Class Description
Get your op-ed out of your head and into the headlines! Let’s say you have strong opinions—and the expertise to back it up—about how to parent your kids or parent presidential candidates, about immigration reform or Red Sox reform. In this seminar you'll learn the basics of writing and submitting the standard 600- to 900-word op-ed column. Via lecture and discussion of great examples from published op-eds, short exercises, and Q&A, we'll show you: 1) how to hone your topic into a timely, seasonal, marketable idea for an op-ed that editors want; 2) how to leverage your personal experience and expertise, and develop a sharp angle; 3) basic op-ed structures; 4) how to craft a catchy lede; and 5) how and where to pitch and submit them to newspapers, magazines, and online publications. We'll look at exemplary pitch letters and go over standard protocol for working with editors. In-class exercises will help you get a start on a draft. For any writers looking for practical tips to get their op-eds into the marketplace.
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.