Path to Publication - a six week course

You’ve finished writing your book? Congratulations! You deserve a huge round of applause, whether it’s an expansive fantasy extravaganza, a neat little novella, or a masterful memoir.

But wait, what happens next?

For most unpublished writers, finishing a manuscript feels like the end, a goal reached. However, if you want to try for publication, typing THE END on the final page of your manuscript is only the beginning of the journey. The path ahead will be both arduous and exhilarating, and it’ll offer you a dozen spectacular views and a hundred trip-hazards, but with a good map and an experienced guide, it’s a path that might lead you somewhere very special.

In this six-week course of generative classes, Caroline Leech will help you prepare yourself and your manuscript so that you are both ready to submit for publication. She’ll help you transition into a professional mindset, and prepare your own professional toolkit, so you can approach publishing professionals – agents, editors and booksellers – on professional terms.*

In class, there will be time to learn, to work, and to share, as Caroline leads you and your classmates through the creation of elevator pitches, query letters, submission documents and synopses, and guides your research of agents, editors, comp titles and contests. By the end of the final class, Caroline expects that you’ll not only have your submission documents ready, you’ll have drawn up your own submission list and timeline, and you’ll feel part of a new community of writers all setting out on your publishing path together.**

This class is for you if:

• You have finished a manuscript of a novel, novella, memoir or a collection of short-stories or essays, for adults or for children.
• You have already revised the manuscript beyond its first draft and feel fairly sure it’s ready (or almost ready) to submit for professional consideration.
• You are willing to share your own work with the group and be glad to offer supportive feedback to your classmates.
• You are willing to let Caroline take her kindly but brutally honest red pen to your work, but promise only to accept the editorial suggestions she makes if they feel right to you. It is your work after all, and your manuscript, so what matters most is that you feel happy with it before you start submitting

*          Throughout the six weeks, Caroline will frequently remind you that publishing is a business (though it’s best not to expect ever to make money from it)

**        She will also frequently remind you that in publishing, community is everything.