Read, Write, Repeat.

This fall, I was fortunate to sell my first picture book manuscript — Sophie’s Squash — to Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House Publishing. (Full, enthusiastic details of this event were shared here.)

And now, just a few months later, I’m doubly fortunate to say Schwartz & Wade has acquired another of my picture books, Sharing the Bread.

It’s awesome news. In fact, I’m still beaming.

But I’ve heard a lot of comments like this:

“It’s cool you sold your second book so quickly after your first. It must only have taken you a few weeks to write.”

Um … no.

I’m sure there are authors who dash off a manuscript in an afternoon, read through it the next day, smile, add a few commas, change a word or two and send it off to editors who greet it with shouts of delight and fight for the right to publish it.

But that’s not me.

So I thought I’d share the evolution — so far — of this 310-word story.

The initial idea.

Three years ago, I was in a meeting. It had nothing to do with food, families or cooking, but out of somewhere, these words popped into my head: “Mama be a cooking pot, cooking pot. Big and round and black and hot. Mama be a pot.”

That’s stupid. I thought. How could someone be a pot? (As you can tell, I’ve got a pretty critical internal editor.)

My internal editor wasn’t done lecturing me either. Writing a rhyming book is HARD. And you are not a rhymer. Remember that awful rhyming story about okra you spent months slaving over before you realized it was awful? Hmm? Well? Do you?

But I kind of liked the rhythm, so I jotted the words down. During the next few weeks I played around with them until I had several verses about a family making a meal together. At first, each family member was pretending to be some part of the meal. I vaguely thought the story might be something kids could act out.

Early editing.

But thanks to the wise counsel of my internal editor who was, I believe, making gagging noises, I realized this was not a good idea. So I had the family gather the ingredients and cook the meal without any play-acting. Mama was no longer a pot.

Not knowing what else to do with the story, I sent it to my critique group at the time. They didn’t love it. So the story sat on my hard drive, largely ignored, for a year while I worked on other things.

It might have stayed there forever if I hadn’t needed a manuscript to send to another critique group I belong to. I didn’t have anything new, so I dusted the story off and sent it out, cringing a little as I did.

Are you kidding? asked my internal editor.

But these group members liked it. “You need to work on this some more,” they said.

More revision.

So I did. I used their feedback to make the verses stronger and the rhythm better. I consulted rhyming dictionaries and tried to be as creative as possible. I shared it with a few other writing friends and took their suggestions to heart. I spent lots of time staring off into space tapping out the story meter with my fingers to make sure it was correct. My cat thought I was playing. My family thought I was crazy.

When the story was as good as I could make it, I sent to to someone with a well-deserved reputation as an excellent rhymer for a paid critique. Her response echoed my second critique group’s, “I really like this. I think you should work on it some more.”

Fierce revision.

She suggested a more traditional rhyme scheme and shared a few books written in a similar vein. Even though I sighed at the thought of the work involved in changing my rhyme scheme, I knew her advice was valid. So I read the books, ripped my story apart and started rewriting. And re-rhyming. And tapping my fingers on my desk. Again.

The new story revisited both my critique groups, several writing friends and a few family members. I made more changes. Eventually, I sent it back to the rhyming expert. “I think you can sell this,” she said.

But don’t cue the balloons.

I was tempted to celebrate. After all, this writer said the same thing about the manuscript that eventually became my first sale. Then I remembered it had taken several years and several more revisions before that sale occurred. Still, I sent out some submissions.

I heard back more quickly than usual. One form rejection. One note saying this wasn’t quite right but to send other things that I wrote. One note saying it was lovely but too quiet to stand out in the marketplace. This last editor did mention that the story might do well with a holiday or educational hook.

By this time, I had acquired an agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette. She and I decided to add a holiday angle to the story by having the family prepare Thanksgiving dinner instead of an everyday meal. Joan also showed the manuscript to Anne Schwartz of Schwartz & Wade. Anne liked it, thought a Thanksgiving angle would be helpful and asked me to work on it some more.

What rhymes with turkey?

So I dug in again. Only to realize that not much rhymes with turkey. (“Jerky?” “Murky?” “Perky?”) Or with stuffing. Or mashed potatoes. So I put the Thanksgiving words in the middle of the sentences so I could rhyme more common sounds at the end. I pruned. I polished. I pulled out large chunks of hair. But, I persevered.

(By the way, I was going to post a photo with this blog showing me in the throes of revision. But when I revise, I run my fingers through my hair and end up with what my husband calls “edit head.” It is not an attractive sight.)

Joan liked this version, and sent it off to Anne. Anne liked it but shared an email full of further suggestions. So, in response, I varied my rhyme scheme slightly, added a refrain, deleted two stanzas, added a new one and reordered some of the others. The updated version went back to Joan. She had a few more ideas. I incorporated those, and Joan returned it to Anne.

Whew!

By this time, my internal editor and I were afraid we had used up all our chances to get this right. Personally, I was amazed at how much better the manuscript had become from the first time I’d thought it was done. But would Anne agree? Would it be enough?

A few days later, Joan called. Anne liked the manuscript and wanted to acquire it. To paraphrase Ernest Thayer, “There was joy in Mudville.”

But I’m still not done.

Anne wants me to work on it some more. I just got her line edits in the mail today.

And I seriously can’t wait to see how much better my story — and the ultimate book — will be after this next rounds of changes.

I’ve had two pieces of good news recently, and I’m sharing them now because I’ve only just stopped breathing deeply into a paper bag.

My first piece of good news.

I sold my first book! From the slush! To one of my all-time favorite publishers!

It happened after four years of writing, revising and submitting MANY manuscripts and receiving 126 rejections. (Not that I was counting.)

Here are the details:

Which manuscript?

Sophie’s Squash, a picture book. It’s probably the fourth or fifth one I wrote. And it was one I had revised and reworked at least 10 times. But it was worth it, because the story got drastically better each time.

To which publisher?

The amazing Anne Schwartz and the lovely Lee Wade at Schwartz & Wade, a Random House imprint. Have I mentioned I adore their books and the other authors they’ve published? Well, I do. A lot. And I’m still having trouble believing I’m going to be part of their list.

Want to see why I’m so excited about working with them? Read this interview they did with Ilene Cooper at Bookmakers.

Want to see all the cool authors they’ve published like Candace Fleming, Lenore Look, Jenny Offill and Patricia McKissack? Check out this link.

Where’s that paper bag? I think I need it again.

How did it happen?

I had a day off work and had just gotten home from exercising. (A shout-out to my friends at Phitness Plus.) I was sweaty and sticky, so when the phone rang and the caller ID said, “Random House” with a 212 area code, I thought perhaps I was a little light-headed from the crunches I’d done.

Plus, I didn’t recall sending anything to Random House. But when the person on the line said, “This is Anne Schwartz from Schwartz & Wade and you probably don’t remember sending us Sophie’s Squash …” I knew exactly what was going on.

I had sent them the manuscript in early January, and they called eight months later. For all my nonwriter friends, waiting that long for a response is not unusual in the publishing world.

What makes this more unusual is I had sent the book to them after I saw a website that said they accepted unsolicited manuscripts. Apparently, this is incorrect. Anne said they normally don’t look at slush, but they had just gotten a new editorial assistant and decided to have her go through some.

That assistant pulled my manuscript on a Wednesday, and Anne and Lee called me on Friday. So … wow! (I’ll even say it backwards. “Wow!”)

When will the book come out?

I don’t know. The illustrator has to be chosen first. And I have edits to do. Once those two things happen, I’ll know more about a release date.

Now, my next piece of big news.

I also have an agent. The awesome Ammi-Joan Paquette from the equally awesome Erin Murphy Literary Agency!

Pause for a moment while I take a few more deep breaths into that bag … There, I’m feeling better now.

Again, I feel extremely lucky. Joan, whom I heard speak at the Spring 2011 Iowa SCBWI Conference, represents a lot of people I am very impressed with. And, she’s a very good writer herself – with a picture book (The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies) and a middle-grade (Nowhere Girl) already published and a young-adult novel (Paradox) set to come out in 2013.

And, I really like the way she talks and thinks about writing and books.

Finally, some thank-yous.

I could not have written or sold Sophie’s Squash without the help, advice and support of many people. So a thousand thank-yous to:

Two wonderful people who got me on track early in my writing efforts.

Authors Jill Esbaum and Linda Skeers. I attended their picture book retreat soon after I decided I wanted to get serious about writing for children. I brought my earliest draft of Sophie along.

They were very encouraging, but said that the plot needed work. So we sat down and brainstormed what could happen. They supported me and offered advice along the way — even when I didn’t seem to be making progress. They definitely made me a much better writer.

My writing friends and critique partners.

Everyone listed below looked at various versions of lots of my stories, some of them many times. They’ve made me a better writer, too.

Sharon Hart Addy, Kate Carrigan Blackwell, Carolyn Cassel, Andrea Donahoe, Kim Falkenstein, Ned Gannon, Susan Herr-Hoyman, Janet Larscheid, Ellen Lawrence, Kiz Leppert, Pat Lessie, Joanne Linden, Bridget Magee, Lisa Morlock, Cathy Stefanec Ogren, Norene Paulsen, Eve Robillard, Jessica Vitalis and Jeff Waltz.

Thanks also to all the fun and talented folks at the Wisconsin and Iowa SCBWI conferences who have always been welcoming, positive and willing to share their expertise.

My family.

I’ve always heard you shouldn’t trust your family’s opinion of what you write. After all, they love you and can’t be objective about your work.

That’s probably true.

But families are great at telling you to keep trying, reminding you that you have what it takes, not getting mad at the time you spend at the computer and feeding you chocolate when a particularly painful rejection arrives.

So thanks to Faye Clow, Dick Miller, Gwen Miller, Lynn Miller, Mark Miller, Sonia Miller, Pam Wells, Allen Zietlow, Jean Zietlow and Tom Zietlow for believing in me during the journey so far and celebrating these recent milestones with me.

This post probably makes it sound like my writing journey is at its end, but I know it’s really only beginning. I also know writing and publishing books can take a while. But that’s all right with me. I think it’s going to be a fun, fun, trip.

As long as I don’t misplace my paper bag.

I hang out with second graders regularly – reading them books and helping them complete reviews for this blog.

But last week, I got to spend time with 15 middle school students talking about writing and story structure. I’m never nervous about meeting with the second graders — they’re always happy to see me — but I was worried the middle schoolers might be different story.

I have one middle schooler at home, and know how hard it can be to keep her engaged and on task. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with a whole group.

I shouldn’t have worried.

The kids I spent time with were excited about writing. Most of them wrote on their own one way or another — whether it was journaling, poetry, short stories, books (!) or as one seventh-grader said, “just random junk.”

And, they had lots of enthusiasm and thoughts to share, whether we were discussing the initial incident in The Wizard of Oz, why Harry Potter had to struggle for his story to succeed or how to learn more about our characters’ backstories.

I was amazed by how readily everyone participated in the getting-to-know- your-character exercise. Everyone chose a picture of a teenager and then responded to questions about that person to come up with a robust character outline.  

And the thoughts they came up with were impressive. Some created very serious scenarios about broken homes, jailed parents, murder and drug use. Others took a humorous approach with unrequited crushes, Barbie and Ken fixations, and a desire for swag.

Most impressively, it seemed like everyone wanted to share what they had done.

My favorite moments of the session were when:

• The girl who told me she wrote “just random junk,” later said, “You make me want to write a book.”
• A boy who had been very quiet during the session stayed after to privately show me the character sketch he had created.
• A teacher said another student in the class asked if he could stay in and keep working on the project instead of going out for noon recess.

And my daughter (who I think was privately worried I would embarrass her) even heard some good comments from her peers. 

I brought a copy of Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter and held a drawing to give it away. Response was so enthusiastic, I wish I had been able to give a book to everyone.

I also wish I had remembered to bring my camera. Then, I could have shown you all their smiling faces.

Every fall, the Wisconsin Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators gets together to listen, learn and laugh. And the line-up at this year’s conference was one of the best yet.

Authors, editors, an art director and an agent spoke about all facets of children’s books from writing and revising to publishing and marketing.

Here’s a quick glimpse at some of the memorable quotes from the past few days.

Bruce Hale, author of the Chet Gecko mysteries, on SUSPENSE:

• Anxiety is the engine that drives your book. If you can get your reader to ask the big question, ‘What happens next?’ you’ve got them hooked.
• When your character has a secret, it’s like trying to keep a beach ball underwater. There’s energy that wants to come out.
• You don’t want to reveal everything at once. There’s a reason a stripper starts out wearing all his or her clothes.

Learn more about Bruce and his books at his website.

Loraine Joyner, art director at Peachtree Publishers, on PICTURE BOOK ART:

• No one wants to flip through a picture book and see just one point of view. You want your pictures to be up and over and in and out and around and under. They should be graceful, like choreography.
• Good artists add their own unwritten story line for the children to notice the third or fourth time they’re listening to the book. Everything doesn’t have to be told in words.

Lisa Yoskowitz, an assistant editor at Dutton Children’s Books, on VOICE:

• Ask yourself, is my voice age-appropriate  for kids? Is it well-drawn and multidimensional? Is it original?
• Make the voice of your book shine through in your cover letter. If your book is a rollicking adventure story, don’t write a somber, solemn query letter.

Deborah Wiles — author of Love, Ruby Lavender, Freedom Summer, Each Little Bird That Sings, Countdown, and more — on WRITING FROM THE HEART.

• You can take your life and turn it into stories by asking, “What do I know?” What do I feel?” “What can I imagine?” We’re always telling our stories the best we can.
• I wrote about everything I loved and was frightened of when I was 10. You have to be brave enough to go there. It’s where stories come from.
• No one can tell your stories but you. It is your obligation to tell your stories.

Learn more about Deborah’s life-based fiction at her website. And, to see what she wrote about this retreat, visit her fine blog.

Greg Ferguson, an editor at Egmont USA, on SIMPLICITY:

• Keep your story simple. You don’t need to gun for this blazing metaphor. You can be subtle. Your readers will understand.

Pat Schmatz, — author of Circle the Truth, Mousetraps and the forthcoming Bluefish — on REVISION:

• I used to want to publish a book. Now, I want to write the best book I can possibly write.
• To revise, you must have both commitment and curiosity in large and equal measure.
• I usually revise two or three times before I have what I call a first draft. Then I say, “Oh, THIS is what the story is about.” And then I revise some more once I know that. Most of my books go through at least eight full revisions.

Learn more about Pat and her books at this website.

Mary Kole, agent at Andrea Brown Literary, on A WIDE VARIETY OF MATTERS:

• If it falls out of the sky or crawls out of the ground, I probably don’t want it. The market is pretty saturated with paranormal creatures.
• There are more than 300 editors working in the children’s book market. Agents know their editorial styles. They can tell you who’s a good fit for your manuscript.
• Visit independent bookstores. I go every two weeks to see what’s on the shelves. The books there are the cream of the crop. They’re what’s selling. They’re the winners.
• Writing is an art and a craft, and it takes time to learn.

Mary also has a blog that’s well worth reading.

Thanks to Pam Beres, Judy Bryan and a host of other volunteers who planned and delivered an excellent, uplifting conference.

If you’d like to learn more about the Wisconsin SCBWI, visit our website.

Jessica Doyle, the first lady of Wisconsin, has a statewide book club for students and book-lovers.

It’s called Read On, and here’s how it works.  

Mrs. Doyle picks books for readers of different ages using input from educators, librarians and the students themselves. Then, through the club, students, teachers, and parents can read and discuss the books in and out of the classroom.

And every month, there are Reading Days at the Residence at the governor’s mansion in Madison, Wisconsin.

There’s also a handy website that features different books on the list each month. It has a web log where readers can share their thoughts on the books and suggest other titles for consideration.

I always like a good list — especially if it’s a list of good books. So here are the books from Mrs. Doyle’s list. I’ve added comments after some of the titles I’m familiar with. And some of these titles will be reviewed on this blog later in the school year.

Preschool (Ages 0-4)

• My Garden (By Wisconsin author Kevin Henkes, who was once described as the Mick Jagger of children’s literature.)
• Boo to You!
• What Can You Do With A Paleta?
• What Will You Be, Sara Mee?
• Yes Day!
• I Can Help!
• Pouch!
• Never Smile at a Monkey
• A Beach Tail (Watch for a kid review of this title.)
• Dog’s Colorful Day

Primary (Grades K-2) 

• Shark vs. Train
• Z is for Zombie
• The Village Garage
• Horse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia
• Tiger and Turtle
• Beautiful Moon / Bella Luna (Illustrated by Wisconsin artist Bonnie Leick.)
• My People
• Book Fiesta!
• A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk, a Forest of Poems
• What If?
• Pigs to the Rescue (Watch for a kid review of this title.)

Intermediate (Grades 3-5) 

• Justin Case: School, Drool, & Other Daily Disasters (Watch for a kid review of this title.)
• American Chillers: Wisconsin Werewolves
• Going Home, Coming Home
• Odd and the Frost Giants
• Dream
• Dr. Kate: Angel on Snowshoes (Watch for an interview with the author of this title.)
• Looking Like Me
• Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel
• Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection
• Hip Hop Speaks to Children
• Top of the Order
• Volcano Wakes Up

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

• One Crazy Summer
• Wednesday Wars (A 2008 Newbery Honor selection that is one of my all-time favorite reads.)
• Boys Without Names (Excellent book by Wisconsin author Kashmira Sheth.)
• Out of My Mind
• Red Glass
• The Reinvention of Edison Thomas (This author was interviewed earlier.)
• My Life With the Lincolns
• Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie (A really good story about a family facing the illness of a child.)
• Shooting the Moon
• All the Broken Pieces
• More About Boy
• Albert Einstein

High School (Grades 9-12) 

• Hate List
• The Latehomecomer: A Memoir
• Stitches
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• Rush
• Funny in Farsi
• Bruiser
• Shooting Star
• Liar (Good book, which generated much discussion in the book world over its cover.)
• Partly Cloudy
• Crossing Stones
• Marcello in the Real World (Touching and moving.)
• Candor
• Shiver

Which of these have you read? Share your favorites in the comments.

Writing rebuses looks like it should be easy.

They’re short. There are pictures where some of the words should be. And the language is usually simple and repetitive.

But rebuses are really the sudoku of the writing world. A specific arrangement of words needs to fit into a defined space, follow a rigid set of rules AND tell a compelling story. And if that doesn’t happen, a rebus simply doesn’t work.

Wisconsin writer Pat Lessie might be the master of the rebus. So far, she’s sold 10 to Highlights For Children. And not only does her work meet the format’s stringent requirements, many of her rebuses rhyme.

Pat’s latest rebus, “Lightning Bugs,” will appear in the July, 2010 issue of Highlights.

Here, she describes her journey as a rebus writer and shares her tips for success.

What got you interested in writing rebuses in rhyme?
I was working in an elementary school. One of the students was an autistic girl.  She spoke little and had a short attention span.  However, in music class, she sang songs along with the rest of the class. I thought rhyming rebuses, written in verses similar to songs, might be something she would like. It turned out that the girl wasn’t much intrigued by my rebuses.

When did you write your first one?
I wrote my first one in about 1999.  At that time, I was writing long rebuses, two or three times longer than those I write now.

How long did it take before you sold your first one? What was it about?
I tried to market my long rebuses, a collection of eight, to a few educational publishers first, without success.  Then, in early 2001, I read several rebuses in Highlights for Children.  I decided to send one there. The editor asked me to shorten it to 14 lines or less.  It was about snow.  It was published in early 2002.

What are the easiest and hardest parts of writing a rebus for you?
Nothing is easy about writing a rhyming rebus. However, the ending is usually the hardest section for me. That part has to have a point or a surprise or something amusing. 

What are your secrets to success? What tips would you give a beginning rebus writer?
I don’t really have any secrets. I enjoy doing these, but I work hard on them. I write my first attempt, then polish it over several days, trying to get the rhythm as perfect as I can. Then I set it aside for some period of time before I take it out to rework some more. Of course, some of my attempts end up in the trash.

I would suggest writing some non-rhyming rebuses first. Someone starting out should read lots of rebuses. Language must be simple for early readers. The editors at Highlights won’t accept anything over 14 lines. That’s roughly 100 words. They want a rebus picture in each line, and would like rebus pictures repeated. The rebus pictures must be nouns.

One of my recurring problems is wanting to put more information in a 100-word piece than there is room for or than a beginning reader needs.

Thanks, Pat!

Here’s one of Pat’s rebuses. It it illustrates how much information and plot need to be effectively packed into a small space. This one is illustrated by Wisconsin artist Bonnie Leick. So in case you were wondering, the rebus writer does not need to draw his or her own pictures. They do, however, usually indicate which words they think could be illustrated and then the publisher hires the illustrator.

To learn more about Pat, visit her website.

To learn more about rebus writing, check out this article from Writing World. Or this one from the Institute of Children’s Literature.

Photo taken by Luigi Diamanti. Available on FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

I’ve always been fascinated by names. When I was young, I told my mother I wanted to have children just so I could name them. At the time, I was leaning toward Esmeralda, a name that – in my mind – was strangely underused.

I did not end up using that name for either of my children, although I still see its appeal. But I did put a lot of thought into their names. To me, a name should pass four tests:

• It should sound good when it’s yelled out the back door late on a summer evening.
• It should sound good when it’s announced at sporting events. As in, “Now on the line shooting one-and-one …”
• It should sound good completing the sentence, “According to noted Supreme Court justice …”
• It should sound good with the last name and not be so unusual that the child is condemned to a lifetime of spelling and pronunciation problems.

If you write fiction, the same amount of thought you spend naming real children should go into the names of your characters. This is not the place to make a quick decision. Think of well-known children’s books. Would Newbery winner The Higher Power of Lucky been as effective if it had been called The Higher Power of Kayla?  Would The Wednesday Wars have been as powerful if Holling Hoodhood were called Bruce Smith?

Sometimes, I see books where it seems like the author took the easy way out.  Naming errors I see often fall into one of two categories:

• The names aren’t current. The book is set in a present day middle school and the main characters’ names are Roger, Susan and Betty. There’s nothing wrong with any of those names, but very few of today’s pre-teens have them.
• The names aren’t diverse. Schools today are much more diverse than they were when many authors were growing up. And unless you’re specifically writing a story where the cast needs to all be the same race, it helps to have characters who reflect the actual make-up of the schools where the book will be read. Obviously, no names belong exclusively to people of one background, but being conscious of why you chose the names you use and how they might be interpreted by your readers helps. For an enlightening look at author Lauren McLaughlin’s decision to diversify her books, read this blog post.

Looking at baby name books and Web sites is one good way to find modern name options. Another way is to look at the names posted on lockers and over coat hooks at schools.

You may be amazed at what you see. Here’s a sampling of names I’ve seen posted at the schools, sports camps and other activities my kids take part in. And I don’t live in an especially diverse area.

Alberta, Alfonso, Araceli, Arun, Ashlyn, Athena, Azalea, Bram, Brigit, Carnita, Daijon, D’Angelo, Darius, Dharma, Diamond, Emmanuel, Ezra, Felix, Gordon, Greenleigh, Griffin, Harley, Haven, Helena, Ike, Irene, Isndro, Jade, Kyrie, Lelah, Leo, Magdalena, Masha, Milinda, McCall, McLain, Nazelah, Nico, Niharika, Orlando, Oscar, Sage, Sasha, Selma, Solara, Tawyme, Thiago, Trinity, Vivian, Xavier, Yume, Yuritzr and Zeb.

Happy naming! If you’re looking for more advice, try these sites:

• “Name that Character,” by Anne Marble.
• The Social Security Administration Web site. It lets you search the most popular names by birth year and even state.
• “Namestorming,” by Leah Tribolo.
• “What’s in a Name?” by Scott Nicholson.

I like lists.

Whenever I take those personality tests, I come out as a confirmed list-maker. I think it gives me the illusion that I have some level of control over my life.

Plus, there’s something so satisfying about crossing off an item on my list. It’s over. Done. Time to move on.

I hesitate to admit this, but I’m even one of those people who will add items I’ve already completed to a list just so I can cross them off.

Lately, I’ve seen lots of posts and articles and heard lots of conversations about words that annoy people. Maybe they’re over-used. Maybe they show the user is trying too hard. Maybe they’re words that break commonly held beliefs about proper language use (turning a noun or adjective into a verb, for example). Maybe they’re just … really stupid.

Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, even puts out an annual list of words it thinks should be banished. The 2010 list includes nods to pop culture (“chillaxin’”) politics (“stimulus”) and corporate life (“transparency” and “shovel-ready”).

My personal list of words that should be banished includes:

• Synergy – If people are really trying to sound impressive, they say “synergistic.”
• Utilize – Try “use” instead.
• Key – It’s fine as a noun, but adds no value as an adjective.
• Strategic – Sounds important, but is it really necessary?
• Within – “In” almost always works instead.
• Prior to – “Before” is much more conversational.
• Disconnect – OK if you’re discussing electricity, plumbing or computers. Not OK if you’re talking about ideas as in, “I sense a disconnect here.”

Please note that I’m talking about an ideal society. I know many of these words won’t go away. I edit articles every day that contain lots of these words. I try to reduce their use, but sometimes they’re still in the final copy. And I can live with that.

So here’s YOUR chance. What words would you be happy never to see in a manuscript or hear in conversation again?

So you’ve written. You’ve edited. You’ve revised. You’ve analyzed every last word for sound and meaning. 

If you work in corporate America, you’ve had subject-matter experts and lawyers review your work. If you don’t, your critique group has shared its feedback.

You’ve pondered, pruned and polished again. You’ve worried and wondered.

Are you done?

That depends.

Have you thought about how your copy looks?

Is it … accessible?

If you aren’t sure, set your carefully crafted prose aside and then – a few hours later – glance at it again like it just appeared on your “to-be-read pile” for the first time.

What do you think? Does it look like something that would be easy to breeze through? Or does it look like … work?

People are busy. If your copy isn’t something they asked for and are eagerly awaiting, they don’t have much incentive to plow through it if it looks off-putting. Just like plating is important in fine dining, accessibility is important in writing.

What can you do to make your copy more accessible? Try these tips:

- Use a font that’s easy to read. I like Times Roman for print and Arial for e-mail.

- Make your point size big enough. You can’t go wrong with 12-point.

- Add white space. Have one-inch margins. Use short paragraphs. Nothing makes a manuscript look less inviting than seemingly unending paragraphs of dense gray type.

- Use subheads and bullets, if possible. Subheads, bullets and sidebars give readers logical places to enter your manuscript. They help skimmers skim and draw in busy or reluctant readers.

- Have a short, catchy first sentence. And set if off by itself if you can.

- Use black type on white paper.

- Bold key words. But remember, less is always more.

Lots of writers think accessibility doesn’t matter. But it does. I edit lots of stories in my day job, and when there’s a stack on my desk I often go through and do the ones that follow these rules first. They just look friendlier and like they’ll cause me less pain.

I’m not the only one who thinks this way. I sent a brief e-mail out at work recently and got the following response:

“Nicely formatted and written. There’s nothing I like more than an Arial 12-point e-mail with judicious use of bold and bullets. So easy to read.”

And that, after all, is what any writer wants.

I love writing.

I love editing.

And I love getting feedback from other writers and editors on my writing. There’s always at least one idea or concept I can take away to improve my piece — often in ways I’d never come up with on my own.

During my15 years of writing in the corporate world, I’ve even learned to like getting feedback from the nonwriters who often review my copy for technical accuracy and compliance with industry laws. I like the challenge of listening to their comments or concerns — often expressed in legalese or corporate jargon — and figuring out how to say them in a reader-friendly way.

Of course, some of these reviewers comment on more than accuracy and law abidance.

They ask for unnecessary commas, change correct verb tenses to incorrect ones because they “sound better” and add paragraphs of self-congratulatory fluff. These types of reviewers send the marked-up copy back to me with comments like, “My mother was a proof-reader, and I picked up a few tips,” or, “My sophomore English teacher said I was a good at writing. I didn’t pursue it because accounting was more lucrative, but it was fun to redo this.”

I always consider each change carefully because good ideas can come from anywhere, and there have been times the technical experts or lawyers have found punctuation or grammatical mistakes. But I wrote the poem below in honor of all the times the suggested changes detracted from the finished piece instead of enhancing it.

Please note: The poem refers to banking, but any other highly technical and regulated industry could be substituted, as well.

An open letter to copy reviewers

There. I feel better now. And if anyone who’s ever reviewed my business copy is reading this, the poem doesn’t refer to you.

At all.