Write. Submit. Support. for Nonfiction Writers with Rob Sanders (FALL SEMESTER) ONLINE

Create the writing career YOU WANT with Write. Submit. Support. (WSS)!

You are dedicated to your writing craft. You have taken webinars, classes, read the craft books, and may even have an MFA, but still you aren’t sure of two things:

Is my work good enough? Really good enough? How will I know I am ready to submit? And to whom?

You know accountability and deadlines serve you. You know you need a balance of deep one-on-one feedback and that you thrive in the company of other talented writers, who are also out to finish drafts, deeply revise, or expand their voice and body of work.

You know you are willing to do the deep work, you just aren’t 100% sure of what that deep work is. Or you long to do the deep work, but life and its messy lifeness keeps getting in the way.

Enter: Write. Submit. Support, a 6 month writing program that develops writers, their projects, and their self-confidence in what work there is left to do as they jump into the query trenches, build a lifelong writing practice, no matter what challenges come their way.

Watch Rob Sanders on The Today Show as he speaks about his nonfiction book Two Grooms on a Cake!

Join author Rob Sanders for a six-month program designed to put you on course to go deeper with your existing work, see how your work fits into the landscape of children’s publishing, give you courage to try new things with your writing and your writing career, and give you a safe space to bring the challenges, opportunities, and celebrations you are facing on your publishing journey.

What we promise:

• One-on-one feedback from talented published authors who are at the top of the game.  (Line edits AND actionable feedback letters!)
• Major movement on your draft or deep revision for novelists, memoir and NF writers. Or for picture book writers the opportunity to expand and polish a body of submittable work. 
• Contemplating and creating a query plan, with exposure to agents and editors, with submission possibilities.

Dates & Times
FALL SEMESTER ONLY*

WSS in Children’s Nonfiction will meet on the following dates:

• Sundays; from 2-5pm Central
  • September 22nd
  • October 20th
  • November 17th
  • December 15th
  • January 19th
  • February 16th

The typical monthly class entails:

• W—Write: In each session we will have a period of free writing or guided writing. Our Guided Craft Discussions and other conversations during each session will also be writing focused and we all will be working on our writing between sessions. In the first session Rob will lead a 45-minute craft lesson. In subsequent sessions, each participant will share a craft lesson.
• S—Submit: During each session you will participate in a discussion about what you’re submitting, responses you’ve received, where and what to submit next, and so on. Questions about submitting, where to submit, to whom to submit, etc. will also be part of our discussion. These discussions will be based on your needs and experiences, and we will enter with equal voices—all knowledge and opinions will be equally valued. We’ll discuss passes, requests for submissions, revise and resubmit requests, and feedback that is sometimes confusing and/or contradictory.
• S—Support: The greatest advantage of our cadre will be the support we give to one another. We will do that during each session by attending each session and being punctual, being present, actively listening to one another, sharing openly and honestly, while fully participating. We will also have a private group on the Mighty Networks platform where we can be in contact with each other outside of our sessions. Rob will lend his support during each session and through his responses to your Monthly Packets and your draft submissions. You may also reach out to Rob as needed between classes. The community of support built among participants often continues beyond the six months of sessions.
• And there’s more!
  • New resources and mentor texts will be introduced in each session.
  • You’ll learn to effectively use deadlines for our creative and analytical work and you’ll receive guidance for how to add structure to your writing life to make deadlines more manageable.

Monthly deadlines:

• Goal Sheet. You will complete a six-month goal sheet after session one. Then update and submit that goal sheet monthly.
• Process Letter. The Process Letter will be submitted to Rob and may be a letter, a list, or may take any other form you wish. The purpose of the Process Letter is to let Rob know how you are progressing toward your 6-Month Goals in a particular month, what you’ve been working on (writing, revising, editing, and submitting), what challenges and opportunities you are facing, questions you have about the WSS process, and so on. The Process Letter will also include:
  • Creative Encounter—Think of this as a report on a date you’ve had with your creative self.
  • Growing My Canon—A growing list of the books that represent who you are, that speak to what you want to be, and that are examples of what you hope to write.
  • My Craft Book Analysis—This could be a report on a book, blog posts, articles, TED Talks, etc.
• Manuscript Draft Submission
  • If you are writing nonfiction picture books (biography, expository, informational, etc.) you may submit a draft with or without back matter (no more than 2400 words total).
  • If writing middle grade or young adult nonfiction, you may submit up to 10 formatted pages.
  • If you feel the piece you are writing doesn’t fit into the parameters listed, Rob will be happy to discuss.

Once over the six-month session:

• Present on a craft topic of his/her/their choosing once during the six months in a 20- minute lecture.

One-on-One with your Write. Submit. Support. Instructor Rob Sanders:

• Each month, you will receive a detailed feedback letter from Rob that responds to your Process Letter, Creative Encounter, Growing My Canon list, and your Craft Book Analysis. The letter will specifically address your questions and concerns, will provide suggestions and recommendations, and will provide individualized guidance for your professional growth and development.
• You will also receive detailed, written feedback on your manuscript submission.
• You will have a 30 minute 1:1 session with your advisor once throughout the 6 month session. This call will be a “strategy session” and writers will provide brief insight into whether they want to discuss querying, craft, etc.
  ahead of time.
• You will receive in-class support on what it means to lead a literary life, sharing of struggles and obstacles, achievements, and triumphs.
• Rob will also be available via our closed Mighty Networks group and by email.

WSS programs will include 6 months of FREE
Courage to Create: Intimate Industry Connection Level Access
6 month membership

with author, Writing Barn Founder/Creative Director and WSS Founder,
Bethany Hegedus (a $525 value!)

About Online Classes

We teach our ONLINE classes in real-time through our virtual Zoom classrooms. This keeps the instruction intimate yet accessible to writers across the country. These classes are not webinars, so we encourage students to take notes and participate in real-time.

Class recordings are available only to those who cannot make the class. This includes those with last-minute technical issues (wi-fi access, etc.) which prevent participation. In addition, recordings are available for two weeks following the class date. Then, we delete these recordings.

We send out class details and logistics a week before classes begin.

Find online learning instructions here: http://www.thewritingbarn.com/zoomonlinemanual

Fees and Payment

Write. Submit. Support. is a 6 month-program and attendees must commit to the full six months. If students miss an online or in-person class session they may view a recording of the class. If a monthly class is missed, attendees are still expected to keep submission deadlines with their WSS instructor.

**Inquire/Apply to see full pricing structure and available payment plans.
Email: info@thewritingbarn.com **

Note: Once you are accepted to WSS and make your first payment, there are no refunds.

Who should apply:

• • Genres: Nonfiction Picture Book and Chapter Book Writers
  • Writers in need of community, structure, and support to reach the next level in their writing life.
  • Active members of the SCBWI or other writing organizations looking for deep craft instruction.
  • Writers looking for one-on-one feedback from a published mentor.
  • Novelists who are refining a body of work for submission to agents and editors.
  • Writers who are eager to make a commitment to their writing and to living a fully rounded literary life.
  • Authors who are between agents and are looking to take their work in new directions.
  • Authors who may be contemplating an MFA program but aren’t sure of the cost or the time away from family and other obligations.

Desired Outcomes of WSS Children’s Nonfiction

• A renewed sense of purpose for each individual writer and the class community.
• A deeper understanding of the work and each writers’ specific process in creating that work.
• A broader knowledge base of the industry and what it requires, as well as specific tools for each writer’s toolbox, furthering goals toward completion of projects.
• The six-month commitment allows for high points and low points—writers can take what they’ve learned from the ebbs and flows and apply it to their own evolving literary lives.

Hear more about why WSS might be the right fit for your by scheduling an curiosity call
with our Program Director, Jessica Hincapie

Sign up for a 25 minute Curiosity Call on My Calendar! 

Praise for previous Write. Submit. Support. classes:

“When it comes to one-on-one feedback from a published author, I would not be developing as a writer as I have been without it. The feedback on my work is absolutely what I need.”

“WSS has given me solid ways to integrate craft study into my writing routine.”

“The six-month structure really has helped me set long term goals and having monthly and weekly goals is helping me reach those larger goals. I plan to continue this from now own. It’s moving my work along in a big way.”

“WSS has shown me how important it is to be part of a writing community. We are learning much from each other through presentations and sharing. To have writers going through the same doubts, standstills and breakthroughs means so much. We celebrate together and we encourage each other.”

“I so appreciate being part of this group. The accountability, the community, the sense that I’m part of something bigger and real. Thank you.”

“My mentor’s feedback has helped me to deepen my novel, to remove those sticky pitfalls that I was blind to, over and again.”