PREPARING YOUR MANUSCRIPT FOR THE EDITOR OR AGENT OF YOUR DREAMS
September 6-25, 2010
Even though there are people who will tell you there are no "rules" to writing genre fiction, the truth is, there are rules. Not the kind of rules that say a hero and heroine must meet by a certain page but rules to good writing, not to mention submission rules (and I’m not talking S&M here!) Do you know you shouldn’t submit your work on pink vellum using cursive script? Do you know how to format a manuscript? Do you know you can’t show graphic violence in a cozy mystery or sex in an inspirational romance? Do you know the difference between passive voice and passive verbs? Between showing your story and telling it? Between active narrative and writing chit-chat and filler? How do you “write tight?” Do you know and understand the rules of grammar and punctuation (no, the editor’s job is not to correct and polish your baby until it’s publishable.) What the heck is Point of View and why can’t the cat or the kitchen sink have one? What’s a hook? A blurb? High concept? A synopsis? Why do you need to know these things? Do you know that not all rejection letters are equal? When is a rejection not a rejection? In this workshop Lois Winston gives a broad overview of everything an author needs to know and understand before submitting a manuscript to either an editor or an agent. Knowing and understanding these rules can help snag the editor or agent of your dreams. Not knowing and following them will send your manuscript from the slush pile to the circular file.
MEMOIR WRITING
November 1-20, 2010
Everyone thinks he or she has a life worthy of a book. Some life stories are commercially viable. Others are only of interest to family and close friends. Whichever yours is, Lois Winston will show you how to go about putting those life experiences down on paper, crafting an interesting read, and what to do with the memoir once it's written. Through a series of lessons and writing exercises, students will learn how to write about personal experience and how to polish their prose. Lessons will include writing personal essays of varying lengths for publication in magazines, and what makes a memoir worthy of publication as a book. Students will learn what a platform is and why it’s so important to have one for a publishable memoir, how to create a platform, how to query magazine editors, how to put together a memoir proposal for book editors and literary agents, and how to deal with rejection.
THE SUBMISSION PROCESS – IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE QUERY LETTER
February 7-28, 2011
Everyone knows you have to write a great query letter to catch an editor's or agent's attention. But there's more to the submission process than just the query letter. In this hands-on workshop, Lois Winston will help students refine and hone the entire package needed to insure that coveted request that ideally will lead to an offer of representation or a sale. Lessons will cover blurbs, pitches, queries, synopsis, and those all important first few pages. Did you know that most manuscripts are rejected within the first 5 pages? If those first pages aren’t spectacular, the editor or agent isn’t going to bother reading further. Students will learn what to include in a query, a synopsis, and first chapter of a manuscript and what not to include (Sorry, but no one cares that your Great-aunt Matilda thinks you’re the next Nora Roberts, and no editor or agent wants to hear that you’ve edited your church newsletter for the last 5 years.) Students are encouraged to participate in the various assignments and post them so that they can learn from each other’s examples.
TOP 10 REASONS A MANUSCRIPT IS REJECTED
April 4-30, 2011
Most manuscripts get rejected by agents and editors for one or more of 10 basic reasons. Writers have control over some of these reasons but not all of them. In this workshop Lois Winston discusses these 10 reasons and how writers can control more of their destiny by not falling prey to them. This will be a hands-on workshop where students are encouraged to participate so that everyone has the benefit of learning what works and what doesn’t in their writing as well as in various parts of the submission process. Topics covered will include: knowing and understanding various genre conventions, editing and proofing, writing dynamic query letters, how to write a synopsis, the all-important first pages of the manuscript, technical skills, storytelling skills, voice and style.
HELP! I'VE LOST MY MUSE!
June 6-30, 2011
What do you do when Maizy Muse takes off for parts unknown and leaves you staring at a blank computer screen? In this hands-on workshop that employs everything from Madison Avenue advertising to Dear Abby, from Bruce Springsteen to standing in line at the supermarket check-out, Lois Winston offers some unorthodox tips for recapturing that AWOL muse, banishing writer's block and stimulating creativity. Students will be encouraged to participate in the various assignments (sometimes bizarre, always fun) that accompany each lesson. The workshop will end with the “Help, I’ve Lost My Muse Challenge” which, if completed, will result in the creation of captivating characters and a dynamic plot for the student’s next manuscript.
|
|
Lois's Classes: