One of the many fantastic workshops I attended at this year's NJSCBWI conference was THE EDITING PROCESS-FOR REAL! with Katie Bignell, Senior Editor, at Scholastic. The session was a gem. Katie showed us the original manuscript of HOW TO BEHAVE AT A DOG SHOW written by Madeline Rosenberg and Illustrated by Heather Ross and took us though the entire editing process, line by line. We then looked at finished samples of the book. The transformation was truly remarkable. 
In her discussion, Katie noted that writing picture books requires good problem solving skills. We must find a way to:
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       Keep the word count low
       Show action on each spread
       Leave room for the illustrator
       Keep the reader engaged
       Include fun words and phrases 
       Increase stakes
       Build an emotional arc
       Build a story arc
       Add complications that lead to a strong climax, and
       End with a fun twist!

This list can be daunting, especially when you have to accomplish all of this in less than 500 words. But the reward will be worth it.

The Takeaway: If you need encouragement, look at a finished picture book that you love and remember, that author had to edit too!
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Please welcome our guest blogger, Ariel Bernstein, a debut picture book author whom we met in person for the first time at NJSCBWI.
 
I attended the 2016 NJSCBWI Conference this past weekend. I was excited about almost everything – seeing friends, the presentations, the food. Okay, maybe not the food. The one thing I was nervous about was a critique I’d signed up for from an editor. I had been feeling pretty good about the picture book I submitted. While I told myself I wanted the editor’s honest opinion about ways to make it better, I also worried about what she’d say.

​When I entered the critique room, the editor smiled and offered her hand. Then she showed me her critique notes. A very, very short paragraph discussed ways in which the story worked. Did I mention it was short? The rest of the three-page document detailed all the ways she felt my story needed improvement.
 
During the 15 minutes we talked, there were a few suggestions I immediately agreed with. But for everything else, I listened in a daze. Maybe she just didn’t “get it.” This is a subjective business, after all. And my wonderfully honest critique partners all loved it. They tell me when they don’t love something (in a nice way).
 
I left the conference feeling unsettled. I respected this editor and the books she worked on. But how could I be so wrong about my story?
 
The next day I found the books she recommended I use for mentor texts. As I read them, I had my story in the back of my mind. I started to think of ways to change it, and realized I was starting to understand how to write the big overhaul she suggested.
 
I went home and rewrote my story. I must have kept only 30-40% of the original. It still needs revising, but I really liked the direction the story taking. I showed my draft to a critique partner. Her response? The previous version was good. Really good. But this version was SO MUCH BETTER.
 
The editor hadn’t been telling me that most of my story was awful (or maybe she was), but she was definitely telling me that the story wasn’t good enough. It could be better. And she was right. You don’t always have to agree with everything in a critique from an editor, agent, or fellow writer, but being open to criticism and suggestions is only going to benefit your writing.
 
I’m so glad I signed up for that critique.

Donna & Chana will both be at #NJSCBWI June 3-5! Please say hello! And follow our tweets @kidlittakeaways @chanastiefel @DonnaCangelosi2 Our message to our author-illustrator friends this weekend: Be bold! Be brave! Be determined!