Class Description
It’s common knowledge that rejection rates in this industry are up around 98 percent, and you have likely felt this bitter sting on more than one occasion, but do you really know why? Do you suspect that even when agents request your material, they sometimes don’t read after the first page? You may be right. Most decisions are made within the first one to five pages, and it’s not just agents–– reviewers, editors, and even readers make quick judgments in the face of so many choices.
Join literary agent Sorche Elizabeth Fairbank for an eye-opening session on impact, good or bad, of your first pages. Learn what some standard rejection phrasing means (agent-speak), why decisions are too-often made on the first page, find out if you are guilty of one or more of the top twenty reasons for rejection, know when to listen to advice and when to chalk things up to subjective difference, and through an intense critiquing session, learn how make your first five pages work for you. This session is helpful for those about to begin the submission process, to those who may be rejection-weary and looking for fresh insight, and those who may be preparing for Muse 2018 or other writing conferences.
NOTE: Please submit a one-page synopsis or query letter and your first five pages as one document, no later than 12:00pm on February 16th, using this link. For class, please also bring three other random pages out of your first 25, and be prepared to have your work critiqued with other members of the class.
All students will receive handouts and written critique of their first pages.
Limited to 12 students.
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.