Apply for The Verge
Courage to Create
A community garden for writers who want real support, real access, and steady momentum.
Courage to Create helps writers stay connected to their work, their people, and their next step at every stage of the journey.
Most writers don’t stop because they lack talent.
They quit because the path feels unclear, lonely, and financially exhausting.
So they cobble together conferences, classes, and critiques, spending more, gaining less insight, and still feeling on the outside.
What Courage to Create Offers
Instead of starting over with every class or conference, each step builds on the last and relationships deepen over time. You don’t outgrow Courage to Create. We grow with you.
After 14 years, we’ve mapped clear pathways across all eight phases of the writing life. You’ll no longer chase advice that doesn’t fit your season.
Writers gain clarity about:
What matters most right now
What support actually moves the needle at each stage
Not a crowd. Not a public comment section. A consistent, moderated, values-aligned community that evolves as your questions evolve.
Inside Courage to Create:
Shared language replaces conflicting advice
Belonging doesn’t depend on sales, status, or speed
And publishing stops feeling like a locked door.
Courage to Create writers thrive.
Courage to Create
Your foundation for creative resilience, steady momentum, and career-accelerating connections
- You’re ready to turn—or return—to the page
- You want structure that makes writing sustainable
- You’re revising, querying, submitting, or launching
- You want submission opportunities and industry insight
- You crave an intimate, genuinely supportive community
What You Get:
Craft Clinics + Revision Rooms
Project-specific guidance across PB–YA
Optional Add-On Credits
Discounted 1:1 consults with Bethany or select faculty
Replay Vault + Resource Hub
Agent/editor conversations, templates, trackers, submission tools, and mindset support
Member-Led Craft Sessions + Critique Matching
Structured peer learning that deepens skill and connection
Select Writing Barn Discounts
Webinars, intensives, workshops, and retreats
Community Garden Culture
Moderated, equity-minded, inclusive discussion spaces
Submission Windows
Guided submission opportunities tied to guest agent/editor sessions
Quarterly Pitch Clinic
Live feedback on queries, comps, 3 E’s, and Why Buys
Monthly Literary Life Sessions (Live + Replay)
Craft, clarity, and career guidance you can return to
Three Weekly Check-Ins (Async Accountability)
Gentle touchpoints that keep you close to the work
Progress You Can Feel
- A writing routine you can actually sustain
- A clearer sense of what matters now
- Market-facing confidence instead of constant doubt
- Polished materials before editors and agents see them
- Support that honors the emotional reality of this work
“Courage to Create helped me understand my emotional patterns as a writer and move out of self-judgment. I’ve found no other space that supports both craft and the writer’s inner resilience so thoughtfully.”
— Gayleen Rabakukk
Courage to Create
Investment
$650
$75
Annually
(save $249)
per month
$899
Price-lock advantage: stay active and your rate stays locked—even if pricing increases.
This replaces multiple standalone classes, subscriptions, and accountability tools with one consistent home.
cancel anytime · price-lock included
Website Launch Sale!
Sign up today and lock in our old rates, prices are going up for good in 2 weeks!
Price-lock advantage: stay active and your rate stays locked—even if pricing increases.
This replaces multiple standalone classes, subscriptions, and accountability tools with one consistent home.
cancel anytime · price-lock included
$89
“The Courage to Create is completely worth the investment. It offers real community, creativity, and care. When you’re part of Courage to Create, you know you’re surrounded by writers moving toward shared goals—and genuinely supporting one another every step of the way.”
— Nicholas Solis, author of Staring Contest, My Town, Mi Pueblo
Join the Garden
If you’ve been waiting for the right time, the right clarity, or the right permission—this is your moment to stop waiting.
Courage to Create isn’t about doing more.
It’s about staying connected to your work, your questions, and your next right step—inside a community built for the long arc of a literary life.
If you’re ready for clarity, courage, and real forward motion, you belong here.
What Writers and Industry Pros Say
“The Editor Insight and Behind the Book sessions help to deepen my understanding of the editorial process. It is fascinating to hear the story behind why a book was acquired & how it evolved through thoughtful editing.”
TWB SS and Author, Sibert Medal winner for Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka Con La Papa
Sara Fajardo
"Writing and creating is an ongoing task and the journey continues after each milestone."
Award-winning author of picture books and novels
Rob Sanders
“Courage to Create helps me better understand my creative process and reminds me that the anxieties I experience are part of the publishing journey—not a personal failure. Knowing I have a supportive community beside me has made all the difference during my debut year and beyond.”
Gloria Amescua
Author of Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua and Abuelita’s Song
“Bethany mentors writers not only in exquisite craft, but in understanding the real demands of the market. The professional skills writers develop under her guidance—responding thoughtfully to editorial feedback, shaping strong pitches, and positioning their work—translate directly into sales. The three-house auction for my client Jilanne Hoffmann’s nonfiction picture book speaks volumes.”
Steelworks Literary
Lori Steel,
"All the classes and programming I’ve ever been a part of are top notch."
Signed with Sara Crowe Literary. Now the author of the forthcoming Hidden Women: How Louise Larned and Rose Stokes Became America's First Women Camoflauge Artists
Christal Presley
“When I joined… the access to agents was the initial selling point, but… I realized how much more CTC had to offer. This is a community dedicated to going deeper… The core philosophies are things I’ll keep close throughout my writing career.”
Bryan Hilson
Pre-published CTC writer
"The CTC community made me feel less alone by sharing wins and disappointments."
TWB SS signed with Talcott Notch Agency
Christina Paschyn
"CTC helped me connect with the publishing industry and stay accountable."
TWB SS signed with Full Circle Literary. Now the author of All Brains Welcome
Johanna Peyton
"I recently signed a client through the Courage to Create Pitch event."
Associate Agent, Focused Artists
Jackie Kruzie
"I love learning from CTC members who are experts in areas I’m not."
TWB SS signed with Steeleworks Literary. Now the author of Trucks, Boots and Bells: Firehouse Poems and Like a Mother Bear
Mary Cronin
"The CTC community made me feel less alone by sharing wins and disappointments."
TWB SS signed with Steeleworks Literary. Now the author of A River of Dust: The Life-Giving Link Between North Africa and the Amazon, Heartland, and more.
Jilanne Hoffmann
"CTC helped me connect with the publishing industry and stay accountable."
TWB SS signed with Prospect Agency
Claire Bobrow
Looking for Deeper, High-Touch Support?
High-touch mentorship · Connections included · application required
If you have an MFA, have been agented or published, or are receiving revise-and-resubmits, you may be ready for The Courageous Leap for Writers on the Verge—our high-touch program with deeper strategy and support.
