I've taken several courses to date at the college, and every single one of them has exceeded my expectations. My class on how to get published taught by Karen Syed of Echelon Press Publishing made me decide to put serious effort into my quest for publication. I'd say that Karen's support was the single most important factor in bringing me to where I am today.
The college also offers a series of excellent free business courses, and what is deciding to write for a living if not starting a company of one? I've learned about incorporation, taxes, budgeting, writing business plans, getting funding, and much more.
And now, Jeffrey Roth is teaching a course on rewriting, editing, and critiquing. Jeffrey is a journalist and published short story author, who is currently working on preparing his first novel for publication. I've heard a lot of people say that if you're interested in becoming a fiction author, journalism is a good place to start. When you're a journalist, you have to learn to write for a deadline in order to survive. It pretty much destroys any notions of 'writer's block' that might have been holding you back on that novel of yours. So I'm excited about what this guy has to say!
Taking classes is one of the best things you can do to improve your chances of getting published. Classes give you the chance to meet and mingle with like-minded people, and hopefully learn a few things to improve your craft. At the very least, you'll get a new perspective.
3 comments:
Good post Emma. It's so easy to hide in your writing cocoon. But to grow you have to talk to other writers and learn from others.
I'll look forward to future posts about your class with Roth.
Hey Emma - I had no idea Karen Syed was a mentor of yours. That's good company. Keep her on board!
I'll be sure to talk about my class impressions here, Helen!
Marvin, if you know Karen, then you know she is a force to be reckoned with. Although she didn't use the exact phrase, she more or less said she'd kick my butt if I gave up on the writing thing. So you could say I had some motivation!
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