Review Appeared in Library Journal, 1 September 2005

Revision and good editorial advice can help even the most talented writer realize his/her potential. So, Is It Done? emphasizes the value of revision and provides the viewer with a step-by-step guide through the process. This excellent instructional takes the writer from first draft through the stages of revision while stressing the need to establish a healthy distance from one’s work and the essential and important role of “workshopping” one’s writing to obtain feedback from multiple audiences. Unfortunately, the somber tone of most of the nine accomplished and published “talking heads” belies the value of their practical advice. Still, their comments are sound and well intentioned. The best counsel, however, would be fore writers to join a college or university creative writing class or workshop such as those taught by these experts.

Once your writing is “done,” you might want to look at Submit!, a terrific two-disc set that guides the writer from submission to publication. Featured editors from Atlantic Monthly, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Swink, Sable, and others offer very practical and useful suggestions to getting your work published. Viewers learn about the various prose markets (including online magazines), how to get an agent, and how to write a cover letter that will increase the odds of success. College and universities with creative writing programs will want both titles. Recommended.

— Herbert E. Shapiro, Empire State College, SUNY at Rochester