Write, Produce and Publish a Novel in a Year, Would it Offer Value For Money For My Students?

I was talking about my course idea with my dad today, and we both said that £70 a month was a lot of money for this sort of course.  I had to go and have a little think.  Is it a lot to ask?  4 hours face to face once a month, daily support, a weekly 10-20 min call, an online group forum and 200 books (which when sold would cover the cost of the course).  What could I compare it with?

A 5 day course of a total of 20 hours in a group of up to 18 at the Faber Achademy in London costs £550  http://www.coursesplus.co.uk/trainingcourses/62964-creative-writing-writing-your-first-novel.php

One to one creative writing lessons for adults average £30 an hour. my course would be a little cheaper than that and come with a means to make the money back.   https://www.tutorhunt.com/search-results.asp?tuitiontype=onetoone&subjectid=music&searchsource=&category=none&subject=ARTS&type=tutor&level=adult-learner&postcode=bl9

Book baby are offering:

  • 25 printed books
  • Global distribution with Print On Demand
  • eBook distribution for popular eReaders including Kindles, iPads, and Nooks
  • Direct-to-reader sales with your own BookShop™ page
  • Professional eBook and printed book cover design
  • Expert eBook conversion with free proof approval
  • ISBN barcode for sales reporting

for $999 reduced from $1600 at the moment.  You’d get all of that with me, plus more books, actual tuition and opportunities for real peer support.

A 5 week course from the London School of Publishing costs £582, they don’t say how long the sessions last or how many people will be in the groups.  http://www.coursesplus.co.uk/trainingcourses/62964-creative-writing-writing-your-first-novel.php

The Guardian offers a weekend course, which equates to about 12 hours tuition, with classes of up to 18 for £499 https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-masterclasses/2015/jun/18/free-your-creativity-and-get-started-on-your-book-philippa-pride-writing-course1 or a 3 hour course with classes of up to 50 for £189.  My group sises would be smaller and my hourly rate would be less.

This course in the west midlands looks good, but you get a total of 2 hours tuition for £115.21 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/short-course-writing-childrens-young-adult-fiction-get-started-tickets-32347544376

There are options that work out much cheaper than my idea, but they tend to be online courses, like this one from writersworkshop.co.uk which is £245 for 4 weeks of access to their online course. http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/Courses/Creative-Writing-Flying-Start-4-Week-Online-Course.html or their novel workshop for £450 for 10 weeks http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/Courses/How-To-Write-A-Novel-Online-Course.html

1 Comment

Leave a comment