A new session of each course opens each month, allowing you to enroll whenever your busy schedule permits!
How does it work? Once a session starts, two lessons will be released each week, for the six-week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends.
Keep in mind that the interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes 2 weeks after each lesson is released, so you’re encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
The Final Exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the Final Exam has been released, you will have 2 weeks plus 10 days to complete the Final and finish any remaining lessons in your course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.
Week One
Lesson 01 - Getting Started; Finding Ideas
Wednesday
Did you know that you don't have to be an expert on a topic to write a magazine article about it? You don't need a wall of diplomas to be a writer, either. If you think it's necessary to have taken formal courses in writing, journalism, or communications to write, reconsider that idea. In this lesson, you'll discover where ideas originate and get started as a writer of nonfiction magazine articles.
Lesson 02 - Getting Started; Finding Ideas (Continued)
Friday
Ask a magazine writer about the genres available to this profession and you'll learn about consumer topics, informational pieces, question-and-answer formats, true crime articles, and a bunch more. You'll hear about how-to articles, too. If you've been seriously thinking about writing for magazines, then you need to know about the categories. You'll begin that investigation in this lesson.
Week Two
Lesson 03 - Getting to Know Your Market Guidebook
Wednesday
You've just purchased the latest market guidebook with the writing guidelines for oodles of magazines. It's awesome, complex, and exciting. If you feel overwhelmed, you're not alone. Some new writers get copies of market guidebooks and, once they've thumbed through them, put them aside. The books can be intimidating. But after this lesson, you'll be a pro at selecting magazines that want articles from you. By the end of it, you'll be able to use an innovative outlining tool, called The Bubble Method, which will help you make every single topic a potential article.
Lesson 04 - Getting to Know Your Market Guidebook (Continued)
Friday
What is a query letter? Do nonfiction article writers really need them? How can you write one that will capture the interest of editors? That's what this lesson will discuss: giving you a foundation for writing a query that sells your ideas.
Week Three
Lesson 05 - Producing Articles; Using Email
Wednesday
In this lesson, you'll get a quick review of production tips and grammar rules. But the gem is a section on how to interview the people, experts, and celebrities that you'll be writing about. Whatever type of article you write, you may have occasion to interview someone. Not being an effective interviewer will diminish your chances of success. However, what you learn in this lesson will make interviewing fun and easy.
Lesson 06 - Producing Articles; Using Email (Continued)
Friday
Money. It's the topic of this lesson and will be discussed in depth. The lesson will then debunk that bugaboo, "writer's block". Yes, writer's block is out there, waiting to get your attention and stop you in your tracks, but in this lesson you'll learn how to simply acknowledge it and then get writing once again.
Week Four
Lesson 07 - Writing Clearly; Knowing Your Reader
Wednesday
Do you know your reader? Most new writers say, "Hey, of course I do". But unless you know who you're writing for and write in a fashion that captures and sustains a reader's interest, you'll find writing for magazines a huge challenge. So, this lesson will talk about writing for a reader, ways to create clear and crisp writing, and writing fillers and essays.
Lesson 08 - Writing Clearly; Knowing Your Reader (Continued)
Friday
Have you ever wondered how magazine writers know how many words are right for a specific topic? Have you thought about where sidebars come from? Do you want to gain credibility for a nonfiction book and further your profession, cause, or company? You'll get answers to those questions and much more here in this lesson.
Week Five
Lesson 09 - Employing Sound Research Techniques
Wednesday
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to research topics for articles and understand how to get yourself into the research picture. It's nearly painless and really fun once you know the techniques professional magazine writers use.
Lesson 10 - Employing Sound Research Techniques (Continued)
Friday
Do you need to interview an expert or get a quote from one to make your article sparkle? You probably have a book in your house right now that would supply what you're looking for. This lesson will talk more about finding experts to make your articles sizzle. Then you'll examine the tools you need to self-edit. Self-editing is the polish that turns okay writing into publishable words.
Week Six
Lesson 11 - Marketing Your Articles With Spin-Offs and Revisions; Seasonal and Theme Articles
Wednesday
Recycle your research and you'll be able to sell and resell ideas without reinventing the wheel. That's the focus of this lesson. The lesson will also discuss writing about theme and seasonal articles, locating regional publications that would be crazy not to have you write for them, and networking with others to increase the number of articles you sell.
Lesson 12 - Marketing Your Articles With Spin-Offs and Revisions; Seasonal and Theme Articles (Continued)
Friday
Imagine you're about to print an article that you've been working on for a week. It's dynamite and headed for publication in a major magazine. This is your lucky break. As weird as it seems to a cyber-savvy writer like you, the editor wants a printed manuscript. After thinking, "this magazine is still in the dark ages", you smile and comply. However, you've run out of paper (or need a printer cartridge) or stamps or some other indispensable writing supply. If this hasn't happened to you yet, it may, unless you realize that time is money. Time management is the final topic and since there's only so much time in the day, you'll learn how to use what you have, and use it well.