The Renegade Writer Blog

Before you come at us like a bat out of hell:

• Right now, we’re not actively looking to add more classes to our roster. However, we can always be swayed with a sure-fire moneymaker, a class we haven’t thought of, so don’t let our reluctance to get off our lazy asses stop you.
• What goes for pitching magazine editors goes for pitching us: Do Your Homework. Please please PLEASE look at our current course offerings. We’ve heard from several potential instructors in the last month offering to teach essay writing but, err, we’ve already got a fantastic course in essay writing?
• Our students are looking for instructors who are at the top of their games. Wow us with your background/credits/experience in the course you’d like to teach. Maybe it sounds snooty, but think about this from an economic perspective: students won’t sign up for your class if they don’t recognize your name, aren’t blown away by your credits, or don’t think you have the experience to spout off on the subject you’re teaching — for you, this translates into the timesuck of developing a class that few people will take. You’d be better off financially building your expertise instead of pounding on our door.
• When you pitch us, we want a specific idea, not, “Hi, I’m available … got a class for me to teach?” — unless you’re John McPhee, Elizabeth Gilbert, or on David Remnick’s speed dial. Tell us what makes your class different from others we offer, why this is a class that writers need now, and why you’re the right person to be teaching it.
• Developing and teaching a class is a ton of work, both for the instructor and us. Our classes run for six to eight weeks, and each weekly lesson covers a lot of ground. Writing a class can take weeks, even months, and yes, we edit them and come back to you with questions just like your editors do. We want your material to rock! On top of this, you have to be available to answer student questions via e-mail and, with your gold-level students, talk to them on the phone for one-on-one mentoring. You have to do all this while managing the projects you have in your “real” career. Think hard if you tend to struggle with multiple priorities. Teaching isn’t for everyone, and there’s no shame in admitting this to yourself.
• What’s in it for you? You set your own prices: you get 70 percent of your course fee and fork 30 percent over to us. What you get from us: marketing, admin, and technical support, an easy-to-declare 1099 for your taxes, and the kick-ass cachet of the Renegade Writer brand behind your class. We encourage you to talk to our current instructors about working with us.
• If we haven’t dissuaded you, pitch away. We carefully consider every course idea and will get back to you within a couple weeks if we want to hear more. If you don’t hear from us, do follow up.