Upcoming Literary Agent's Workshop Turns Writers into Career Authors
The opportunity to help writers grow was only one of the reasons Maass started his Breakout Novel Workshop five years ago. A well-known agent who sells more than 100 manuscripts a year, Maass recognized how unprepared many writers were for the realities of the industry. "Book publishing is so much colder and more unforgiving than people imagine," says Maass. In order to succeed, "fiction writers need to craft high-impact novels every time."
Tampa, FL (PRWEB) August 1, 2007 -- Top New York literary agent Donald Maass loves watching his workshop students experience "Ah ha" moments, those precious points in time when writers discover ways to deepen their characters, layer their plots or add tension to a scene. For Maass, an agent who represents bestselling authors like Anne Perry, Nalo Hopkinson and Todd J. McCaffrey, these real-life writing experiences are refreshing and offer some of the greatest rewards of his work. After all, he says, "It's one thing to read about technique in a book. It's another to be led through it live."
The opportunity to help writers grow was only one of the reasons Maass started his Breakout Novel Workshop five years ago. A well-known agent who sells more than 100 manuscripts a year, Maass recognized how unprepared many writers were for the realities of the industry. "Book publishing is so much colder and more unforgiving than people imagine," says Maass. In order to succeed, "fiction writers need to craft high-impact novels every time."
So Maass decided to take his bestselling book Writing the Breakout Novel and turn it into a weekend seminar where he could work with students both individually and in a group setting. But after three years of traveling around the country offering the weekend program, he decided to heed the advice of students and expand the workshop to a weeklong intensive designed to turn writers into career authors. On September 10-16, he'll teach a workshop in Westminster, MA and has several more planned for 2008.
Maass is pleased with the new format because it allows him to delve more deeply into the process of writing a breakout novel. "There is so much involved in writing fiction at this level," he says. Breakout writing is really "a level of craft, a commitment to great storytelling," and the weeklong workshops afford Maass the luxury time to really convey the information needed to students so they really progress.
During the weeklong Breakout Novel Workshop, students learn directly from Maass and meet privately with him and with workshop staff to review their novel. They focus on character development, plot and subplot construction, themes and writing techniques designed to really grab the reader from beginning to end. They're also taught to "Make it worse," a refrain echoed again and again by Maass as he coaches students to deepen their story and add more challenges and complexities to their work. Toward the end, after they've built a successful novel, they learn about the world of publishing, what real agents and publishers want and how to effectively pitch their novels.
Because of the unique approach, Maass has a way of cultivating the best from both new and published writers during the weeklong intensive. In fact, he's just begun marketing works from some of the attendees, works that he feels certain will sell. Says Maass, "I've no doubt they'll sell. After all, I've been using these techniques for years in helping our established clients grow their work. The results have been impressive, improving sales and in some cases bringing authors to the bestseller lists."
Still, even after the manuscripts sell and become breakout novels, Maass will continue to push his clients to produce their best. "A few of my authors have more than fifty novels to their credit. You know what? I still send their outlines and drafts back for two, three, four or more revisions. The pros are grateful. They know they can get better. It's a career-long process."
Apparently, even the best writers can always make it worse.
To learn more about a Breakout Novel Workshop, visit www.free-expressions.com or call 1-866-I-WRITE-2 (1-866-497-4832).
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