Want to Get Published? Get an Agent? Here’s How.
I’m excited to be here today with one of our members from the Writing Gym. You’ve seen her before, and we are really happy to welcome back Jeanne.
As a result of her hard work through the Writing Gym, Jeanne has received two full manuscript requests from two of the top agencies, including an undisclosed Hollywood opportunity.
Today, I’ll be sharing some of Jeanne’s advice, her experience in the Writing Gym, and how the Writing Gym helped her (and could help you) achieve the author lifestyle.
Jeanne told us the Writing Gym helped her in the following ways:
1. Tailored help to Jeanne’s specific needs
Jeanne came in as a script writer, and her producer challenged her to novelize one of her scripts. She said, “Script writing and prose writing are two very different things, with script being very visual.”
Her script was ready, but Jeanne was struggling with editing that script. Despite going to many different editors with her writing, no one knew exactly how to help. Eventually, someone pointed Jeanne to me.
“You were able to tell me how my thinking was in line with novel writing, and what I needed to do to change the way I looked at novel writing.”
No matter where you are in the writing process, whether you have a work in progress, a finished manuscript, or want to begin a new work, the Writing Gym is here to help.
2. Revising to publishable
After meeting with me, Jeanne entered the Writing Gym to polish her script. She found help in the reading period, where I take your writing and read it front to back.
“You read my script, dissected it, figured out what my strengths and weaknesses were, and then we started working one-on-one together. We did some overall work first, and then we started line by line, page by page, till we got to where the document should be.”
Through the Writing Gym, you can accelerate your progress and get to the front of the line, because your work has already gone through the editing process.
Afterwards, Jeanne entered the Publishing Bootcamp in the Publishing Mastermind program, where I taught her skills on how to pitch her novel and how to write a bang-up query. She began getting responses.
Here at Date with the Muse, we have programs for people at any stage of their journey to help them achieve the author lifestyle.
3. The Writing Gym community
Another thing Jeanne loves about the Writing Gym is the community.
Inevitably, writing comes with rejections. But here at the Writing Gym, we celebrate rejections together.
Jeanne says one of the nice things about dealing with rejections in the Writing Gym is everyone is sending out queries, you’re not alone in the process.
“Having a group of people to work with, sometimes feels like a competition. Like, ‘How many people got the most rejection letters today?’ We joke about these things, and it helps to take the sting out of our own personal rejections.”
“Especially because you know your fellow Writing Gym members are so talented, so it really helps to know you’re going through the same things as other very good writers.”
Writing is seen as a solitary journey, but it doesn’t have to be. The Writing Gym offers the community to show you’re not in this alone.
Jeanne went from struggling with revising her work as a scriptwriter to landing two major deals after she began working with the Writing Gym.
No matter where you are in your writing journey, the Writing Gym has different options to help you get to publication.
If anything here resonates with you, I’d be happy to chat with you.
Until next time, happy writing.