Yagoda offers an in-depth look at the importance of a writer's individual style or "voice," based on interviews with more than 40 outstanding contemporary writers. He points out, for instance, that Elmore Leonard and Toni Morrison avoid adverbs, while Christopher Hitchens uses them.

In writing, style matters. Our favorite writers often entertain, move, and inspire us less by what they say than by how they say it. In The Sound on the Page, acclaimed author, teacher, and critic Ben Yagoda offers practical and incisive help for writers on developing and discovering their own style and voice. This wonderfully rich and readable book features interviews with more than 40 of our most important authors discussing their literary style, including:

Dave Barry
Harold Bloom
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer
Bill Bryson
Michael Chabon
Andrei Codrescu
Junot Díaz
Adam Gopnik
Jamaica Kincaid
Michael Kinsley
Elmore Leonard
Elizabeth McCracken
Susan Orlean
Cynthia Ozick
Anna Quindlen
Jonathan Raban
David Thomson
Tobias Wolff