Get Five Weeks of Motivation and Inspiration So You Can Make Real Progress On Your Novel – With Support From Experts and a Vibrant Community of Writers

The joy, knowledge, and energy of a community can overcome so many obstacles.

During this course, Emily Colin and Julie Artz will give you daily inspiration, expert instruction, and introduce you to acclaimed authors and publishing professionals.

You'll also connect with other novelists, gain a deeper understanding of the writing life, and explore real-world paths to publication.

This course includes five weeks of community writing events, guest lectures, inspiration, craft lessons, and so much more.

Here's some of what we'll be giving you during the course:

  • We'll match you with critique and accountability partners, to help you make you lasting connections and get valuable feedback on your work.
  • Every week, you'll get three in-depth lessons on the craft of writing or the business of publishing. (Based on Emily's experience as a New York Times bestselling author, and Julie's experience as a successful book coach.)
  • You'll have multiple opportunities to get your questions answered by your instructors, Emily and Julie, in addition to the live Q&A sessions they'll be hosting.
  • We'll bring you guest speakers, including a literary agent and accomplished writers, so you can save time by learning from those who have already found success. (And have the opportunity to ask them questions.)
  • You'll get several dedicated times each week to connect with other writers, including two Write Togethers, a Feedback Cafe, and a critique partner meet-up.

This is a unique chance to become part of a community of established and aspiring authors and make real progress on your writing, with guidance from a New York Times bestselling author, a successful book coach, publishing experts, and fellow writers.

The workshop starts on February 26th and concludes on April 1st. The workshop includes expert lectures, group networking, group "write-togethers," live Zoom meetings, text-based discussion, and so much more.

Please Note: The tuition for this course is significantly lower than most of our courses. Most of our workshops cost $575 for four weeks. This course is just $247for five weeks of expert instruction. That's one more week than our normal courses and $328 less than the tuition for most of our courses.

If you're interested in participating, you are encouraged to sign up right away. Please note, enrollment closes on February 24th.

Enroll Now for Just $247

Five Weeks of Novel Writing Success

Join us for five weeks of community, expert guidance, and so much more.

  • We'll connect you with a group of critique partners, so you can build lasting connections and get valuable feedback on your writing

  • Get guidance on the publishing process directly from Julie Artz, whose clients have published with the Big Five, university presses, and have indie-published their work.

  • Get in-depth guidance in revision and storytelling techniques directly from New York Times bestselling author, Emily Colin

  • Connect with Literary Agent Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong, during a live Zoom meeting

  • Participate in multiple (optional) weekly Zoom meetings, text-based group discussions, and so much more

  • Join conversations with publishing professionals and accomplished authors who are eager to share their knowledge

Workshop Schedule

Five Weeks of Community, Literary Events, and Focused Writing

This five week course starts on Sunday, February 26th and ends on Saturday, April 1st.

The course is designed to be flexible. We've included a wide variety of meeting times, so you can attend at least one live meeting per week. (In addition to the text-based discussions via the course platform.)

To give you more flexibility, the lectures, guest speakers, Q&A sessions and agent discussions will be recorded and archived. This means you will be able to watch them on your own time, as well as ask follow-up questions via the discussion platform. There will also be three text-based discussions each week.

Participants will be able to seek support from the community at any point — via text-based discussion, optional live Zoom meetings, critique/accountability partners, or via direct messages to the instructors on our course platform.

* Please note, the times listed below are in Eastern Time.

* Note, all times listed above are in Eastern Time.

Five Weeks of Motivation, Inspiration, and Community Writing Events

Join Us for Five Weeks of Community, Instruction, Guest Speakers, and More...

During these five weeks, you'll get many opportunities to learn from publishing experts, connect with fellow writers, get personal feedback on your writing, and much more.

Keep reading to learn more about the opportunities and people you'll connect with during this course...

Group Writing and Community Events

Build connections, overcome "writer's block," and get expert feedback.

Join Julie Artz and Emily Colin for weekly community events, group write-togethers, and Q&A sessions. This will allow you to get answers to your questions, overcome roadblocks, and use the power of community to get productive writing done.

Writing together — in a group setting — can be one of the most powerful ways to actually focus on your work. One writer described this type of writing as "the most productive writing time ever."  Writing in a group setting creates accountability in our busy lives because it gives you a dedicated time to get words on the page with the support of other writers who are right there with you, doing the same thing.

Building your writing community is one of the best things any writer can do for their writing career. As a key part of this course, you'll meet and connect with many writers, so you can find critique partners in your genre, and gain friendships that can last a lifetime. (Note: you'll be matched with multiple critique partners, to give you the best chance of finding the right person to give feedback on your work.)

Emily and Julie will be giving direct feedback on participant work during one-hour "feedback cafe" sessions each week. Come to these sessions with specific questions, or just attend to gain insight into how two successful authors think about novel writing.  

The course is designed to give you a menu of options to choose from throughout the month. We've given you many possibilities, in terms of choosing at least a few events to participate in.

Even if you can't make it to the live events, you'll still be able to watch the recordings of the guest visits and the Q&A sessions, as well as have ample opportunities to network with writers via the wonderful discussion platform hosted by Circle.so.

New York Times Bestselling Author, Emily Colin

Emily Colin is the New York Times bestselling author of love stories with supernatural twists for adults and teens. For adults, she is the author of THE MEMORY THIEF, which was a Target Emerging Authors Pick, and THE DREAM KEEPER’S DAUGHTER, both from Ballantine Books. Her short fiction has appeared in the USA Today bestselling romance anthology DISSENT. Emily is also the author of the award-winning young adult romantic dystopian-fantasy series, The Seven Sins, and has co-edited two young adult fiction anthologies.

A former Pitch Wars mentor and KissPitch mentor, Emily is a writing instructor, freelance editor, and book coach. As bestselling author Margarita Montimore says of Emily’s input on her novel, Oona Out of Order (a Good Morning America Book Club pick): “Emily’s editorial guidance is remarkable and any writer's work is sure to benefit from her insights… I could not be more enthusiastic in recommending Emily’s editorial services.”

As co-instructor of this course, Emily will be there every day to answer your questions and help you quickly overcome roadblocks. She'll be answering questions in the discussion platform and Zoom meetings, so you can get the support you need when you need it.

Author, Editor, and Book Coach Julie Artz

Julie Artz is a long-time author, editor, and Author Accelerator-certified book coach. She has worked with clients published by both Big Five and small/university presses, as well as indie-published authors. 

Author María José Fitzgerald (Turtles of the Midnight Moon, Knopf, 2023) says: "Julie helped me take the first draft of my manuscript to a polished, well executed novel that got me an agent and my first book deal."

Julie is a gifted writing instructor with a deep understanding of the publishing business, as well as the craft of novel writing.  An active member of the writing community, she has volunteered for SCBWI, TeenPit, and Pitch Wars and is a member of EFA, the Authors Guild, and AWP.

As co-instructor of this course, Julie Artz will be there every day to answer your questions and help you quickly overcome roadblocks. She'll be answering questions in the discussion platform and Zoom meetings, so you can get the support you need when you need it.

Connect With an Established Literary Agent

Join Literary Agent Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong of The Purcell Agency

We are pleased to announce that Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong of The Purcell Agency will be joining us for a live Zoom discussion and meet & greet. This is a unique chance to gain insight from an established literary agent.

A prolific reader of many genres, Cathie represents Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary and Historical Romance, Upmarket Women’s Fiction, Mysteries, and Thrillers. Her own authored titles include the young adult novel, Roam, and the women’s fiction title, The Edge of Nowhere.

All participants of this course will be able to send in questions ahead of time, get a copy of the recording, and optionally attend the live event. For those attending live, it will be at 2pm ET on Tuesday, March 28th.



How to Choose the Right Plot for Your Story

Join acclaimed author John Claude Bemis for a one-hour talk and Q&A session on choosing the right plot for your story.

John Claude Bemis knows how to write engaging books that are driven by plot, character, and setting. He also knows how to write books that get published. (His books have been published by Penguin Random House and Disney/Hyperion.)

During his visit, John will talk about developing the right plot for your story, and answer your questions.

All participants of this course will be able to send in questions ahead of time, get a copy of the recording, and optionally attend the live event. For those attending live, it will be at 10am ET on Wednesday, March 8th.

The Writing Life with Michelle Hazen

Join established author Michelle Hazen for a one-hour talk and Q&A session on building a successful writing career.

Michelle Hazen is a writing coach, freelance editor, and critically-acclaimed author who delights in helping people fall madly in lust with the writing process. She has nine published romances that have collected starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly and ALA Booklist, been selected multiple times as Best Romances by Amazon Editors, and named Best Books of the Year by ALA Booklist.  

Michelle will be visiting the class to talk about the realities of building a successful career as a writer, how to find balance, dealing with rejection, and the pros and cons of indie publishing versus traditional publishing.

As a fanfic writer, indie author, and Big 5 published author, she has been-there-done-that with all the different publishing paths. She loves to provide guidance for writers at all phases of their journey. and is eager to share her knowledge with the class.

All participants of this course will be able to send in questions ahead of time, get a copy of the recording, and optionally attend the live event. For those attending live, it will be on Thursday, March 2nd at 2pm ET.

Enroll Now

Enrollment closes on February 24th.