Date/Time
Date(s) - Mon 7th Oct - Wed 30th Oct, 2024
7:00pm - 9:00pm
From Manuscript to Marketing
This month-long course takes emerging writers through the essential steps to ready their first book for publication. The course is designed for writers who have completed a first draft, either of fiction (literary, commercial or genre) or narrative nonfiction.
Hosted by literary agent Jenny Brown, with guest speakers from across the book world, we will be taking a close look at the different publishing routes available to new writers, from traditional to digital-first to self-publishing. We’ll be discussing how to edit your manuscript so that it’s ready for submission, preparing the submission package, finding the right agent and publisher, and securing a deal. We will also cover the author’s role in book promotion including social media, finding writing communities – and looking after yourself as you develop your writing career.
Moniack in a Month: Preparing for Publication includes:
- a short introductory welcome session
- four stimulating online workshops, preceded by optional drop-in social time
- a final ceilidh session – offering the opportunity to share an extract of your work with your group
- Contact and support from your community of writers via Google Classroom (optional)
- Drop-ins before each workshop to help you get to know your group (optional)
- Support from your Moniack Mhor co-host
Workshop 1 – Editing, with Malachy Tallack
- How to structure, revise and polish your writing for submission
Workshop 2 – How the Book Business Works, with Francesca Main
- Understanding publishing houses, editors and agents
- How books are sold, retail and online
- Traditional publishing, digital first publishing and self-publishing
- Copyright and contracts
- Subsidiary rights
Workshop 3 – Submission Process, with Jenny Brown
- What do literary agents do – do you need one, and what are the alternatives?
- How to choose an agent
- What do agents and publishers look for?
- Writing a proposal/synopsis
- Writing a pitch
- Writing a query letter
- Dealing with rejection, deciphering responses
- What happens when a publisher makes an offer
Workshop 4 – Getting Attention as a Writer, with Anna Frame
- Publication Day – how to prepare, what to expect – and what not to expect
- Publicity – controlling your own narrative
- Social media
- Building your own network and writing communities
- Financial support / opportunities for writers
- Looking after yourself as a debut writer
- Building relationships with bookshops, libraries, festivals and events
- Reviews – and how to respond
- Developing your writing career
Timetable
Week 1 Monday 7 October 19:00–21:00 Workshop 1
Week 2 Monday 14 October 19:00–20:00 Workshop 2
Week 3 Monday 21 October 19:00–21:00 Workshop 3
Week 4 Monday 28 October 19:00–21:00 Workshop 4
Week 4 Wednesday 30 October 19:00–20:30 Ceilidh
Host
Jenny Brown founded Jenny Brown Associates in 2002, and now represents fifty writers of literary fiction, narrative non-fiction and crime writing. She was formerly first Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival and Head of Literature at the Scottish Arts Council.
Guest Speakers
Malachy Tallack is the award-winning author of four books, most recently Illuminated by Water, which was shortlisted for the Richard Jefferies Award for nature writing in 2022. His novel The Valley at the Centre of the World was shortlisted for the Highland Book Prize and longlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize. His first book, Sixty Degrees North, was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, and his second, The Un-Discovered Islands, was named Illustrated Book of the Year at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. Malachy is the managing editor of Gutter, Scotland’s leading literary journal. He is from Shetland, and currently lives in Fife.
Francesca Main has been an editor at Penguin, Simon & Schuster and Picador and is now the publisher of her own imprint, Phoenix, at Orion. She has launched the careers of many bestselling and prize-winning authors including Jessie Burton, Adam Kay, AJ Pearce and Cathy Rentzenbrink, and is a former Editor of the Year at the British Book Awards.
Anna Frame is Communications Director at Canongate Books. An award-winning publicist with more than 15 years’ experience, she has run a wide variety of campaigns and events across almost every genre, with career highlights including Amy Liptrot’s The Outrun, Travis Alabanza’s None of the Above, Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan’s Faith, Hope and Carnage, and Ruth Ozeki’s Women’s Prize-winning The Book of Form and Emptiness. She is also the Chair of the Publishers’ Publicity Circle, a recipient of the Booksellers’ Association Sophie Christopher Publicist of the Year award, and a Trustee of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The publicity team she manages pride themselves on promoting Canongate’s titles creatively, collaboratively and effectively, with campaigns that put author care at their heart.
Fees
The full fee for this online course is £360. A deposit of £100 is required to secure your place, which is non-refundable after a 14-day cooling-off period. The balance payment of £260 is due six weeks before the course begins.
Bursaries are available, and you also have the option to pay in instalments, please email online@moniackmhor.org.uk to enquire.
All activity takes place on Zoom, and workshops include a short break. Moniack Mhor staff will be on hand to support you during your course.
For more information please email online@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Access
Please let us know in your booking form if you have any access requirements when working online so we can do our best to support you. For more information about access to our courses, please visit our Access page.
Terms and Conditions
Please read our Terms & Conditions before booking.