Online Classes

Hello, Sandra here in Seekerville, trying not to be jealous that she isn’t in Orlando at the RomanceWriters of America (RWA) conference. So are there any more of you out there wishing you were at the conference?

It does happen. We have many reasons we need to be home instead of at the conference.  I always love the spotlight on the traditional publishing houses and the updates on the industry news.

Debby Guisti is there.  Waving at you Debby. Debby and I were roommates at the RWA Conference in Anaheim in 2012.

Studying the schedule of events

Do you recognize these Seeker friends?

I roomed with Ruthy when RWA National Conference was in Orlando in 2010.  Waving at you too Ruthy. Memories of super great times are racing through my mind.  smile

Ruthy loves Minnie

We explored the beaches in Florida the day before the conference.

But just because we aren’t at this conference doesn’t mean we have to miss out on the workshops on craft or tips on marketing. There are many ways we can obtain that information while wearing our jammies, drinking our coffee and sitting comfortably in front of our computer. 

If you are a member of RWA, you can order audio recordings of all the workshops.  You can buy them yourself. Now they are pricey. I looked at past conference audios and they run around $270. But that is only a tenth of the cost of the conference. 

Many local chapters buy them and then members can check them out. If you attend the conference you can buy the set for half the price and I always do that when I go to a conference because I’m too busy networking to attend the workshops.

Also, if you are a member of RWA, you have a plethora of workshops available to you through RWA University and also through On Demand Education. These courses are free to members and can be used live when they are presented or in the archives at the writer’s leisure. 

In September the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) will have its conference in Dallas, Texas. You can order audios of their workshops also if you are a member of ACFW. The price ranges from $179.00 to $279.00 depending upon whether you order the Early Bird part of the conference along with it.

ACFW members have access to the archives of online courses and a blog that shares industry news and information.

Through both of these national organizations, writers can network and meet other authors writing in their genre.

What if you don’t belong to these National Writer’s Organizations? Not everyone wants to invest the money in membership to a professional organization.

Don’t fret. There are many other resources out there where writers can learn their craft and obtain industry news.

Tina (who is a treasure trove of information), Missy and Janet helped me with a lovely list of online classes to dig into.  And just so you know, our Tina offers an online class once a year. Her classes are real gems. She's already presented this year's class, but if you subscribe to Tina's newsletter, you will be kept up to date for next year's class.

1. Any Marie Force Class. The cost includes lifetime access.

2. James Patterson's Master Class. Tina was VERY SKEPTICAL and said, “It's a valuable class.  I took James Patterson Teaches Writing. The next one I will take is David Mamet Teaches Dramatic Writing.” The cost includes lifetime access.

3. UDEMY   First get on their newsletter list so you find out when classes are on sale. Never buy a class full price. Look for coupons online.  You have lifetime access to stream.

Tina’s Favorite classes so far:

Michael Hauge's The Hero's Two Journeys. To buy it from Amazon or his site is much more expensive. Although if you check at Storymastery.com, you can now stream them for 14.99. 

Screenwriting and Story Blueprint: The Hero's Two Journeys Right now it is still $10 

Tina’s other favorite is Acumen Presents: Chris Anderson on Public Speaking. Chris Anderson is the guy who is responsible for TED TALKS.

Other online courses

1. Lynda.com  A subscription service with over 600 courses.

2. One of the best RWA chapter online resources for classes is the KISS OF DEATH CHAPTER. Here is the schedule (you do not have to be an RWA member). 

3. Another resource is Savvy Authors. Get on their mailing list for access to upcoming courses.

4. Lawson Writing Academy has online classes with many published author instructors. Shirley Jump, one of our Seeker friends teaches classes with Margie Lawson's Academy. In fact, she is offering an Intensive on Show, Don't Tell in August. 

Best selling author Shirley Jump

5.There is the very popular Writer University.   

These classes vary in cost, but the advantage of paying for these classes is you have interaction with the instructor. Lurking is fine also, but you learn so much from the interaction regarding your homework assignments. WriterUniv.com also offers private lessons and you might be in a situation where you just need some personal help with a specific writing issue. 

Seeker friend and blogger, Laurie Schnebly Campbell teaches classes for Writer University. Laurie has posted with Seekerville several times and she is always packed full of information.  She has talked about fatal flaws to develop the hero, character enneagrams, productivity and motivation. Next month on August 11 Best of the Archives will feature The Dazzling Dozen, Plus One. This blog is a discussion on characterization for the heroine.  Watch for this excellent and informative blog post.

Laurie Schnebly Campbell teaches online classes.

Writer University is offering the class The Hero’s Journey, For Heroines by Laurie Schnebly Campbell, September 4-29, 2017.  Laurie’s classes are always excellent.

If you are really on a strict budget, you can get super online lessons right here in Seekerville. For ten years, the Seekers and their writer friends have been posting blogs mainly dealing with the craft of writing. We’ve also posted industry news, marketing tips, and shared our rejections and successes. One seeker posted in a past blog that she had printed all of the craft posts and put them in a binder. After reading them, she said she felt like she’d graduated from college. And there is truth to that statement. The Seekerville archives are a treasure trove of handy writing and craft tips.  AND THEY ARE FREE. 

So there it is folks. Several ways to get some of the information we are missing by not attending the conference.

If you have any other sources for online classes or writer information, please share. Writers who share will be in a drawing for tuition paid for Laurie’s class in September. Laurie is offering one tuition. Be sure and indicate that you are interested in the class and check the weekend edition to find out who is the lucky winner.

Readers who comment will be in a drawing for a Seeker book available online. Be sure and mention in the comments that you want the reader prize.  

Because it’s hot this summer and we’re in Oregon right now, I have bowls of fresh picked blueberries, cherries, raspberries and strawberries. And some yummy vanilla ice cream or creamy Greek Yogurt from the famous Tillamook Farms in Oregon to pile on top of the fruit.

Permission granted from Tillamook Farms for photos

From Tillamook Farms.com website. Check it out and drool.

Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She is based in Arizona, but she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motorhome and enjoy the outdoors. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audio books at Audible. You can read more of Sandra's posts here.