Hello fellow writers
There appears to be lots of on-line services aimed at aspiring authors (a bewildering array of short courses, coaching and mentoring; editing services and the full monty, the one year creative writing course). The latter promising to accompany you through all stages from starting a novel to getting it published.
The downside being the fees - I've looked at both Novelry and Jericho Writers - both around £5k. That represents a lot of money for what is effectively a gamble as of course, no one can guarantee publication as a 100% outcome. Does anyone have any experience of these? And in your view are they worth the money?
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Creative writing
Creative Writing Courses c.£5k - worth the money?
WritingFreeStyle · 13/03/2024 11:31
BecauseOfIndia · 13/03/2024 15:28
@WritingFreeStyle I can't comment on the value of any of these courses but I'm curious to know how far along in the writing process you are? I think it's better to just write and get feedback from people you trust, before committing to anything expensive. I know several people who have done more than one course / mentorship / Arvon weekend, and have still got nowhere with their novels.
I saw an advert for the Jericho writers course a few days ago and it said something along the lines of "1 in 3 students who do this course get a full manuscript request from a top agent afterwards."
I haven't done any courses and have had several full ms requests (although sadly still waiting for an offer of rep). I had a conversation with a Booker-nominated writer last year and I asked him what he thought about Creative writing MA's and (bearing in mind that he actually teaches on one) he advised me not to waste my time and money. Instead, he said "just read, read, read."
Others here will of course disagree with me, as I'm sure there are many who have secured agents etc as a result of doing the Faber course or Curtis Brown, but the point is until you try and write a novel you don't know if you're any good at it. Beta readers are free and some of the best advice and feedback I've had on how to improve my novel has come from people who simply love books and reading.
BadSkiingMum · 14/03/2024 15:31
I have dabbled in writing - written a full draft of one book and have another on the back burner. It’s not something I am doing at present because I have another big project underway. But I’m interested enough to open this thread!
Anyway, I do believe that the process of writing to a publishable standard can be taught. It is an industry at the end of the day, rather than a pure art form.
A decade ago I wanted to get into feature writing. I bought a book and began to follow the advice in the first few chapters. I was almost immediately successful, because the book had opened my eyes to what was actually needed in a professional marketplace. I sold a feature and had to actually skip ahead in the book in order to find out about the later stages of the process! I did feature writing for about a year until I started a new job and, even though the activity wasn’t profitable in itself, that little book paid for itself many times over.
So if a course is teaching you how to get published then I think it could be worthwhile. How to improve your writing, maybe not.
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