Class Description
Do you want to write a book about science, or culture, or politics, or architecture? You're in luck: there's a booming market for this kind of nonfiction! Writing a "book of ideas," however, requires a different approach than writing fiction or memoir. In this class, you'll learn everything you need to convert your idea into a commercial proposal that you can market to an agent or publisher. We'll pay special attention to the single most important factor in selling nonfiction: the framing. You'll learn about what editors want, what readers want, how to craft a winning proposal and find the best agent for your project, how the nonfiction industry has changed, and how to devise the most effective framing for your book. We'll also analyze successes and failures of the past few years, with special attention to the styles of Malcolm Gladwell and Steven Pinker. Though our focus will be on securing a deal for your book with a major publisher, we'll also discuss how ebooks create new opportunities for self-publishing, and how to approach smaller publishers who don't require an agent.
The class will consist of both lecture and highly interactive discussion, with plenty of opportunity to ask questions. We’ll also break down two or three proposals by recent debut authors whose books did well. By the end of the day you'll have a clear sense of what to do—and, just as important, what to avoid—when writing and selling your book of ideas.
Part of GrubStreet's Starter Courses, classes designed to introduce writers to new genres, topics, and writing practices. To explore more class offerings, click here.
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.