Apply for The Verge
Courage to Create
A community garden for serious-minded writers who want real tools and support for their publishing path ahead.
Courage to Create is an author-created, author-led community built to champion writers through every stage of their journey.
We cultivate a dynamic, supportive environment where you not only find your peers, but build your craft and industry skills by learning directly from industry professionals.
The path to publishing can be unclear, isolating, and costly.
Spending more on conferences or joining yet another writing group isn’t the answer.
How Courage to Create Builds Momentum
Courage to Create is designed to provide sustainable community support.
You learn strategy and tools alongside values-aligned writers who understand your goals and long-view commitment to the work.
Relationships and trust deepen over time. Writers don’t disappear when they hit a milestone. Courage to Create grows with you.
Since 2012, we’ve ushered writers through every phase of their literary life. We meet you where you are and offer clear, actionable pathways to get you to the next step.
Within CTC you’ll gain clarity about:
Where to aim your focus
What actions and support actually make a difference
They get discouraged by comparison traps or feel isolated by the online chatter. We cultivate a supportive, goal-driven space that celebrates and informs your journey.
Inside Courage to Create:
Ask an Agent/Editor sessions provide direct industry insights
All are welcome regardless of sales, status, or productivity speed
You build creative resilience alongside craft and industry knowledge
Courage to Create Writers Thrive
Courage to Create
Your online hub for writing and publishing support, industry insights, and career-building connections
- Are ready to turn—or return—to the page
- Need structure in your long-term creative life
- Have been revising, querying, submitting, or launching your book
- Are looking for submission opportunities and accountability support
- Are craving community over competition and connection over comparison
What You Get:
Three Weekly Check-Ins (Async Accountability)
Gentle touchpoints that keep you close to the work and connect you to other writers
Marketing + platform support
Monthly challenges to help you build your author platform and become career-ready
Member-Led Craft Sessions
Structured peer learning that deepens skill and connection
Select Writing Barn Discounts
Webinars, industry events and more
Community Garden Culture
Moderated, equity-minded, inclusive discussion spaces
Submission Database
Expertly-curated and updated with agents and editors open to submissions
Craft-focused Connections
A dedicated space for finding critique groups, beta readers, and more
Monthly Agent & Editor Sessions (Live + Replay)
Conversations on craft and career guidance, with exclusive submission opportunities included
Craft Clinics + Peer Feedback
Expert guidance for picture books, novels and more plus peer feedback on pitches and first pages
Replay Vault + Resource Hub
Agent/editor conversations, templates, trackers, submission tools, and mindset support
Progress That Grows With You
- A space where the writing life is celebrated and understood
- Deeper clarity and actionable steps towards their goals
- Real tools to navigate an ever-shifting publishing market
- Opportunities to get their work submission-ready
- Support that builds creative resilience and honors the emotional reality of writing and publishing
“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
$890
$89
Annually
(save 16%)
per month
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
Sign up today and begin to enjoy the benefits of community
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
$1068
“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
It’s been a long journey getting here.
Whether you’ve been waiting for the right moment to dedicate yourself to writing, are looking to reset your publishing journey, or simply need permission to call yourself a writer…
Courage to Create was made for you.
Join the community that helps you stay connected to your work throughout the long arc of the literary life.
Keep moving forward, courageously.
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 prepared me for the reality that milestones bring new challenges."
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.
