About Peter Occhiogrosso
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Complete List of Writers.com Classes
Writing and Publishing Magazine Articles (8 weeks)
Magazine writing requires a much more specialized approach to form than writing a book. Articles fall into a number of categories, but the most popular are the feature story, interview, review, essay, and first-person account. But they have one thing in common--almost no magazine piece for any respectable publication gets published without first going through a process of proposal, discussion, submission, and revision.
The course will be run like a multi-faceted, wide-ranging publication of which I am the editor-in-chief and the course-members (subscribers) make up the Editorial Board. You will propose articles to me and I will suggest why your ideas do or don't work, how to shape them into workable ideas, and how to come up with different approaches to the same subject matter that will appeal to different kinds of publications. You will then write the article to specifications we've agreed on, and submit it to me and the Editorial Board composed of your peers. I will "edit" the article by suggesting ways to revise and improve it--everything from grammatical and stylistic tips to a complete restructuring. You may go through several re-writes en route to a workable piece--and an understanding of how the process works. We will also discuss how to approach editors, how to track down subjects for your stories, and other
technical aspects of the magazine writing craft.
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Workshop in Writing and Publishing Magazine Articles (8 weeks)
This eight-week workshop is a continuation of Writing and Publishing Magazine Articles, and is open to those who have already taken that course at least once. There are no formal classes, but each member will be expected to submit a story-in-progress or to submit new ideas for stories. I will help you select the most salable story idea and slant, and then work with you to bring it through to completion. I'll also help you learn how to search the available data bases to find the best "fit" for your story in the marketplace. We'll continue to work on your all-important query letters as we did in the original class, crafting them to match the outlets you choose.
As with the original class, I will "edit" your article by suggesting ways to revise and improve it--everything from grammatical and stylistic tips to a complete restructuring. You may go through several re-writes en route to a workable piece--and an understanding of how the process works. Along the way, other members of the class will make their own suggestion for improving the focus and appeal of your piece.
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Spirit on the Web: Writing and Publishing Spiritual Books (6 weeks)
Over the past fifteen years, I have written and published three books for major publishers on various aspects of spirituality. And during that same time, I have co-authored five other books and ghostwritten or helped complete the manuscripts of five additional books, including three New York Times best-sellers. The subject matter of these books has ranged from prayer and healing to contacting your spiritual guides; from diet and exercise based on Ayurvedic principles to working with chakras and archetypes. I have written about the experiences of famous Catholics and a guide to the world's religious traditions. Over the years, I've learned what professional agents and editors look for in a book proposal, as well as what they want to see in a finished manuscript. That's a large part of what I will be sharing with you in my online class.
With the explosion of sales in the spiritual and self-help fields, publishers have grown far more selective. Although demand is still high for books on spiritual topics, more than ever an author must be able to present ideas in a professional manner that will let editors know you can deliver what you promise with a minimum of "clean-up" work on their part. That means you have to present a clear outline of your book idea, along with compelling reasons why it will find a warm reception in the crowded marketplace. In other words, you have to write a sound book proposal.
The class begins by discussing your ideas and visions for writing a book about some aspect of your spiritual experience, some realm of spiritual knowledge, or some way to help others improve their lives. We distinguish between solid, marketable ideas and vague musings. (Musings are all right, as long as you recognize them for what they are and proceed from there.) Then we develop your idea into something you're comfortable writing about.
I will show you a rich array of techniques and methods for developing your idea, including various approaches to research and different formats for composing a book. I'll also describe ways to work practical exercises into the text of your book, so that readers can experience for themselves the growth that you may be trying to guide them through.
You will develop a book proposal, starting with a brief overview stating the goals of your book in one or two pages. Then you'll flesh that out with a chapter outline consisting of brief summaries of each chapter. The main challenge in writing a professional-looking book proposal is not so much following this formula as learning how to narrow and focus your ideas to begin with, and then presenting it--and you-- in the best possible light.
Best of all, I will share my experience gained during 30 years as a journalist, newspaper and magazine editor, author, co-author, ghostwriter, and manuscript doctor. I'll pass along what tips I've learned about finding an agent, dealing with editors, and what to expect from the world of publishing.
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How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal (8 weeks)
When songwriter Irving Berlin was asked the age-old question, "Which
comes first, the words or the music?" he replied, "The contract comes
first!"
Wanting to write a nonfiction book, having something distinctive and
valuable to say, even knowing how to write well, may not be enough to
get you a book deal. That's because, in publishing, the proposal comes
first. There is more than one way to craft a proposal, but they all
serve as a showcase for the writing skills that will make your book
successful. To write a compelling proposal, you first have to clarify
what you want to accomplish, how you want to structure your book, how
big a sample of the text you need to produce, and what voice you will
choose to adopt.
This course will help you to define your objectives, narrow the field,
and craft a proposal that says what you want it to say. We will study
and practice the essential components of a strong proposal: the
Overview, the Outline, and the Sample Chapter. Although we will practice
the techniques of constructing the kind of proposal that will help you
get a publisher interested, we will also stress the value of sound
writing: how to create coherent, effective sentences and combine them
into irresistible paragraphs.
Whether you want to focus on a single subject - a celebrity, artist,
political or historical figure, religious leader, or famous criminal -
or on a more complex thesis, the same skills and formats apply. We will
discuss how to create a book idea from a specialized field of interest
or experience, a series of journalistic pieces, a correspondence,
journal, or any other source you may wish to use as a starting point for
writing a book. The instructor will share his own experience of
twenty-five years as a journalist and a decade as an author of
nonfiction books. He may even explain why, if he's so good, he ain't
rich yet.
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