You wrote it. Now make it work.
ULTIMATE REVISION WEEKEND
Three days of craft, Live Editing and guided self-editing to bring your book closer to publication
This event is past; sign up for first dibs on the next virtual intensive!
YOU NEED FRESH EYES.
Your draft is finished...or almost finished...or stuck halfway. Maybe you're getting rejections because "I just didn't connect." You know it's not done, but what does your book need now?
Stop struggling alone and get expert advice on sentence, scene and structure. Apply new craft techniques immediately to your pages--and find out what's working, right now. See your manuscript anew, and kickstart your revisions.
LIVE ON ZOOM OCTOBER 16-17-18 | Limited to 24 writers
REGISTER NOWDeep Revision
- Get clarity on your story and structure
- Revise FASTER with our Quick & Dirty Tips
- Live Editing shows you exactly HOW to revise your own work
- Build momentum to bring your manuscript closer to publication
- Level up your writing craft for every future project
MORE THAN A WEBINAR.
Experience all the benefits of a physical event replicated online, with casual chat, Q&A time, breakout rooms and 100% interactive sessions. Build your writing career—and grow your literary community.
Got Questions?
Write Better. Right Now.
Bring your draft (no matter what shape it’s in!)
Leave with better pages—and tools and techniques for all your future writing.
YOUR GUIDES
Allison K Williams
Writer - Editor - Speaker - Coach
Allison K Williams brings deep understanding of dramatic structure, sensitivity to voice and theme, technical expertise, and contagious enthusiasm for your work.
She is the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book and the Social Media Editor of Brevity.
She has edited and coached writers to deals with Big Five, literary and independent presses and publication in the New Yorker, the Guardian, the New York Times, McSweeney’s and TED Talks.
Allison herself has written for NPR, CBC, the New York Times, Creative Nonfiction, McSweeney’s, Kenyon Review and Travelers’ Tales. Her plays, including London Fringe Best of Fringe Winner TRUE STORY have been produced worldwide.
Dinty W. Moore
Writer - Editor - Speaker - Coach
A direct and supportive teacher known for drawing out meaning in memoir, Dinty W. Moore is author of The Story Cure: A Book Doctor’s Pain-Free Guide to Finishing Your Novel or Memoir, the pop-culture/ enlightenment mash-up To Hell with It, and many other books.
Dinty has published in The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, Harpers, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Arts & Letters, The Normal School and elsewhere.
A former professor of nonfiction at Ohio University, he serves as Editor-in-Chief for Brevity and consults regularly with authors and publishers on book proposals and revisions, many going on to publish with Big Five houses and university presses.
THE ULTIMATE REVISION EXPERIENCE
Guided self-editing and personalized feedback refine your voice and move your manuscript forward
You want it done! Focused time and a commitment to “show up” helps you plow through revisions and refine your manuscript to publication-ready.
The Ultimate Revision Weekend combines education, networking, and writing career growth. You’ll leave with better pages, new ideas, and renewed commitment to your craft.
Dive deep into specific writing craft, with examples, exercises, and guided revision to apply your learning immediately to your manuscript.
See the schedule below for the topics we’ll cover (and discover!)
In live-editing, instructors share volunteer pages on the screen, reading aloud and discussing suggested edits.
Transform your prose to focused, energetic, and reader-centered–and discover where it’s already powerful.
Throughout live-editing time, you’ll apply specific techniques to your own work-in-progress.
Revise faster with tools, tricks and techniques to build stronger sentences, remove excess words, and stay true to your own writing voice. Each Quick & Dirty session includes guided revision to apply the skills immediately to your manuscript.
- Strong Sentences
- Strong Paragraphs
- Words and How to Love Them
- The Power of the Synopsis–how writing the synopsis solves plot problems!
Unlike the traditional “workshop,” you’ll use new tools in your own writing, right away. Discoveries made in live-editing, and techniques taught in craft lessons, will be immediately applied to your work.
Allison & Dinty provide individual guidance as needed, and teaching will include variations for early-career and advanced writers.
Need personal feedback? Add a one-to-one meeting, an edit of your synopsis or opening pages when you register (additional cost).
Allison & Dinty have worked with...
ULTIMATE REVISION SCHEDULE
ALL TIMES USA EASTERN
| TAKE A MOMENT & BREATHE | |||
| AFTERNOON | 1230-1300 | CAFÉ TIME | Zoom Room open for casual chat & questions with Allison & Dinty |
| 1300-1330 | WELCOME | Greetings, introductions & setting our goals | |
| 1330-1415 | CRAFT LESSON 1 | CRAFTING GREAT OPENING SENTENCES: Not just the first page, but every chapter and every scene. Learn it and apply it. | |
| 1415-1515 | LIVE EDITING | Editorial feedback for volunteers, live on screen, with notes for everyone’s revisions. | |
| 1515-1545 | CRAFT LESSON 2 | SYNOPSIS: How to write a synopsis without pain–and use it to fix plot holes and story issues. | |
| 1545-1600 | CLOSING WORDS | Day ends 4PM Eastern | Review, inspiration & next steps | |
| TAKE IT HOME | SYNOPSIS | Apply the Synopsis Craft Lesson to your own pages, and create your new synopsis. | |
| TAKE A MOMENT & BREATHE | |||
| MORNING | 0930-1000 | CAFÉ TIME | Zoom Room open for casual chat & questions with Allison & Dinty |
| 1000-1100 | LIVE EDITING: SYNOPSIS | Editorial feedback for volunteers, live on screen, with notes for everyone’s revisions. | |
| 1100-1130 | CRAFT LESSON 2 | MECHANICAL TO MASTERFUL: Paragraphs and scoring text to show instead of telling and create tension on the page | |
| 1130-1200 | QUICK & DIRTY FIXES | Based on the Craft Lesson. Speedy tools and techniques for effective revision–applied immediately to your work! | |
| 1200-1230 | LIVE EDITING | Editorial feedback for volunteers, live on screen, with notes for everyone’s revisions. | |
| AFTERNOON | 1230-1400 | LUNCH | Zoom Room re-opens at 13:45 |
| 1400- 1500 | CRAFT LESSON 3 | THE FINE ART OF LAYERING: How details and characterization create reader experience. | |
| 1500-1545 | LIVE EDITING | Editorial feedback for volunteers, live on screen, with notes for everyone’s revisions. | |
| 1545-1600 | CLOSING WORDS | Day ends 4PM Eastern | Review, inspiration & next steps | |
| TAKE A MOMENT & BREATHE | |||
| MORNING | 0930-1000 | CAFÉ TIME | Zoom Room open for casual chat & questions |
| 1000- 1045 | CRAFT LESSON 4 | CRAFTING GREAT FINAL SENTENCES: Not just the last page, but every chapter and every scene. Learn it and apply it. | |
| 1045- 1130 | QUICK & DIRTY FIXES | WORDS & HOW TO LOVE THEM: Speedy tools and techniques for effective revision–applied immediately to your work! | |
| 1130-1230 | LIVE EDITING | Editorial feedback for volunteers, live on screen, with notes for everyone’s revisions. | |
| AFTERNOON | 1230- 1400 | LUNCH | Zoom Room re-opens at 13:45 |
| 1400-1500 | CRAFT LESSON 5 | FINDING YOUR INVISIBLE MAGNETIC RIVER: You’ve broken the book apart…now bring it back together. Learn it and apply it. | |
| 1500-1545 | LIVE EDITING | Editorial feedback for volunteers, live on screen, with notes for everyone’s revisions. | |
| 1545-1600 | CLOSING WORDS | Day ends 4PM Eastern | Review, inspiration & next steps | |
WHO ARE YOU WRITING FOR?
Whether you're querying, writing a proposal, or marketing your book, the Ideal Reader Analyzer builds a precise, vivid portrait of exactly the readers your book is for.
Writers Who Know Their Readers Write Better Books
Understand your own work more deeply; reach your readers with focused intention.
Find Your ReadersView A SampleGET GOING. GET PUBLISHED.
ULTIMATE REVISION WEEKEND
QUERY BOOTCAMP
COMBINED VALUE PACKAGE
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Joining The Retreat
Nope! What matters is that you’re committed to writing better.
You’ll need at least 10 pages of writing to work on, but you’ll also be able to work on large chunks of a whole manuscript.
- You can be working on a novel, memoir, creative nonfiction, essays, or a playscript.
- You’re writing in English, because Allison & Dinty aren’t fluent enough to edit in any other language. (English need not be your mother tongue.)
- You DON’T need a degree in writing (or anything else!).
- You DON’T need previous publication credits.
Writers don’t critique each others’ pages, so the experience level of your fellow writers isn’t a big factor in the intensive.
That’s OK! We’ll let you in quietly and we won’t be offended if you leave early or arrive late. The video replays go out about an hour after the end of the day, so you can catch up right away or wait until after the weekend.
Yes! You’ll get a tip sheet to help you strategize your Ultimate Revision Weekend around children, partners and pets.
If resources allow, consider local lodging or a friend’s guest room to create a personal retreat experience.
We love teaching, and we do quite a bit of it throughout the year. Very often, students ask to be added to the waitlist for the next retreat or intensive, sometimes regardless of location! When a new event is announced, we tell the waitlist first, and events often sell out before they’re publicly announced.
Sign up for The A-List to get first notice of waitlists and open registrations for upcoming retreats.
If the button at the top of the page says “Sold Out,” there’s a waitlist and we’re happy to add you to it. Email us through the contact form, and we’ll confirm your spot on the list. Most intensives have included waitlisters; we usually know 2-3 weeks in advance.
Intensive Days
Apply the learnings of the Craft Lessons, or the Quick & Dirty Tips, in the energy of a shared virtual writing space. Specific assignments help you stay focused, accountable–and working fast!
Yes–we have limited availability for meetings with Dinty or Allison, and synopsis and first pages feedback. You’ll see prices and options when you register.
For feedback on more pages, check out Allison’s regular editorial offerings here.
You can also find out about upcoming webinars and events by visiting her linktree, or joining the A-List monthly events email.
Video replays and transcripts are available for six months after the intensive, on our private webpage. Slides, readings and worksheets are yours to keep.
If you have accessibility concerns, let us know. We’ll work with whatever technology you need to make the virtual intensive work for you.
Allison and Dinty have (between them) worked with writers who are d/Deaf, hearing-impaired, blind, visually-impaired, neuro-atypical and with physical disabilities.
We want to work with you—let’s discuss how to make it an excellent experience.
Bookings & Payments
Rebirth Your Writing accepts Venmo, Zelle, Canadian e-transfers, PayPal and credit cards via PayPal.
If you’d like to pay in two installments, due June 7 and July 7, email us through the contact form.
For Canadians, we give a discount on the exchange rate for payments made via Interac/eTransfer. Contact us for details.
We have two tuition-free places reserved for writers from underrepresented communities, including but not limited to LGBTQ+, BIPOC, working-class, neurodivergent and emerging writers. To apply, please use the contact form; share a brief statement of how this intensive will help you as a writer, and any literary citizenship activities you already do.
If you are unable to attend live, there is no refund, but you still receive the workbook, the contact list and all slides and session recordings. We encourage you to enjoy the session recordings when you can. You may also want to contact other writers from the intensive to spend time working on the exercises together.
You may instead choose to transfer your registration to another writer, if you prefer.
Rebirth Your Book reserves the right to cancel the intensive in the event of civil unrest, natural disaster or Act of God. In the event of cancellation of the intensive in its entirety, you will receive a full refund of any fees paid. You agree to release Rebirth Your Book and its agents and/or representatives from any liability, including consequential expenses you may have incurred in planning to attend.