Class Description

In this series, Steve Almond will discuss how to make writing a sustainable practice in your life. Among the topics he'll cover are: how to balance family and finances with creative ambitions, when and how to send your work out, how to deal with rejection, and how to create the publishing experience you want. The emphasis will be on answering questions and providing a supportive environment where writers of all levels can discuss the challenges and rewards of the writing life. Week One: How to Develop a Sustainable Writing Practice If you're anything like me, you often find (perfectly legitimate) ways to avoid sitting down at the keyboard. And find online distractions even when you get there. This isn't a form of avoidance that warrants self-recrimination. It's a sign that your battery may not have enough charge to do sustained creative work. In this fun and free-wheeling session, we'll discuss how to overcome these barriers--or lower them--so as to create a more realistic, sustainable writing practice, one that feels in balance with the rest of your life. Week Two: How to Handle Submission, Rejection, and Delays Writers are, for better or worse, the sovereigns of their own small domains. We're the ones in control of the literary worlds we create. But the moment we decide to send work out into the world--whether to a magazine, an agent, or an editor--we lose that control. The world gets to have its say. And often, the news that comes back is disappointing. In this session, we'll engage in some real talk around what it means to send your work out. We'll discuss best practices for submission, as well as the emotional and psychic aspects of the process. The goal will be to increase the chances of our work moving into the world, but, just as important, to accept what disappointment may come our way, and to learn from it. Week Three: How to Create Your Own Best Publishing Experience For better or worse, I have had virtually every kind of publishing experience out there. I've published books with big New York publishers, with big independent presses, with tiny independent presses, and with academic presses. I've self-published a number of books. And I've had numerous projects that were never published at all, somewhat mercifully. In this session, we'll discuss how to do a self-inventory of your own ambitions and aptitudes, so as to help you figure out what options will constitute a successful--possibly even joyous?-publishing experience for you.