Nonfiction Classes

Diana Flegal, Hartline Literary Agent, shares useful information on the 5 different structures of nonfiction. She concludes with 4 important questions to ask as you write your nonfiction book.

The nonfiction market is one of the toughest in publishing to crack. Having what you need to answer every question an agent and editor will ask of you is vital. In these two classes we will cover the essentials you need to “convince” the publishing professional you and your book are worth their time and investment. This course will cover the 5 basic book structures—introduce , test and organize your material—build your outline—define your target reader—and describe the skill or ability the reader will learn or the problem you will help the reader solve.

*We recommend taking Part 1: Writing Convincing Nonfiction: Idea to Outline as a prerequisite.

Research. Love it or hate it, nonfiction writers know it can be a real time drain. In this video, Wendy Hinote Lanier has some tips for finding the information you need and keeping track of it all.

Module 1: Finding Out Stuff

If the idea of doing research scares you, don’t call it that. Just think of it as finding out stuff. Here’s how to get started.

Module 2: Some Reliable Sources

Not all sources are created equal. Some are considered reliable while others are not. Here are a few places you can look for answers to your questions and know it’s a good source.

Module 3: Keeping Track of Your Sources

Finding a great source is not going to do you any good if you can’t find it again. This module shows you how to create a bibliography and use it to track where you found your information. It’s an invaluable tool.

Module 4: Odds and Ends

Here are a few other tips that may help with your research that aren’t necessarily connected to each other, but they do relate to research in general.

In this teaching, Michelle gives tips for breaking into the world of children’s writing, and she shares many non-fiction children’s writing opportunities you probably never considered. Plus, she teaches participants how to hook up with library publishers and write several books a year! Through this session, you’ll learn ways to multiply your publishing credits and earn consistent work/cash in the process, all the while building your children’s writing platform.

An unpublished or less-experienced writer can break into newspaper writing by presenting well-written, locally-flavored, faith-based current events, news articles, or profile pieces to the editor of her hometown newspaper, earning valuable, often elusive writing credits to fill the pages of a resume. Join Julie Lavender and learn how to make the headlines with these newspaper tips and techniques that will chalk up the writing clips for an author's portfolio.

Would you like to publish your story in the bestselling trade paperback series in publishing history but aren’t sure how to go about it?

Join veteran writer Tracy Crump, author of 22+ Chicken Soup for the Soul stories, for an inside look at what makes this series tick. Learn what Chicken Soup wants, what they don’t want, and how you can stir up a winning Chicken Soup for the Soul story.

Music Journalism! Working with publicists and managers to secure your desired subjects is one of the most crucial components in the journalism process. Here we will outline the steps to research, contact and communicate with the desired subject's publicist and/or management. We will also cover what a pitch e-mail should contain as well as what publicists and/or managers want to hear from soliciting journalists.

Writing for the Educational Market

Module 1: Educational Market and Its Pros and Cons (What is the educational market? Why should you consider this type of writing?)

Module 2: Writing to Educate (What tools will you need to write for the educational market? What are the key differences in writing for this genre?)

Module 3: Sources and Getting an Assignment (Where will you find the information about your topic? How can you get an assignment?)

Writers love words. One set of words that add flavor to our writing and wisdom to our words are quotations. Queue Up For Quotes is a course delving into the ins and outs of using quotations for writers. Come join Jean Wise and learn more about quotes, how to format them, when and how to use them, verifying accuracy of quotes and how to be more quotable. Poet Letitia Landon wrote,” An apt quotation is like a lamp which flings its light over the whole sentence."

Michelle Medlock Adams and Bethany Jett, multi-published authors of bestselling and award-winning  books, have ghostwritten for top celebrity clients. They know a thing or two about working together to create a masterpiece project that can please even the pickiest of clients. In fact, they co-own a Literary Service that specializes in ghostwriting, marketing strategy and editing. The two of them have pooled over 30 years of experience in this area. If you've ever considered ghostwriting or collaborating with another author, you'll want to check out this course.