Writing It Right!

There are Nine Essential Questions that all writers must answer before any manuscript is finished and before it can win an editor's acceptance. They're not our questions. They're the same questions editors ask every day. So, why doesn't every writer use these questions? Is it possible that some writers may not know the Nine Essential Questions . . . or how to answer them? The authors in Writing It Right! respond to their editors critiques and show you every trick in the book to get their stories accepted and published . . . and give you permission to use these techniques in your writing and revising. You'll see how to turn a short poem into a picture book (by cutting all but two lines of the first draft) and completely shifting the point of view . . . You'll watch a first draft go through three versions as the title changes and the author's best-loved section is cut to answer an essential question . . . You'll be astounded as you watch the author shift from third person past tense to first person present tense, while changing the main character . . . and many more feats of editorial skill. It's a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-go-to-work writer's manual that's guaranteed to change your perception of revision forever.

Sandy Asher is the editor of five collections of fiction and the author of more than 20 books for young readers, among them the award-winning Too Many Frogs! and its companion book, What a Party! As Sandra Fenichel Asher, she's also published close to three dozen plays and has been honored with the American Alliance for Theatre and Education's Charlotte Chorpenning Award. She has taught creative writing and led writing workshops for Drury University, the Institute of Children's Literature, SCBWI, and the Highlights Foundation.