Writer's Digest On-Line Courses

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Permalink Reply by Linton Robinson on February 8, 2010 at 10:03am

No way would I even consider this for a second. But I suggest something to those who are. Try to assure yourself that the people teaching the course have any experience or qualification in the area they are teaching.
I am seeing courses on self-publishing and selling novels to agents and such by people who have never done it, who are essentially magazine editorial staff.
Just because somebody works for writers digest (or has published a book telling writers how to do something that they, personally, have never accompished) doesn't mean their opinions or information are valid in other fields.

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Permalink Reply by Melisa Bailey on February 8, 2010 at 1:57pm

What courses would you consider? Do you know of a reliable source that this kind of courses could be taken?


Linton Robinson said:

No way would I even consider this for a second. But I suggest something to those who are. Try to assure yourself that the people teaching the course have any experience or qualification in the area they are teaching.
I am seeing courses on self-publishing and selling novels to agents and such by people who have never done it, who are essentially magazine editorial staff.
Just because somebody works for writers digest (or has published a book telling writers how to do something that they, personally, have never accompished) doesn't mean their opinions or information are valid in other fields.

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Permalink Reply by Kay Paladin on February 8, 2010 at 2:33pm

I took a WD novel writing course from a published author.
I got scanty feedback from the instructor and virtually none from the other six students.

I've learned more from studying writing-technique books and getting crits from sites like Forward Motion. I wouldn't take another WD class.

Kay

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Permalink Reply by Melisa Bailey on February 8, 2010 at 5:17pm

Thanks to both of you. Just save me $300.

Kay Paladin said:

I took a WD novel writing course from a published author.
I got scanty feedback from the instructor and virtually none from the other six students.

I've learned more from studying writing-technique books and getting crits from sites like Forward Motion. I wouldn't take another WD class.

Kay

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Permalink Reply by Tirzah Goodwin on February 8, 2010 at 7:10pm

If you want to try a great workshop group, try The Next Big Writer. It is free to read and join but you can take a trial month of posting for $7.00.

Go to the forum and ask for reviews on the specific items or questions you have. People will review. Some will be good, some will be bad but overall it's a very helpful group.

It may take a few weeks to get readers.

Tirz

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Permalink Reply by Melisa Bailey on February 9, 2010 at 8:11am

Thanks so much. I do appreciate how helpful has been.

Tirzah Goodwin said:

If you want to try a great workshop group, try The Next Big Writer. It is free to read and join but you can take a trial month of posting for $7.00.

Go to the forum and ask for reviews on the specific items or questions you have. People will review. Some will be good, some will be bad but overall it's a very helpful group.

It may take a few weeks to get readers.

Tirz

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Permalink Reply by Sharon Cousins on February 9, 2010 at 7:00pm

You might want to at least check out what ed2go has to offer for fiction writers (there's an ed2go link in the left margin of most of the pages on my website). They are much less expensive than many other online workshops I know about (around a hundred bucks, give or take, partly depending on if you can sign up through a college in your area) and (iirc) they all involve twelve classes over a period of 6 weeks. The only ones I've taken were Eva Shaw's two levels of Writeriffic, which are broad-spectrum writing overview courses, covering many aspects of professional writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Eva has sold more than a thousand magazine articles and has authored and co/ghost-authored more than 70 published books, and I did like the idea of studying with a teacher who had so much practical experience in the field. I'm sure her travel writing and magazine article focused classes are quite good, too. She gave personal feedback, and so did many members of the class (I have heard that some sessions are better than others that way, in terms of class members participating, but if you post it will encourages other to do likewise... a few non-shy people posting relevant content from the outset can really help that sort of class get going well forum-wise).

I can't vouch for classes I haven't taken, but I felt I received great value for the price on the two I did take. I would definitely check out their offerings if I wanted a class in fiction. I'm sure they have quite a few by now. From what poking around I have done on ed2go, it does seem as if a lot of their instructors actually have real world experience in whatever they are teaching. I don't think that is necessarily essential (surely it is possible to 'teach' people what horrible things might happen if they drink poison without drinking it yourself), but it is often very helpful.

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Permalink Reply by Linton Robinson on February 9, 2010 at 7:08pm

Bad analogy... not eating poison is kind of the ultimate example of vicarious learning.

But telling somebody HOW to do something that one has never done is another story. People don't generally take golf lessons from people who've never played the tour, or won tournaments, or even played a single hole.
They don't go to bankrupts or bums or wage slaves for tips on how to run a business or make money.
This is pretty natural.

But in writing, for some reason, it seems acceptable for people who have never self-published a book to give seminars on how to do it, people who have never sold a story to tell people how it works and what to do to get more sales.

Go figure.

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Permalink Reply by Kim Wehner on February 9, 2010 at 8:40pm

I took a Short Fiction class, and I'm taking a Plot & Structure course now through WD. The Short Fiction class I learned a lot, and got great feedback from the instructor (Mark Spencer). The one I'm taking now I'm not thrilled with. (I won't say who the instructor is unless you send me a message privately.) Like Kay said, I'm getting scanty feedback, and I don't feel it's been worth the money.

People taking the courses often give feedback as well, and oddly enough they tend to think they know more than they do about writing. I want to say, "If you know so much, why did you sign on for this course?" But I'm too polite. :) The good thing is, you can tell by their writing whether or not to believe in the critique they give you. Plus, you decide if you want anyone else besides the instructor reading your work.

I've taken many course from different places, and I've never received the amount of instruction worthy of the price tag. But if you do take a WD course, I recommend going with one taught by Mark Spencer. He'll answer all your questions and help you with your strength and weaknesses.

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Permalink Reply by Melisa Bailey on February 9, 2010 at 10:47pm

Thank you Kay... I will look into that.

Kim Wehner said:

I took a Short Fiction class, and I'm taking a Plot & Structure course now through WD. The Short Fiction class I learned a lot, and got great feedback from the instructor (Mark Spencer). The one I'm taking now I'm not thrilled with. (I won't say who the instructor is unless you send me a message privately.) Like Kay said, I'm getting scanty feedback, and I don't feel it's been worth the money.

People taking the courses often give feedback as well, and oddly enough they tend to think they know more than they do about writing. I want to say, "If you know so much, why did you sign on for this course?" But I'm too polite. :) The good thing is, you can tell by their writing whether or not to believe in the critique they give you. Plus, you decide if you want anyone else besides the instructor reading your work.

I've taken many course from different places, and I've never received the amount of instruction worthy of the price tag. But if you do take a WD course, I recommend going with one taught by Mark Spencer. He'll answer all your questions and help you with your strength and weaknesses.

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