Publishing

Your query letter is your first introduction to a potential agent--which is to say, your first intro...

For your book to succeed, you must know which books you are competing against. In this interactive workshop, we will look at resources for locating comparable and competing titles, analyze comparable and competing titles, and look at how to use that information to inform your writing as well as in your proposal or query letter.

Most writers understandably cringe at the legal and technical jargon of book, magazine, or other contracts they need to sell their work. And copyrights can be downright scary. Ken Ackerman has navigated these waters often in his long career with multiple books and publishers, with all the related legal twists and turns. In this workshop, he'll give a primer on what writers need to know, in simple, understandable terms, about selling and securing their work.

In this class, we’ll learn how to write a well-crafted pitch that can land you publication in top newspapers and magazines. Whether you are writing newsy personal essays or reported articles, we’ll learn how to catch an editor’s attention by pegging our pitch to a current event, and and showing that we're the right person to tell this story. The teacher will share example pitches that have gotten her published, even with few credits to her name. You'll leave class having sent 3-4 pitches to editors.

QueryTracker is a powerful tool for finding literary agents, sending them queries, and tracking their responses. In this course we’ll cover the basics: search tools, the who-represents-whom tool, and data view options. We’ll look at cool features that are a little harder to find: pasting in agency/agent notes, flagging agents by priority, and setting alerts for when closed agents become open. We'll also discuss other resources like Publisher's Marketplace. Coupons for a free year of premium QueryTracker membership will be provided for up to 10 attendees. Bring your laptop to follow along.