September 7, 2009

“Your manuscript doesn’t meet our current needs.” Anyone who receives this nondescript rejection assumes that her manuscript needs revising, but what’s wrong with it? What’s missing?

We often tell new authors that “writing is rewriting.” However, the actual process of revising is difficult to explain. It includes so much on so many levels! There are basics of character and plot and conflict. On deeper levels, appropriate language must convey theme and motivation. It all must engage the reader.

But HOW?

How do published authors take an “okay” manuscript and turn it into something that grabs an editor? And after that, how do they work with editors to incorporate yet more changes? Look no further for your answers than Sandy Asher’s new book, Writing It Right!: How Successful Children’s Authors Revise and Sell Their Stories. It’s a gold mine.

Whether you’re writing picture books or middle grade or young adult novels, Writing It Right! (400 pages!) will show you how to pinpoint your weak areas–and how to fix them. Sandy uses nine essential questions to guide you through the process. Each question is critical to creating a solid manuscript. It’s a terrific checklist–one I intend to use myself on a couple of MG novels I’m currently working on.

Nuts and Bolts Exposed

In the book, each story (full picture book or a chapter from a longer work) is analyzed in several ways. You’ll see before and after versions. The before version highlights areas that need work. The after version shows the changes.

In another section, you will see the actual line edits that brought about the changes.  This includes the type of detailed comments an editor at a publishing house might make after accepting your manuscript. (Yes! Usually there are more revisions after acceptance.) You will also see several versions as the author works through the problems and issues, ending with the version that was published.

Personally Speaking…

I’ve known Sandy since the mid-80s. She was the first “real author” I met. At a young writer’s festival in Warrensburg, MO, she was my roommate. I was one petrified speaker, brand new at talking before groups of kids, and I barely slept the night before our first scheduled talks. I know I disturbed her sleep. (At least, I assumed she didn’t usually sleep with a pillow over her head.) I crowned my nervous performance by waking her up at 5 a.m. I accidentally knocked over the floor lamp between our beds and hit her. I was mortified, to say the least. Sandy looked up at me. Heart pounding, I said, “It’s morning.” She replied, “It certainly is.” She graciously took me under her wing that weekend, introduced me around, and became a dear friend. So I’m especially pleased to be able to recommend her book so highly.

Sandy knows her stuff. She’s had more than twenty books for children published, has edited five collections of fiction, and has published well over thirty plays. My girls read her books growing up, and I’ve seen a couple of her plays produced, and they’re excellent.

You can order Writing It Right! and examine it for 30 days without cost, and I’d really recommend that you check it out. It can bring your work up to a whole new (and publishable) level.

8 Comments »

1. 

   Thanks for this recommendation! Sounds like just what the book doctor ordered!

   Comment by Jane Heitman Healy — September 7, 2009 @ 8:46 pm

2. 

   Jane, it really does a great job of taking someone through the whole process so you can actually SEE the changes, but also WHY they were made. You’ll never feel again like you’re the only one who has to do a piece over and over!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — September 8, 2009 @ 10:43 am

3. 

   Hi Kristi,
   Funny you would write about this book today… I was just looking at the mini ad that came with my recent Children’s Writer Newsletter and wondered about ordering the book knowing the revision is an important part of the writing process… now I definitly will.
   Thanks for the great review…
   Ally

   Comment by Ally M — September 8, 2009 @ 12:25 pm

4. 

   You’re welcome, Ally. I think you’ll love the book. With that 30-day guarantee, you can’t go wrong! It gives you plenty of time to read the book and decide about it.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — September 8, 2009 @ 12:46 pm

5. 

   Awesome to see you so excited about this book, Kristi. I ordered mine a week or two ago and can’t wait to get it!

   Karin Larson
   http://www.karin-larson.blogspot.com

   Comment by Karin Larson — September 9, 2009 @ 7:27 am

6. 

   Kristi, This sounds a lot like the example Stacy Cantor showed in her speech that she gave at SCBWI – CS when she was on the faculty with you a couple of years ago. A very helpful, more concrete way to get the points across that writers usually only find described with no examples. I’ll have to check it out!

   Comment by Erin Edwards — September 13, 2009 @ 2:46 pm

7. 

   Erin, it’s really worth taking a look! I love these 30-day offers where you can examine a book at your leisure without having to buy it. I wish I’d had this book years and years ago.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — September 14, 2009 @ 9:46 am

8. 

   Kristi,

   I’d been debating on this book awhile since I’ve been in the ICL course. Now after reading your post about it, I’ve decided to try it out.

   With that 30 day trial, how can I not?

   I was wondering if it can also give tips and insights on plot. I’m much more a right-brained writer than left-brained.

   It takes awhile before I can think about things analytically as it doesn’t come natural to me.

   After working at my writing for the last five years now, I’ve learned much of my writing process the hard way.

   IF this book can make my revising/rewrite time even a fraction less
   Daunting/frustrating, it’s worth it.

   I especially love instructional books that finally explained the WHY along with showing you HOW to get where you want and need to go.

   Off to get my trial for this book!

   C.J.

   Comment by C.J. Rockwell — September 15, 2009 @ 4:30 am

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website