How to publish your fiction

Need help finding markets? Tired of harvesting rejection slips instead of checks? Bring a professional writer and mentor into your home or office via e-mail to teach you how to get your short stories and novels published.

This workshop starts with the basics. In Lesson One ("Yes, You Can"), you get an overview on markets and evaluate your publishing options. Lesson Two ("It Doesn't Have to be Scary") explains the two basic rules of publishing your writing, what editors and agents really want, and how to clearly lay it out for them! Lessons Three and Four focus on the specific areas of fiction you're interested in pursuing.

You will earn 0.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs), when you complete this online writing course. Work at your own pace and take up to a year to finish.

Who this course is for:

* Anyone who is trying to get their fiction published!

Your instructor:

Marshall Cook is a professor, freelance writer, and nonfiction book and novel author.

He has published hundreds of articles in national and international magazines and has authored 20 nonfiction books (including Freeing Your Creativity from Writer's Digest Books) and three novels. He also edits Creativity Connection, a newsletter for writers and independent publishers.

As a professor for the University of Wisconsin—Madison, he teaches workshops, classes, and online courses on writing and publishing.

You can start our workshops anytime, and there are no required hours to log on. It's all done with one-on-one correspondence with the instructor using email. Some classes have materials on a web site, but you can access those at your leisure with a password that we will give you. We have writers from around the world participating in our workshops, and we have success stories. A lot of great writing gets accomplished via email. Because of the one-on-one nature of our workshops, you'll find them an excellent "coaching" or mentoring situation that will keep you going. And if you want to just work on your own-hey, that's fine too. Of course you can do the suggested exercises on your own and pass on the feedback if you'd rather do that. We're also here throughout the year if you have questions.

Student comments:

"I recommend this course for all writers who aspire to publish non-fiction. Marsh provides loads of specifics about how to target and query publications. He also elucidates the murky realm of book proposals. The hands-on exercises are a great way to practice the steps outlined in each lesson.

Beyond essentials such as targeting and querying publications, Marsh provides useful information about contracts and publishing rights, two areas new writers often have trouble navigating.

By dividing the course into short, manageable topics with accompanying exercises, Marsh has shown me how to approach the business of publishing non-fiction. Marsh’s constant encouragement and eagerness to field questions have given me the confidence to move forward with my publishing efforts.

When I was an undergraduate at the UW, one T.A. worked hard to teach me about the craft of writing. In graduate school, my adviser did the same. Marsh now joins the small group of teachers who have profoundly influenced my approach to writing and publishing." ~ Eric Olive, Madison

Costs:

For the basic $135 fee, you get instruction, responses to your ideas and answers to your publishing questions. Register and start the course any time.

Contact:

Your contact for more information about How to Publish Your Fiction is Marshall J. Cook. 608-262-4911, mcook@dcs.wisc.edu.

Also of interest:

The same writing staff that bring you these great online classes also provide individualized writing critique services. Learn more by visiting our writing critique services Web page.

 

Receive the Writing News, our free e-mail newsletter. If you subscribe, then 4-5 times a year you will receive from the Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts a detailed e-mail with information about our upcoming writing programs as well as news about student acheivements, new programs, and opportunities for writers. To subscribe send a blank e-mail message to: join-writing-news@lists.wisc.edu.

If you'd like a free copy of the newsletter, Creativity Connection, "The Writer's Quarterly Encouragement," please e-mail Marshall Cook and include your postal address.

More distance education: Independent Learning journalism and writing courses are another option for distance education through University of Wisconsin-Extension. Most courses are available for college or high-school credit.

Telephone: Call 608-262-2451 to register. Our phone is answered M-F, 7:00 am-4:30 pm Central Time. At other times please leave a message, and we will return your call. If you have other questions, call toll-free 1-877-336-7836.

Online: Register now online with our secure server.

E-mail: E-mail us your name and contact information at LSAonline@dcs.wisc.edu and we will respond as soon as possible to assist you with registration.

Fax: Print and fax our registration form.

Mail: Print and mail our registration form.