Presentation: Online Writing Course
Launching Your Writing Career With a Successful Non-Fiction Book
This online course is actually a structured program of individualized
coaching. It consists of eight sessions with written assignments. Hal will
respond individually to each of your assignments through email. His
feedback is detailed, covering voice, focus, point of view,
appropriateness for the market, clarity and completeness of the concept,
suggestions for improvement, pertinent information about the ways the
publishing industry works, and guidance for writing an attention-getting
first chapter.
This course is based on Hal's 35 plus years as a freelance
developmental editor, helping over 200 authors develop and publish their
books, as well as 30 successful non-fiction books of his own. Information
is current since Hal has ongoing professional associations with large and
small publishers, literary agents, and printers throughout the United
States and overseas.
Hal is a graduate of San Francisco State University's Creative Writing
program and is the author of more than 30 successful books of his own. His
popular book Write From the
Heart: Unleashing the Power of Your Creativity, is now in its 5th
printing. Published by New World Library, it was featured as a Writers
Digest Book Club alternate selection. It is highly praised by bestselling
authors Julia Cameron and Christina Baldwin.
As a writing coach Hal has helped over 200 authors develop successful
projects, including several New York Times non-fiction bestsellers and
Oprah regulars. His own books are published in several languages and he
has freelanced as a developmental editor for a dozen or more publishers on
both coasts.
The Online Writing Course (Eight Sessions)
| Session One:
What is your Mission? |
What do you wish to accomplish by writing your
book?
What would you like your readers to experience and what ideas,
feelings, knowledge or skills would you like them to come away with?
Your mission may be to entertain, amuse, heal, edify, etc. Bennett's
text gives clear guidance, with a short assignment for articulating
your mission. |
| Session Two:
Why will readers love your book? |
Successful non-fiction satisfies specific
"perceived needs" of a group of readers. Bestselling
authors identify their readers' needs early on and ascertain which
of their own resources they can draw upon for writing the book.
Bennett's text, with short assignment, helps you identify your
readers' perceived needs and the personal resources you bring to
your book. |
| Session Three:
How will you bring readers into your
world? |
Just as in good fiction, the most creative and
successful non-fiction books bring their readers into the author's
world.
This is an important technique that is rarely discussed. In
this session you'll read examples of how this is done, with a short
writing assignment to demonstrate how you will do this for your
readers. |
| Session Four:
The importance of being focused |
Realtors say there are three things which
determine the value of a property: Location, location, and location.
For authors there are three things that will determine success with
writing non-fiction: Focus, focus, and focus.
In this session you'll
learn what this means, why it's important, and do a written
assignment to describe what will keep your writing focused. |
| Session Five:
Creative techniques to make your
non-fiction leap off the page |
Novelistic techniques such as dialogue between
"characters," clear physical descriptions that focus on
the five senses, and a strong narrative voice, make writing
non-fiction fun and reading it exciting and engaging.
In this
assignment you'll use these techniques to drive home an important
idea or concept. |
| Session Six:
Best Laid Plans |
This is an opportunity to get professional
feedback on your chapter outline. Bennett will spell out some of the
basics, then it's up to you to write your chapter outline and submit
it for feedback and suggestions.
Armed with this outline, you are
well on your way to starting your book.
|
| Session Seven:
Mastering the Rules of the Game |
Many writing projects are rejected by literary
agents and publishers simply because the project is not presented
well.
In this final session, you'll learn how to make a winning
presentation and will have an opportunity to ask your own questions
about how to get published. |
| Session Eight:
How to write an attention grabbing first
chapter |
A good first chapter grabs readers' attention and gets them sharply
focused on what they'll find in the pages to come. In this session
you'll learn why this sharp focus is important and what you can do
to create it.
This is a valuable skill, whether you are
self-publishing or going after a major contract with a New York
publisher.
|
|
