Friday 7 March

Can you sell your book in one sentence? It’s difficult, but essential. A strong, catchy pitch works wonders and immediately sparks interest from agents and publishers alike. Together, we’ll discuss the importance of elevator pitches to the submissions process and how vital they are when industry professionals are assessing work. We will analyse successful examples, explore what intrigues us and explain how to avoid some of the most common mistakes. Attendees will have the opportunity to practise formulating pitches and learn how to burrow down and describe the core of their project, before putting these insights into practice and attempting to pitch their own book.

Friday 4 April

Synopses are hard to write. What do you include? Should there be spoilers? Is that too much detail? And what’s the point of summarising a book anyway?

However, synopses are vital for the success of any submission. This course details the importance of synopses to the submissions process and how agents use them to assess work. Attendees will analyse some successful outlines, explore what grabs our attention, and learn how to avoid some common pitfalls. We will examine the style of a good synopsis, how to entertain and interest an agent, and, finally, gave attendees the opportunity to put these insights into practice and work up the skeleton of their own synopsis.

Friday 2 May

As an author, you don’t just write books: you are a creator of intellectual property. This course covers what you need to know as an author to protect, assert and make the most of your intellectual property rights. From the page to the screen, attendees will learn why it’s important to make informed decisions about granting rights and what you need to look out for before you sign that publishing contract.