New Workshop Coming…

And Other Stuff…

Last day of August. Been a long summer, that’s for sure. Actually, a long time since March/April and the start of all this. I went for months this summer (except for the scary trip going up North for moving) with my big adventure each week going grocery shopping. Or maybe running for some take-out pizza.

I know for a fact I am not alone in that. Being safe and sane through all this is crazy. I sure thought last May we would be through this by now. Nope. Now I am at least getting out of the building each day for exercise. Who knew by now I would own a dozen different masks. (shaking head)

We did a workshop sale in April, another the first of May, then another the first week of July. We are thinking of doing another since this stupid pandemic still has all sane people walking carefully, wearing masks, and staying inside. And the only way we can help with keeping writers learning and safe is to offer these workshops on a sale.

I will let you know on that soon. And if you have bought a workshop lately, if we decide to do it, I will give you half credit, so no worry there. But not certain yet so hang on. And with luck, if we decide to do this, it will be the last one. (I said that before, didn’t I? Have I said how much I hate this pandemic?)

However, one thing we are doing for sure in October is adding a brand new workshop. It will be available on Teachable tomorrow and will start on October 7th. It is called Making Money 101. Actually the name is Making Money with Your Writing. (Yes, it will be in the lifetime workshop subscription.)

Kris and I have talked about this one before, and we approach it with the Licensing 101 and the Publishing 101. But we have never focused an entire workshop on how to make money from your fiction writing. Full six-week workshop in October. Might make the difference between making coffee money and making a living.

And later this week or this next weekend, three regular workshops that we have been doing are moving to Classic Status. Endings workshop (which few took and everyone needed), Writing Romance workshop, and Information Flow workshop. Those will be classic status by next weekend.

And the new Covers 101 workshop will start on the 1st, and be offered every month after that. The new Kickstarter Step-by-Step workshop is just finishing up its first run and will be offered again in October and every-other-month after that.

As for special workshops, I sent letters out to everyone to pick September or October for the Special Writing Space Opera workshop. If you didn’t get a letter and can’t find it in your spam, and you got the workshop in the Diving Kickstarter, write me. The survey for the Kickstarter will go out later in the week so people can get all their books and the codes to the stretch reward Pop-Ups.

So lots going on. Stay tuned.

2 Comments

Thorn Coyle

August 31, 2020 at 10:06 am

Dean,

Looking forward to the Making Money workshop. I make steady income from my writing now, and am on the long-term-planning train these days. Looking forward to a refreshed view and new ideas. I also need to re-read Kris’s Discoverability book.

Mostly, I came here to say: I encourage folks to take the Covers class.

I took the Covers workshop Allyson taught years ago and it was one of the best investments of my time and money. Learning about fonts, and title placement, and what images work and where and why ––and basically, how design a cover that reads well for genre in thumbnail––has served me well. That class, in combination with scanning my Bookbub email daily just to study covers, keeps training my eye.

Though I stopped using InDesign (it doesn’t work well for me. I now use a combo of PicMonkey and Bookbrush to make ebook covers, POD wrap covers and box sets) the Covers class was invaluable.

It’s funny, while my health was tanking, I didn’t have the bandwidth to make covers and write and do business, so I hired out covers for two of my series. One series, I recently went back and re-did myself because, though they were gorgeous, I finally realized they did not properly telegraph genre.

I’m glad to have this knowledge.

— Thorn

E. R. Paskey

August 31, 2020 at 6:30 pm

Wow, talk about an all-star lineup for the end of this summer and fall!

The Kickstarter workshop has been eye-opening so far–lots and lots of information and nitty-gritty how-tos. I am really enjoying it and learning a ton.

Looking forward to to the Covers 101 workshop starting tomorrow. And now a Making Money workshop for October? Outstanding!

This has been a good season for learning and writing, that’s for sure. Not being able to do all the normal spring/summer things our family would usually do has been rough, but the limited number of outside engagements has provided more chunks of time for other things. We will get through this, eventually.

Thorn Coyle

August 31, 2020 at 10:06 am

Dean,

Looking forward to the Making Money workshop. I make steady income from my writing now, and am on the long-term-planning train these days. Looking forward to a refreshed view and new ideas. I also need to re-read Kris’s Discoverability book.

Mostly, I came here to say: I encourage folks to take the Covers class.

I took the Covers workshop Allyson taught years ago and it was one of the best investments of my time and money. Learning about fonts, and title placement, and what images work and where and why ––and basically, how design a cover that reads well for genre in thumbnail––has served me well. That class, in combination with scanning my Bookbub email daily just to study covers, keeps training my eye.

Though I stopped using InDesign (it doesn’t work well for me. I now use a combo of PicMonkey and Bookbrush to make ebook covers, POD wrap covers and box sets) the Covers class was invaluable.

It’s funny, while my health was tanking, I didn’t have the bandwidth to make covers and write and do business, so I hired out covers for two of my series. One series, I recently went back and re-did myself because, though they were gorgeous, I finally realized they did not properly telegraph genre.

I’m glad to have this knowledge.

— Thorn
E. R. Paskey

August 31, 2020 at 6:30 pm

Wow, talk about an all-star lineup for the end of this summer and fall!

The Kickstarter workshop has been eye-opening so far–lots and lots of information and nitty-gritty how-tos. I am really enjoying it and learning a ton.

Looking forward to to the Covers 101 workshop starting tomorrow. And now a Making Money workshop for October? Outstanding!

This has been a good season for learning and writing, that’s for sure. Not being able to do all the normal spring/summer things our family would usually do has been rough, but the limited number of outside engagements has provided more chunks of time for other things. We will get through this, eventually.