4 Sessions: Mondays, November 2-23
plus an individualized meeting
6:30-8:30pm ET
Betsy Lerner

I am a partner at a literary agency with 24 years of agenting experience and was formerly an editor at four major trade houses for 16 years. I have an MFA from Columbia University and I am also the author of four books including The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers, as well as a blogger on the publishing life and TikTok content creator. If you have a draft or proposal for a full-length project, we will workshop twenty pages and customize feedback to help you get to the next stage. This is a hands-on immersive workshop where we all work together to sharpen our work. Participants will be expected to read everyone's pages ahead of each session. Be prepared to contribute!

In my experience, most writers have their work rejected for one reason: it wasn't ready to be submitted. The goal is to make your project as bullet-proof as possible. That means: a great title, a great opening chapter, a solid pitch, an effective query letter, building your profile, and of course most important polishing your prose. We will workshop twenty pages of each participant's work with an eye toward honing every aspect. I find a lot of rookie mistakes can be dealt with quickly. We'll try to get the deeper questions of revision and how to submit the best possible draft.

Highlights:

• Tips, tricks, and tools of the trade for revision - being your own best editor

• Tips for query letters, titles, and putting together a sellable project

• Community - this might a place where you find your ideal reader or at the very least enjoy the company of writers on the same path

This class has 1 full scholarship available. To apply, please fill out this form by Sunday, October 25.