How to Get Paid for Your Nonfiction Writing: A Beginner's Workshop
Live 4-Wk Webinar
Coming this fall
Instructor: Lisa Abeyta
Description
Experienced journalist and teacher Lisa Abeyta shows you how to hone your niche and find the right market for your work, write a good query letter, polish your work and follow up on submission to land the job!
When you finish this class you should be able to:
- Identify several specific markets for your work
- Write a compelling query letter for an article
- Know the basics of a freelance agreement
- Know the basics of setting yourself up as a freelance business
Course Outline and Schedule
Sessions will occur for four consecutive Saturdays, beginning July 25, 2009. All sessions are held at 9 a.m. MDT (8 a.m. PDT, 10 a.m. CDT, 11 a.m. EDT). Classes may be recorded. Because the material in this class is virgin territory, there won't be private sessions.
Week One
Honing Your Niche & Finding the Right Market
Online Lecture Class
Learn how to determine your best targeted market while avoiding common pitfalls including:
Overview of buying nonfiction markets and reliable resources for finding the right one for you, including magazine, newspaper, and online venues. Hobbies, Talents and Training / Friends, Family and Colleagues - use your unique skills and connections to create your own niche in the market and expand areas of expertise. Discover the difference between interviewing experts and writing as the expert and resources for finding the best expert for your article. Learn tools for determining which departments of a publication are most open to freelance and first-time writers.
Homework Assignment
Create a list of your top five articles ideas and then match those ideas with five to ten paying venues, both online and print.
Week Two
The Almighty Query Letter: How to Avoid the Slush Pile
Online Lecture Class
While the way into a man's heart might be through his stomach, the way into an editor's good favor is through a stellar query letter. Learn tips to avoid newbie mistakes which make you look inexperienced and discover the basic outline of a query letter (and how to make yours unique). Find out how to personalize your query letter to the right editor and why a generic salutation should be your last resort. Discuss the pros and cons of writing on speculation and why most experienced freelancers avoid this practice (and why you might want to try it). Talk about published clips, how to include them and what to do if you don't have them.
Homework Assignment
Choose your favorite project from week one's assignment and draft a query letter, incorporating the skills and tips you've learned in the lecture. If you have decided to create your article on speculation, write a rought draft of the article as well. Otherwise, create an outline for the article and a list of experts or sources you will interview.
Week Three
Taking the Plunge: Polishing Your Work and Sending It off
Online Lecture Class
Learn how to gain valuable feedback without losing the rights to your work. Find out the difference between a single-source query and multiple queries, and create your own query tracking log and project tracker. Discover how professionals snag unlisted email addresses and how to find writer's guidelines for a publication.
Homework Assignment
Create your own project tracker and query log. Mail your polished query letter by snail mail or email and create your first entry into your log.
Week Four
Following Up and Turning Rejection into a Sale
Mailing the query off is only the first step. Find out how to follow up like a professional including when to wait and when to contact again. Rejection never feels good, but it doesn't have to be personal. Learn how to move past a rejection to find success by determining if the query letter or the idea is a dud or worth another try.
Learn the basics about acceptances including contracts, rights, online licensing, bylines, and developing a relationship with buying editors. You will also cover the basics of establishing yourself as a business and how to build on your success by using your published clips to break into larger markets.
Schedule:
Group Session One: Saturday, May 16, 2009
Group Session Two: Saturday, May 23, 2009
Group Session Three: Saturday, May 30, 2009
Group Session Four: Saturday, June 6, 2009
Enroll now by clicking Add to Cart!
WE #: ABEY-L-09-001-L
