Program Details
90+ Hours of Instruction
- Throughout the 10-month program, students meet in 3 hour workshops where fellow writers and the instructor provide feedback at every phase of the class. The instructor leads various craft sessions, often adapting them to the class needs along the way. These classes also include deep-dives into published novels and impromptu discussions about the novel-writing process. Guest speakers are invited at various points in the course to address topics and voices/styles that would be most helpful to the current cohort of writers.
- The workshop schedule does include scheduled breaks to make space for vacation time, especially in the summer and over the holidays. Because workshop participation is crucial, the full course schedule will be available to students at the very start of the course. This should allow plenty of time to (re-)schedule any trips or other commitments over the course of the Incubator.
9 Hours of Individual Consultations with Instructor
- Each student receives regular one-on-one sessions with the instructor, typically after each major workshop, milestone, and upon conclusion of the program.
- These meetings are typically scheduled before/after class sessions, during some breaks, and at set days/time, like the Wednesday after class. During these times, the instructor often covers more student-specific feedback and helps coach writers through trouble spots and hesitations.
- Ultimately these hours are student-directed and project-focused, so that each student has time and space to discuss specific project needs, challenges, and goals. Additional meetings are available by request if necessary.
Student Accountability Groups
- Students should expect to focus much of their break weeks on preparing for the upcoming trimester, including meeting with their fellow students in weekly accountability groups. These groups are student run, accountable to the instructor, and can be adjusted to meet the needs of the group.
Mentorship
- Students are offered one and sometimes two mentors from among our alumni group to provide additional support throughout the year, help with navigating the program’s requirements, and general advice to ensure that each student achieves their goals or comes as close to it as possible.
Additional Full-Novel Consultation and Meeting with Established Author
- As part of the third phase of the year, students receive detailed written feedback on their revised novel as well as a face-to-face or phone/Zoom discussion with an established author who will act as a second reader. Students will choose from a list of authors, and this outside reader is helpful in gauging yet another expert viewpoint on the novel as a whole.
One Manuscript Mart appointment with an agent/editor plus access to exclusive industry events
- The Manuscript Mart is an opportunity to have five pages of the student's manuscript read by an agent or editor, who will meet with the student for twenty minutes at the conference to provide critical feedback.
- Annual industry events include mixers, panel discussions, and other exclusive gatherings where program students get rare access to agents, editors, other established writers, and more.
Beyond the Program
- GrubStreet has just launched a more formalized Intensives Alumni program, where alumni have exclusive and additional opportunities to write in community with one another, learn about the publishing industry, and connect with agents/editors. This alumni program and network is expected to continue to grow throughout the years, so it’s a particularly exciting time to join the GrubStreet Intensives program as these opportunities and programs grow beyond the course itself.
The General Schedule & Timeline
The Online Novel Incubator contains three phases.
There are breaks between each 10-week program phase (each break approximately 4 to 6 weeks long), to allow students to process collected feedback and deeply revise parts of their manuscripts.
A full schedule of dates and a course plan will be shared by the instructor at the start of the program. Dates may shift slightly during the program, depending on student and instructor schedules, which the class will discuss as a group as needed. For now, the general schedule for each phase is as follows:
10 Weeks
Students receive full critiques of their entire novels in a workshop setting and craft lectures directly applicable to the novel form. Writers meet with the instructor for an hour in the week following their novel workshop to review feedback, and for another hour between Phase One and Two to present a short craft essay on a novel and craft element of their choice, as assigned early in phase one. During this second meeting, writers will also begin to create a revision plan in preparation for the second phase of the program.
10 Weeks
The second phase narrows its focus onto chapters and scenes. Students examine a common novel and receive craft lectures on topics such as pacing, conflict, pulse, and turning points, etc. Each writer workshops up to one hundred pages two times during this phase.
Students meet individually with their instructor for an hour following each of their workshop submissions to review workshop feedback, share additional new writing, and further refine their novel revision plans.
An additional hour of one-on-one discussion and feedback with the instructor will follow this phrase to ensure that the student is on a firm path toward the book-length revision due in Phase Three. Further meetings can also be made by request.
10 Weeks
Follow the same format as the first, except that students receive full critiques of their entire revised novels. Additional class time is devoted to writing queries, performing public readings, and refining how to engage with agents and editors.
This phase also includes visits from experts in the field, including agents, editors, publicists, and publishers. Students again meet individually with the instructor for one-hour following their workshop sessions. In addition, students submit their novels to an outside reader, an established author who will offer comprehensive macro feedback and also meet for an additional hour of face-to-face, phone, or online meetings.
Prominent local authors, editors and/or agents will visit as guest speakers. At the end of the program, students will have a chance to meet with an agent and/or editor who will read an excerpt of the student's novel with an eye toward representation.
Special note: Due to the intensity of the program, students should be prepared to spend a minimum of fifteen hours per week either in class, preparing for class, or working on their own revisions. Many of our students have had full jobs as well as young children and/or other commitments and still enjoyed a successful year. A student’s ability to handle the workload depends on the student’s unique commitment, diligence, and time management skills. If you have concerns, please contact us and we'll try to put you in touch with an alum who successfully completed the year despite other constraints.