Renegade Writer E-Courses
If you dream of being a writer — or are already a professional and want to boost your income — the Renegade Writer e-courses are for you. We’ve hired instructors who are highly-qualified freelance writers, editors, and teachers, and they worked hard to construct courses that will help you reach your writing goals. These successful freelancers are ready to share their success secrets with you!
How the courses work: Each week, your instructor will e-mail you a link and password to that week’s lesson and assignment. You can do the assignments on weekends, at night, or during your break at work — whenever YOU have the time. If you signed up for a version of the course with e-mail or phone support, your instructor will give you personalized help with your questions and assignments. In other words, you’re not crammed into a group course on some e-mail discussion list. The best part is, you can use the lessons you learn in these courses over and over again. You can pay for the courses through PayPal (see links below) or with a U.S. check (sorry, we can’t accept international checks). Send checks to:
The Renegade Writer
P.O. Box 1622
Westford, MA 01886
To ensure your place in a class, please send us an e-mail at rwclasses[at]therenegadewriter[dot]com if you’re sending a check.
Please choose a course:
- Travel Writing Workshop with Alison Stein Wellner (TBD)
- Essay Writing: How to Find the Story in You — and Sell It with Amy Paturel (TBD)
- Introduction to Food Writing with Monica Bhide (STARTS APRIL 1, 2010 AND JULY 5, 2010) **ONE MORE SPACE LEFT FOR GOLD/PREMIUM STUDENT IN APRIL CLASS)
- Tech Journalism 2.0: Making Money with Your Inner Geek with Damon Brown. (TBD)
- Writing for Trade Magazines with Pat Curry (TBD)
- Magazine Writing Basics with Elaine Grant (TBD)
- Write for Magazines with Linda Formichelli (STARTS MARCH 15, 2010)
- Build the Freelance Writing Business You Want with Gwen Moran (TBD)
- Get Unstuck! for Freelancers with Linda Formichelli (STARTS MARCH 15, 2010)
TRAVEL WRITING WORKSHOP, taught by Alison Stein Wellner
START DATE: TBD
DURATION: 6 weeks
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Travel writing can require the research skills of a historian, the interviewing skills of a journalist, the keen sensory observations of a poet, and the narrative techniques of a novelist (while hewing to the strictest standards of accuracy!). In this 6-week workshop, we will cover essential research skills and habits to use on the road, how to develop ideas for travel stories, including service pieces, narratives and essays. We’ll look at trip planning and design, managing relationships with public relations professionals, and the specific issues involved with pitching travel stories. This class has a selection of weekly assignments to build your research, writing and traveling muscles. The Basic course includes six lessons and assignments; the Premium version includes the lessons and assignments plus personalized e-mail support from the instructor.
“The six weeks just flew by. I enjoyed it so much. I am quite happy that I chose the ‘gold’ package, the benefit of your experience and insight is a huge bonus. It was a great learning experience and the feedback you provided will go a long way in shaping my future writing. Thank you!” —Tammy Rutledge
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: In the past two years, Alison Stein Wellner tackled assignments that took her to Germany, China, Argentina, New Zealand, Poland, Turkey, Scotland, Honduras, South Africa, and to a number of places in the North America as well. (Yup, that’s every continent but Antarctica.) She’s the Culinary Travel Guide for the New York Times-owned About.com, and part of the editorial team at AOL’s luxury blog, Luxist, where she covers travel. She’s written for Boston Magazine, Business Traveler, BusinessWeek, The Chicago Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, Continental, Fast Company, Glamour, Go, Ladies’ Home Journal, Men’s Journal, Money, Mother Jones, New York Magazine, Psychology Today, Reason, Robb Report, Sierra Magazine, The Travel Channel’s World Hum, USA Weekend, The Washington Post, Working Mother, Yankee, and Yoga Journal, among other places. She’s been a contributing editor at Inc. magazine and former editor-at-large at American Demographics magazine; a New York Times Professional Fellow and a National Press Foundation Fellow, and her articles have won awards from the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the American Society of Business Press Editors.
Download Alison’s E-course FAQ (PDF format)
COST: $250 for the Premium version, which includes e-mail support and feedback from instructor, including personalized assignments based on your own interests. $150 for the Basic version with no e-mail support or feedback from instructor.
BUY NOW: Travel Writing Premium
BUY NOW: Travel Writing Basic
ESSAY WRITING: HOW TO FIND THE STORY IN YOU — AND SELL IT, taught by Amy Paturel
START DATE: TBD
DURATION: 6 weeks
COURSE DESCRIPTION: In this comprehensive six-week course you’ll learn the essentials of writing essays that sell. Unlike service stories, which typically shun self-expression, essays give writers an opportunity to share their personal experiences and perceptions of the world. This satisfying genre requires an open heart, a reflective spirit and a thick skin. Sessions will cover how to find your story and speak your truth, the art of journal writing (and how it helps uncover stories), the critical elements of a salable essay, the value (or not) of critiques, rewriting your essay, and the specifics of pitching and submitting essays. You will also learn how to make your essays sing by finding your own personal style and voice. In addition to receiving feedback on two completed essays, this class will include weekly assignments to enhance your essay writing skills. At the end of the course you will know how (and where) to pitch your essays – and how to make sure they sell.
I have been writing for many years in several different forms but had never tried writing essays. I was hoping this course would make me a more complete writer as well as more marketable – and it has. Amy Paturel’s instruction was clear, well thought out and organized. Her lesson plans and assignments were easy to follow and she also supplied us with excellent essay examples and directed us where we could find more on our own. Her critiques of my work and the other students’ work seemed to be spot on and were delivered honestly but always in a tone that was encouraging. Most importantly, she inspired me to get off my behind and WRITE – the best sign of a good teacher! I would recommend this course to new writers as well as seasoned writers who are looking to sharpen their skills, and especially to anyone with a desire to write but needs a kick start!
—Mark Nassief
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Amy Paturel has published essays in major women’s magazines, regional newspapers, niche publications and general interest magazines. She has been featured twice in Newsweek’s “My Turn” column and has contributed essays to Health, Women’s Health, Body+Soul, Healing Lifestyles & Spas, The Los Angeles Times and more. As a columnist for AOL’s Diet and Fitness Channels, she “essayed” about fast (and slow) food, strip workouts and fitness DVDs. Admittedly, writing essays is not Amy’s only source of income. To pay the bills, she writes about health, fitness, food, wine and travel for a variety of clients from general interest magazines to medical e-zines. Her work frequently appears in Cooking Light, Health, Eating Well, Women’s Health and Better Homes and Gardens.
COST: $250 for the Premium version with six weeks of e-mail support. $125 for the Basic version with no e-mail support.
BUY NOW: Essay Writing Premium
BUY NOW: Essay Writing Basic
INTRODUCTION TO FOOD WRITING, taught by Monica Bhide
START DATE: Thursday, April 1, 2010 (ONE SPACE LEFT FOR GOLD/PREMIUM STUDENT IN APRIL CLASS) and Monday, July 5, 2010
DURATION: 6 weeks
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This comprehensive six-week course will enable you to combine your love of food and your passion for writing into a marketable skill. You’ll learn about the different kinds of food writing: service articles, recipe development, cookbook writing, blogging, memoirs, essays, restaurant reviews and more. I will teach you how to find hidden markets for your ideas, how to track down the correct editors at publications, and how to make your food writing really shine. This course, presented along with skill-building assignments, will give you an in-depth understanding of the food writing profession. Whether you wish to develop recipes, write a family cookbook, break into a national food magazine, or write food essays, this course will provide you with a solid foundation from which to build on. Included in the course materials will be interviews with the food editor of the Chicago Tribune, the travel editor of Food & Wine, the restaurant critic for the Washington Post, and more.
“Monica Bhide’s foodwriting course is pure joy. Her love for the subject and enthusiasm comes across in her meticulous course materials and generous feedback. Many internet courses skim the surface of the subject matter, but Bhide dives in straight and deep. Not only do her lessons cover the pros and cons of different food writing aspects, she includes targeted Q&As with food writing professionals and carefully crafted samples that drive the information home. While Bhide’s exercises require serious commits of time and thought, they aren’t just “busy work”. The assignments mirror real life scenarios or build practical skills you can put to immediate use. The highlight of the course is Bhide’s feedback. She gives unrestrained praise where earned and constructive, helpful suggestions to fill the gaps. I highly recommend taking this food writing course. My only complaint is it ended too soon.” —Charmian Christie
During the six weeks of Monica’s food writing class I learned one invaluable tip related to creating recipes, developed my first essay related to food and sent it to an appropriate market, and created an idea for a cookbook. On top of that, Monica offered highly personalized attention throughout the course. I highly recommend this class – and working with Monica – to anyone who wants to learn about and/or expand their knowledge of food writing, its joys and its challenges. —Lisa Waterman Gray
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Monica Bhide has: discussed truffles with the grand-old Chef extraordinaire Imtiaz Querishi in Mumbai; sampled hamur on dhows in Dubai; sipped camel’s milk in Bahrain; followed a superstar food critic around Mumbai and an anonymous one in DC; presented Spices and Rices at the French Embassy in DC and gotten lost on the backstreets of Delhi searching for the perfect paratha; tapaoed in DC with Chef Jose Andres and sampled the amazing cuisine of Chef Ananda Solomon; taught cooking on-line (yes it can be done) and in her cooking school; sampled flights of honey and hosted colorful henna parties each spring. Monica has written on food for such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Bon Appetit, Town and Country Travel, Food and Wine, Cooking Light, Coastal Living, Health, and Better Nutrition. Her highly praised first cookbook, The Spice Is Right: Easy Indian Cooking for Today (Callawind Publications, 2001) is a collection of mouth-watering menus tempered with her up-to-date touches on classic Indian recipes. Monica’s newest cookbook, The Everything Indian Cookbook: 300 Tantalizing Recipes–From Sizzling Tandoori Chicken to Fiery Lamb Vindaloo (Everything Series) was released in May 2004. Monica was also the recipient of the Susan B. Langhorne Scholarship for Food Writers at the Symposium for Professional Food Writers in 2004 and the runner up for the 2005 award.
Download Monica’s E-course FAQ (PDF format)
COST: $500 for the Gold version, which includes six weeks of phone support (1/2 hour per week, by appointment) and e-mail support. $250 for the Premium version with e-mail support only. $125 for the Basic version with no phone or e-mail support.
BUY NOW: Food Writing Gold
BUY NOW: Food Writing Premium
BUY NOW: Food Writing Basic
TECH JOURNALISM 2.0: MAKING MONEY WITH YOUR INNER GEEK, taught by Damon Brown
START DATE: TBD
DURATION: 5 weeks
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Are you interested in covering technology for the big publications? Do you need to get up to speed on how to talk about tech in your articles? In 5 weeks, let tech culture journalist and author Damon Brown guide you into the new opportunities in tech writing. By the end of the class, TECH JOURNALISM 2.0: MAKING MONEY WITH YOUR INNER GEEK will teach you: The do’s and don’ts of tech journalism; the different types of tech writing; what publications are best for your work; making the best tech pitches; and finding the right editors at the right publications. The course is built for both professional journalists looking to expand as well as novices interested in tech writing. Only requiring about one hour per week, the 5-week class has weekly lessons and assignments that will help you sharpen your tech knowledge, prepare you to pitch tech-friendly markets and increase your comfort with tech topics. Discussions will be done over email. The instructor also provides a one-on-one, 15-minute phone conversation the week after the class wraps.
Damon Brown’s class was an excellent experience. The assignments were very vivid into what an aspiring tech journalist should be thinking about as they write and pitch articles. Brown asks student to consider their audience and what medium would be best used to address their audience, giving the aspiring writer a moment to reflect on their aspired career. I recommend this class to anyone wanting to get started in tech journalism. —Alexander Bevier
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Damon Brown regularly covers tech for Playboy, New York Post and Family Circle, blogs daily for BNet.com, launched AARP: The Magazine Online’s video game column and is Mobile Games Editor at About.com. He is the author of several books on tech culture, including “The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to the iPhone”, the first book on the popular device. He has a Master’s in Magazine Publishing from Northwestern University and a Bachelors in Journalism/Computing from Oakland University. Damon also has been a tech commentator on NPR, CNN, G4TV and BBC World. A speaker at Google headquarters, Michigan State University and several journalism conferences, Damon is the Tech Chair for the 2010 American Society of Journalists and Author conference happening in Manhattan April 23 – 25.
QUESTIONS? Email Damon at damon@damonbrown.net.
COST: $250 for the Premium version with 5 weeks of e-mail support. $125 for the Basic version with no e-mail support.
BUY NOW: Tech Writing Premium
BUY NOW: Tech Writing Basic
WRITING FOR TRADE MAGAZINES taught by Pat Curry
START DATE: TBD
DURATION: 8 weeks
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Many budding freelance writers think that writing for trade magazines is at best a stepping stone, something to fill in the gaps while they’re trying to achieve the ultimate goal of writing for national consumer magazines. At worst, they think trade magazines pay badly, are deadly dull and are written by hacks who can’t land an assignment anywhere else. They’re wrong — on all counts. Trade magazines often pay just as much as national consumer magazines, tackle tough issues and require the same level of reporting and writing as any news magazine. Plus, editors at trade magazines aren’t swamped with hundreds of queries a week. They appreciate writers who understand the voice and mission of their magazines and regularly reward them with steady work. In this course, you’ll learn how to expand your freelance business by writing for trade magazines. Sessions will cover: An overview of the three types of trade magazines, how to find trade magazines (they’re not on the newsstands!), the critical differences between writing for trades and consumer magazines, specialization, story categories for trade magazines, letters of introduction, story pitches that give trade magazine editors what they really need, and reslanting and reselling trade magazine articles to consumer publications.
“I want to thank you for holding the class. It’s really been eye-opening and you gave us some very helpful instruction.” —Heather Larson
“Great news — less than 2 weeks after I sent out my first batch of letters of introduction, I have my first assignment from a trade mag! Thank you so much for all the information and help you’ve provided in your great class. I will definitely be recommending you to my writer friends!” —Caitlin Moriarity, freelance writer/editor
“I’m taking the Plain Jane Vanilla Version of your trade pubs writing class but I had to email you this morning after going over Week 2’s outline. Just the amount of links you’ve given us in Week 2’s lesson is worth the cost of the basic class alone. I am totally blown away by the options available to me and am really looking forward to what I’ll be able to learn in the coming weeks.” —Gwynneth A.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Pat Curry is a former senior editor at BUILDER, the official magazine of the National Association of Home Builders. BUILDER is the largest monthly-circulation trade magazine in the country and the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ 2007 Magazine of the Year in the 80,000-and-up circulation category. A 1980 graduate of the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Pat spent six years working for daily newspapers before going freelance in 1987. Her freelance career has included writing for newspapers, governmental agencies, universities, non-profit organizations, Web sites, and regional, national and international magazines. For the past 10 years, her award-winning work has focused almost exclusively on trade magazines.
Download Pat’s E-Course FAQ (PDF format)
COST: $240 for the Premium version with e-mail support. $120 for the Basic version with no email support.
BUY NOW: Trade Writing Premium
BUY NOW Trade Writing Basic
MAGAZINE WRITING BASICS, taught by Elaine Grant
START DATE: TBD
DURATION: 8 weeks
COURSE DESCRIPTION: If you’ve always wanted to write national magazine features but haven’t known how to get started – or if you’ve tried your hand at it and want to learn more – this course is for you. In Elaine’s course, you’ll learn about:
- The various kinds of stories, from front-of-the book items and service pieces to profiles and trend stories. For the truly adventurous, Elaine will offer an introduction to narrative features.
- The reporting process: where to dig up the best stats, studies, and information, how to tell the difference between reliable and unreliable data, how to find expert sources, how to tell good sources from bad sources, how to develop interview questions that get the best quotes, how to deal with difficult interviewees, the all-important fact-checking process, and more.
- Basic writing and editorial issues like ledes, description, dialogue, conflict, endings, and “entry points.”
- How to navigate the magazine publishing world — working with editors, handling deadlines and revisions, overcoming writers block, learning how to write fast, and finding your passion.
- Students who opt for the premium course will write one complete article (can be one that has already been assigned by a magazine editor). Elaine will answer research, source, and interview questions relevant to that story and will provide a critique of a draft if desired.
- Students who sign up for the premium course will also get two phone consults with Elaine.
NOTE: Many writers have asked what is the difference between Elaine’s course and Linda Formichelli’s course on breaking into magazines. Linda’s course gives the details on how to write a winning query letter in eight steps; Elaine’s course gets into the nitty-gritty of writing an article, from researching an idea to choosing the best sources to writing a compelling lede. Elaine also talks about how to navigate the publishing world.
I loved the Magazine Writing Basics course. I learned a lot even though I took a Writing & Editing course through a university a couple years ago and a few of my magazine articles have been published. I needed reminding about some of the basics, but much of the information, tips and resources provided in the Magazine Writing Basics course were new to me and very helpful. My favorite part of the course was receiving Eliane’s personal assessment and advice. When I started the class, I was in the midst of writing an article that had no heart. Elaine helped me see where the trouble lay and her suggestions for improvement helped turn my article into something I’ll be proud to submit to the editor. Thank you, Elaine! —Karen Giles-Smith
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Elaine Appleton Grant has been a journalist for 20 years. She recently made the switch from print to radio; she is now the health and science reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio. Prior to joining NHPR, she was a monthly columnist for Inc. Magazine and a senior editor for this national business “bible for entrepreneurs.” Her work has appeared in AARP The Magazine, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, Business Week, Audubon, New Age Journal, Natural Health, U.S. News and World Report and more than 50 other trade and consumer magazines. Elaine has also been a producer for a National Public Radio talk show, where she learned how to write very quickly on topics ranging from the war in Iraq to John Williams’ movie scores. She continues to freelance for magazines and Web sites in her off hours.
Download Elaine’s E-Course FAQ (PDF format)
COST: $250 for the Premium version with e-mail support plus two phone consults. (Premium support is highly recommended by Elaine.) $125 for the Basic version with no e-mail or phone support.
BUY NOW: Magazine Writing Basics Premium
BUY NOW: Magazine Writing Basics Basic
WRITE FOR MAGAZINES, taught by Linda Formichelli
START DATE: Monday, March 15, 2010
DURATION: 8 weeks
COURSE DESCRIPTION: If you want to write for magazines but don’t know how to get started — or if you need some motivation to get you going — this course is for you. In eight weekly lessons, Linda will walk you through:
- Coming up with a salable idea
- Finding markets that would be interested in your idea
- Finding the right editors to send your idea to
- Interviewing people for the query letter (the proposal that sells the editor on your idea and yourself as a writer)
- Writing a winning query letter
- Getting your query out the door!
So far, students of this course (which launched in June 2005) have landed assignments from Writer’s Digest, Woman’s Day, Rhode Island Home, Living & Design, For Me, Body & Brain, Michigan Out-Of-Doors, MyBusiness, Pizza Today, E: The Environmental Magazine, Black Health, Cottage Living, and other magazines.
At the very end of 2006, I decided to take one of your courses with hopes of starting a freelance career. In January 2007, I bought Query Letters That Rocked. I completely changed the way I did things…the first story I sold this year was to USA Today! Since then, I have sold stories to The New York Times, American Cheerleader, Wondertime, American Baby, Discover, Yoga Journal, Spirituality & Health, Web MD, Mother Jones, Fit Pregnancy, Delicious Living and Plenty. I’m now having people come to me– have signed on to do some niche blogging and just accepted a trade article today. —Rachel Mosteller
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Linda has written for more than 120 magazines since she started freelancing in 1997, including such top-notch publications as USA Weekend, Family Circle, Fitness, Health, Psychology Today, Parenting, Wired, Business Start-Ups, Men’s Fitness, and Woman’s Day. Linda is the co-author of The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success and The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock.
QUESTIONS? E-mail Linda.
COST: $600 for the Gold version with eight weeks of e-mail support and eight half-hour phone coaching sessions. $240 for the Premium version with eight weeks of e-mail support. $120 for the Basic version with no e-mail support.
Download Linda’s E-course FAQ (PDF format)
BUY NOW: Get Published in Magazines Gold
BUY NOW: Get Published in Magazines Premium
BUY NOW: Get Published in Magazines Basic
BUILD THE FREELANCE WRITING BUSINESS YOU WANT, taught by Gwen Moran
START DATE: TBD
DURATION: 6 weeks
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Is your freelance business off-course? Do you wish you made more money or could switch to a new specialty? Do you need a game plan to build the business you want to have instead of the business that seems to have developed haphazardly? Then, this course is for you. Build the Freelance Writing Business You Want will show freelancers with a few years of experience how to find and cultivate anchor clients, build multiple streams of income, develop a specialty, manage marketing and self- promotion, and set goals that work for you, whether you want to make six figures, become a topic specialist, or freelance while working full-time at another job.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Gwen is a nationally recognized entrepreneur and successful freelance writer and author. A columnist for Entrepreneur, she’s written for everyone from Woman’s Day to On Wall Street to Newsweek.com to Family Business. She’s the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Business Plans and has consulted with and coached small business owners for more than 15 years. After transitioning into freelance writing after owning a marketing communications agency, she learned that freelance writing is much like many other businesses: Apply the same principles, and it’s possible to build a thriving writing business that meets your goals and suits your life.
QUESTIONS? E-mail Gwen.
COST: $250 for the Premium version with six weeks of e-mail support. $150 for the Basic version with no e-mail support.
BUY NOW: Build the Freelance Writing Business You Want Premium
BUY NOW: Build the Freelance Writing Business You Want Basic
BUY NOW: Get Unstuck! for Freelancers Premium
BUY NOW: Get Unstuck! for Freelancers Basic
