get it to sit right. The early chapters were in the wrong order, and I couldn't tell whether my opening was doing its job.
The book is You'll Be Sorry. It comes out August 2 with Inkubator Books, and the audiobook is part of a two-book deal I signed with Simon Maverick. But before any of that, it was a stack of early chapters in the wrong order — and the thing that helped me untangle them was a novel writing course from Reedsy Learning.
Here's how it happened.
A reporter who fell for suspense
I've always loved writing. I spent my early career as a reporter, and since then I've written across a few genres — a memoir, a romcom — but for the past several years I've focused on suspense, because it's the genre I adore. However odd this may sound, I love that anxious feeling you get as a story unravels and you’re trying to predict the villain or figure out what might happen next.
It started young. Ransom by Lois Duncan was my first taste of a true page-turner. Then my mom handed me a copy of Mary Higgins Clark's Where Are the Children?, and I was hooked for life. I've never stopped chasing those feelings of unease, first as a reader and now as a writer.
The book: a birthday wish for revenge
You'll Be Sorry is a revenge-themed thriller told across multiple timelines. When the book opens, we meet Amelia Montgomery on the night before her fortieth birthday. Flipping through a magazine, she spots a photo of Ethan Blackmore — the man who broke her heart thirteen years earlier — and in that instant, she knows exactly what she wants for her birthday: revenge.
Amelia's voice came to me first. She's got an edge, and at times she speaks directly to the reader. But in the past timeline she's a much gentler soul, so I had a lot of fun going back and forth between two very distinct voices from the same woman at different points in her life. Holding both of those Amelias in one book was a joy to write — but it also made structure tricky, especially at the start.
Enter: Tom’s novel writing course
I'm always looking for new inspiration and ways to hone my craft, and I love a good writing workshop. So when I had the chance to take Tom Bromley's How To Write a Novel course through Reedsy Learning, I was thrilled. The idea of daily lessons in a dedicated online space sounded perfect. I looked forward to starting each morning with a cup of coffee and Tom's wise words.
I also had a specific problem I was hoping to work through. I'd been struggling with the order of my early chapters in You'll Be Sorry, and I couldn't tell whether the opening was doing its job. A live course with real editing felt like exactly the right place to find out.
Transforming my novel structure (and the way I write)
The daily lessons were so informative I looked forward to them each day. Even after studying English in college and taking countless classes over the years, Tom's lessons opened my eyes to concepts I hadn't considered — I watched his lesson on novel endings twice. He also shared excerpts from novels I've loved and others I've since added to my to-be-read list.
But two things in particular changed how I work.
The live edits. During one live editing session, Tom confirmed what I'd been afraid of: my chapter one wasn't doing the work it should. Hearing it out loud was exactly what I needed to stop waffling and make the changes. Watching him work through my peers' pages was just as valuable — practical, specific tips I could take straight back to my own manuscript.
Writing forward. Tom kept repeating a piece of advice that sounds simple and turned out to be transformative: get the first draft down, and don't edit your earlier work until you've finished. In the past, I spent far too long polishing the same sentences instead of moving the story forward. Looking back, I think it was procrastination. Tom’s advice transformed the way I draft: by resisting the urge to revisit early chapters, I can build much more momentum.
Not long after, I was fortunate to attend the Château d'Orquevaux Artists & Writers Residency in France. Following Tom's advice, I wrote about a third of the first draft of You'll Be Sorry while I was there.
Learning from other successful authors
Aside from the main course, I’ve also attended several other masterclasses included with my Reedsy Learning membership. These are separate events that feature high-profile guests from the publishing world, from authors to editors to literary agents.
One that particularly inspired me featured author Clare Leslie Hall. She shared how a former agent once advised her to shelve an early draft of Broken Country (a novel I highly recommend). But the story and its characters stayed with her, so she trusted her instincts, found a new agent who believed in her vision, and brought the book to life. Today, it's a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, as well as a Reese's Book Club pick.
It was an important reminder to believe in my work and surround myself with people who supported it (like Tom and the other course participants!) That lesson stayed with me long after our classes ended.
Where the book landed
The course helped me shape the version of my book that's now going out into the world. You'll Be Sorry is out August 2 with Inkubator Books. The audiobook comes to readers through Simon Maverick, who approached me about an audio partnership and offered a two-book deal covering my previous thriller, A Different Type of Poison, and now You'll Be Sorry. I was really fortunate to have the Simon team in my corner 一 they’re very nimble and quick to respond, which is so refreshing in an industry that’s known for taking its time.
What I'd tell another writer
This course can benefit you no matter where you are in your author journey. The lessons taught me new concepts and offered important reminders in equal measure. The live edits were fascinating — hearing samples of my peers' works-in-progress and watching Tom pinpoint what could be stronger taught me as much as the notes on my own pages. The live events with special guests made the whole experience even richer.
My biggest takeaway was the idea of writing forward. It helped me finish my draft much faster by keeping my attention on upcoming plot points instead of getting stuck searching for the perfect verb in chapter two. Your biggest lesson, however, may be something entirely different.
If you're on the fence about whether Reedsy Learning is worth it — even if you've been at this a while — I'd say the reminders alone are worth the seat. For me, they helped turn a stubborn stack of early chapters into a finished book I'm proud to send out.
Liz Alterman is a suspense author (with a stand-up comedy side quest) based in New Jersey. Find her latest thriller and her other novels at lizalterman.com.
