Class Description
Do you have a personal essay draft you love, or an idea you’re excited about, but no idea how to get it published? Have you ever wondered how writers turn lived experience into a compelling pitch that grabs an editor’s attention? Does the idea of distilling a nuanced, personal story into a clear, concise query feel daunting? Whether you’re new to publishing or accustomed to other genres of writing and curious how pitching creative nonfiction works, this class will help you navigate the path from idea to inbox with confidence.
How to Pitch a Personal Essay demystifies the submission process and gives you practical tools to approach editors strategically and professionally. We’ll cover what makes a strong pitch, how to identify the right publications for your work, how to articulate your angle and stakes, and what to expect from the editorial process. You’ll draft and refine your own pitch, receive feedback from fellow writers, and leave with a polished query letter and a concrete plan for submitting your work.
Writing Roadmap: We've created a simple, goal-based writing roadmap to help you find the perfect GrubStreet course for your writing needs.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.