Editing Without an Editor Webinar
October-November 2014Dates: Evenings, October 30, November 6, 13, and 20. "Bonus track" discussion session: December 11
Workshop fee: $125; $99 for SCBWI members
Limited to 100 live participants
Do you have a manuscript--picture book, novel, or nonfiction--that needs work? Do you wish you could learn techniques that would help you revise not only this manuscript, but future ones?
Children's book writers keep hearing today that it's essential to submit only their best and most polished work to busy editors and agents. More and more, writers are turning to independent editors and writing coaches to help them do that. We do that kind of work ourselves, but we want you to know that many times, you can do that work yourself, and never need editorial help, or only at the very end of the process.
That's why we first created the "Editing without an Editor" one-day workshop, which we also have given as a condensed 3-hour intensive and built out into the framework of our 4- or 5-day Revision Retreat at the Highlights Foundation. Whenever we've announced one of these events, people have asked for us to Skype it or create an online version. Here it is! Just like the workshop, this webinar will teach you the basics of editing yourself, on your own or with the help of others, and give you the confidence and knowledge you need to continue to learn and use self-editing methods.
In the first session, to give you a framework, we compare "reader response" theory and the literary criticism approach, and explore how to use reader response with manuscripts. In the second session, we move to getting feedback from other people, using critique groups and beta readers, and discuss methods for making critique groups work better. In the third session we cover and try out "big-picture" revision techniques to use to find and fix problems in plot, characterization, or pacing. In the fourth session, we move on to "tight focus," detailed editing, working on your own or with a partner as you put the final polish on a manuscript.
This particular webinar format shows "slides" and a live video of the presenter. You can join in via a text chat box. There will be plenty of handouts, we will give "homework," and we plan to involve participants as much as possible in the sessions.
Watch our "Editing without an Editor" video sampler to get a sense of how it will look on your computer, and examples of some of the things that we will cover. In a special "Bonus Track" session to be held after Thanksgiving, we will gather to answer questions, share some of the work that participants did, and give practical examples of some techniques in use.
More details and to register: The webinar is hosted by Delve, who are experienced in hosting webinars on writing topics, and have worked with groups like the SCBWI. At the linked page, you can find out more, and register and pay.Special critique offer: Available only to workshop participants, we are offering three different critique options at much less than our usual rates. The linked page provides information about all three options and instructions for how to get them.
Who is the webinar for?: We wrote this page to address a question we've had from several people: who should take the webinar? Is it for beginners? People with a manuscript to revise now?
Frequently asked questions: If you have other questions, you may find them answered on this page.
Who the webinar is for: If you are a writer with a completed manuscript in need of revision and/or a fresh approach, you will learn from this webinar. You will also learn techniques for future use, but you'll be more involved if you have a story you have been working on for some time, perhaps one that has been through your critique group, perhaps one that got some feedback in a conference critique. What matters is that you know it still needs significant work, even though you may not yet know what that is. Our "homework" will help with that manuscript, and you'll also leave the webinar with greater knowledge of revisions techniques, of how to use them, and of where to go to find more.
Harold Underdown and Eileen Robinson teamed up in 2008 to bring something different to aspiring authors. And since then they have created online classes and tutorials and in-person workshops, presenting and working with writers at SCBWI conferences, recent workshops in western Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh, and a 4-day retreat at Highlights. More information on our backgrounds.