A Book (PLUS Book Giveaway) for Every Children’s Book Writer!

No matter where you are on your Writer’s Journey – still thinking about writing for children and thus refusing the Call to Adventure, half-way past the First Threshold and revising your story or in the throes of a Supreme Ordeal while readying your manuscript for submission, I’ve got the perfect guide book to keep you moving forward:  Cheryl Klein’s THE MAGIC WORDS (W.W. Norton, 2016).

As luck would have it, you can have it!  Simply enter our TeachingAuthors Book Giveaway at the end of this post.

For those new to writing for children, Cheryl Klein’s credits as executive editor at Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic Inc.  guarantee writers the kinds of insights, techniques, exercises and reflections that are essential when placing the right words in the right order – “the magic words,” she says, that allow our books to change lives.

And not just our readers’ lives, but our writers’ lives too.

Knowing how this editor of award-winning books views her life’s work and passion speaks volumes for all she shares in THE MAGIC WORDS.

“I think of my work as an editor as being a mechanic for stories:  I take books apart, examine their component pieces, and help my authors assemble them again as more elegant and polished machines. My writing for writers, from this point of view, is the instruction manual that comes with the cars — how I articulate the instincts and knowledge about fiction I’ve gained over fifteen-plus years of working with writers and their books.”

Chapter by chapter, Cheryl Klein mines her years of editorial experience to clearly and thoughtfully instruct and show writers how to use and develop their gifts to craft a strong (and personally meaningful) story concept told in an appropriate format for their intended audience – a story that builds bonds between readers and characters, that keeps those readers engaged and turning the pages, that speaks to them with truth and thus is worthy of publication.

Each chapter offers Exercises, well-known referenced titles and concrete examples from esteemed authors such as Lisa Yee and Trent Reedy, all to support the stated take-away – The Power of Plot, for example, Seven Ways to Look at a Scene, Fundamentals of Voice, or Twenty Revision Techniques. Informational Asides, Book Map instructions and Checklists for Character, Plot and First Pages add to the content.

Together, the chapters underscore the 5 qualities this editor deems essential to magic-making:  good prose, rich characters, strong plot construction, thematic depth and powerful emotion, for both the reader and the writer.

A Recommended Reading List is also included.

Readers close the book smarter about story, craft, genre and format possibilities, children’s book literature and publishing as well as smarter about themselves as writers.

My all-time favorite chapter?  Chapter 16 – Perspective and Polishing.  Readers are offered the first scene of a YA novel, followed by Cheryl Klein’s annotated notes, followed by author Morgan Kass’ revised draft, followed by Annotations Part II. Talk about Show, Don’t Tell!  This eye-opening chapter should be compulsory reading for every writer of fiction. 

Speaking of which, I’ve now added THE MAGIC WORDS to my Recommended Reading lists for my University of Chicago’s Writer’s Studio and Newberry Library Workshops.

Why not see for yourself?  Click HERE to read an excerpt from Chapter 2 – Experience and Emotion -  Cheryl posted August 28 pre-publication.

MARY POPPINS creator P.L. Travers wrote, “We are all looking for magic…But indeed we have to wave the wand for ourself.”

Thank you, Cheryl Klein, for helping us wave our wands.

Happy Magic-Making!

Esther Hershenhorn

. . . .

AND NOW FOR OUR BOOK GIVEAWAY!

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win a copy of Cheryl Klein’s THE MAGIC WORDS (W.W. Norton).  The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and ends September 26.

You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options.

If you choose option 2, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY'S blog post below or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page. If you haven't already "liked" our Facebook page, please do so today! 

(If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.)

Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.

Good Luck!

P.S. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here's info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

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