31 Best Publishing Creative Writing Classes in 2024

With small presses a popular choice for publishing, more writers are looking for ways to market their books when their publishers don’t have the resources. This workshop will show you easy hacks for promoting your book.

Each writer completing the four-day intensive will come away with a captivating hook, a serviceable proposal, a deeper understanding of publishing houses, editors and agents; a template for navigating the submission manuscript process; and connections to a broader writing community.

While a sharp query goes a long way to inviting in the agent and editor, even that won’t pique their curiosity if they skip ahead to the novel start and the pages don’t deliver. How can you produce an infallible story opening?

For beginning through more experienced writers, this class aims to demystify the sometimes confusing process of getting published while offering real-world insights and inspiration for success.

Many new writers hoping to become published authors often ask themselves, I’ve written a book…now what? Chances are, the first thing they need is a literary agent. This class focuses on the correct methods of obtaining a literary agent and helps simplify the process.

Alberto Giacometti famously said, “only beauty in imperfection.” How then do we approach revision, in such a way to emphasize not a perceived lack of flaws, but a celebration of imperfection? This workshop will explore that question but focusing on strategies for revising flash fiction and nonfiction.

This course will guide you in a step-by-step fashion how to take a manuscript and turn it into a book. We will cover all the bases from editing to formatting to self-marketing.

What even is book querying? Let's break it down. In this class, we'll talk the business of book publishing—how to identify your genre, the difference between commercial and upmarket, how to find comparative titles, marketplace trends and how to react to them.

In this workshop, students will learn the art of editing their memoir including identifying what and where to cut to streamline the plot. Students will also learn how the revising process works so that they will be able to create a product that will excel in the marketplace.

Reedsy's course, led by Tom Bromley, is a 101-day program aimed at helping writers finish their first novel draft. It includes daily video masterclasses, a structured approach for drafting, and access to a forum and live webinars for interaction and feedback. The course covers various aspects of novel writing, including preparation, character development, plot skills, and writing techniques.

This intensive one-day workshop will offer all poets—whether they have yet to submit their first poem to a literary journal or are ready to present a publisher with a book-length manuscript—hands-on advice on how to achieve their publishing goals.

Get your agent submission questions answered! This workshop will equip you with everything you need to jump into the publishing industry. Discuss the roles of agents and editors, what they’re looking for in work, and how you can make your work stand out through strong query letters, pitches, and bios.