Overview:
Wednesdays, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM, By application only. Applications are closed.
For most novelists, the ultimate goal is to get published. Before that, however, comes much revision, along with some frustration and confusion at a seemingly impenetrable system of submission, waiting, and hoping. “Writing, Revising, Pitching” is a class for people who have written a substantive portion of a novel and seek to develop it in workshop, blended with a detailed look at how books are pitched and marketed. This class is designed for writers who already have something on the page, as writers will be asked to start with a project of at least 50,000 words.
Over the course of a leisurely nine months, writers will take their novel and receive detailed workshopping, receiving guidance from the instructor and the class as they continue toward the goal of getting the work ready for submission or publication. Each student will also receive guidance and feedback on writing a query / pitch letter for the work, and each class will involve some time of the instructor answering any publishing-related questions and discussing best practices for the process of finding / selecting an agent, crafting a query letter, etc. Work in any adult fiction genre is accepted, and writers of all levels are welcome to apply.
Details:
This class is designed to help novelists take a novel-in-process and workshop it to a complete draft, or to take a full draft and workshop it to a more polished revision. Through workshopping and discussion, it will also help writers to approach the process with stronger analytical tools, helping to make both the writing and revision process less frustrating and more productive. The class will meet roughly once a month, beginning in January of 2025 through September 2025 via Zoom.
Prospective attendees will apply with a writing sample of up to 7500 words of a work-in-progress. Class size will be limited to ensure that all writers have the time to develop their own work while also giving detailed reads to fellow writers. Each writer will have one class devoted to workshopping their writing and query / pitch letter, as well as availability for one-on-one feedback and discussion with the instructor.
The instructor will also select a recently published debut novel and one class will be dedicated entirely to discussing this book, breaking down the choices the author has made and how writers can apply these techniques in their own writing. Also, how do publishers market these books, and were they successful, and how can this influence how a writer pens a submission letter, or pitches his or her own work? These issues and others will be discussed by the class to give writers a foundation on how to build a novel, how to revise it, and once it’s ready, how to get others interested in it.
The first class session will be for meeting the class, scheduling, and a “Bookclub” discussion. The instructor will provide the title of the book in advance so writers are prepared for the discussion. The work will begin in earnest at the 2nd class. So, there are 9 meetings, but 8 of them will be for classwork. Class will meet online via Zoom on Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for 9 sessions on the following dates:
Class 1: January 8, 2025 (Scheduling and Bookclub class. The purpose here is to get everyone used to the structure of a workshop without the pressure of evaluating the manuscript of a student).
Class 2: February 12
Class 3: March 12
Class 4: April 9 / April 16 (TBD)
Class 5: May 14
Class 6: June 11
Class 7: July 16
Class 8: August 20
Class 9: September 17
Application Requirements:
Application Deadline has been extended to November 29, 2024. Prerequisite: Substantial progress of at least 50,000 words on the first draft of a novel must be achieved by all students. Applications are closed at this time.
Please submit up to 7500 words of a work-in-progress. It may be from any adult fiction genre (mystery, romance, literary, science-fiction, etc.). Writing samples must be emailed to programs@writerhouse.org. Please note, this program is for novelists who are prepared to make a strong commitment to their work; students will be expected to participate in the entire program. A $100 nonrefundable deposit is due at the time of application. Deposits will be applied to the cost of tuition for students who are accepted to this program.
This class is limited to a maximum of eight writers. If there is enough demand a second section may be added, and writers accepted will be given a choice of schedules. Acceptance letters will be emailed to writers by December 6, 2024. Upon acceptance, the balance of the tuition will be due within a week. Payment plans will be available for students who are accepted in this program. The first payment will be due no later than December 11, 2024.
About the Instructor:
Randall Klein worked in publishing for a decade, starting at the literary agency Trident Media Group, then as an editor, first within the Random House Publishing Group, then for Diversion Books, where he acquired and edited over one hundred books across all genres. He is also the author of the novel Little Disasters, published in May of 2018 by Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. He has been teaching at Writer House for over six years.
