WHEN 8 weeks, Mondays, June 2 - July 28, 6:30-9:30 pm WHERE New York (Downtown) LEVEL Intro PRICE $499 ($475 for ) more info

Course Details

Part lecture, part workshop, this class is designed to give you a professional understanding of both the editing and writing sides of the magazine world. If you're looking to get your start as a journalist, this class will take your writing to the next level. Each week, students will receive a lecture on topics like the editing process, journalism ethics, what makes something newsworthy, note taking, fact checking, reporting, and more. Over the course of 8 weeks, you will fully workshop two pieces, including a perfectly polished, no-fail pitch letter. Your work can range from personal essays to profiles, from news stories to business or travel features. You'll also learn how to query a publication, who to call there, and where to pitch.

In this class, you will learn:

• How to create captivating stories that editors will buy and readers will love
• How to write compelling pitch letters
• Which magazines will be interested in your story
• How to approach editors
• How to network
• All the basic skills any journalist should have

By the end of class, you will have:
Two salable pieces, pitch letters to match, and knowledge enough to survive in the world of journalism.

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Instructor Bio

Melissa Walker's Courses

Melissa Walker has been the senior features editor at ELLEgirl magazine and the prom editor at Seventeen. She freelances regularly for women's magazines, and has written for Glamour, Marie Claire, Ladies Home Journal, Prevention, Fitness, and More. She's currently working on a trio of young adult novels for Penguin. The third one, Violet in Private, is out in August.

Testimonials

I loved Melissa's class -- she's a great teacher and her industry knowledge and expertise is impressive. It was very helpful to learn some freelance journalism basics and have my work critiqued by a professional. I'm pitching magazines with more confidence than I had before taking the course. -- Alycia Kilpatrick, freelance writer

"Even though we were neophytes, Melissa treated us with great respect for our talent and potential. She created an environment that simultaneously encouraged us and stimulated us to think about the needs of our constituents and the publications that market to them. I will never look at a magazine the same way again. We learned so much in such a short time that it may qualify as one of the best-spent ten weeks of my life." -- Alyce Stone, freelancer

"I signed up for Intro to Writing for Women's Magazines, and my career has been catapulted into dreamland. After the class ended, I submitted a writing sample to a celebrity weekly and am now working in the news department two days a week. I had an amazing experience in Melissa's class. It was well worth my time and money." -- Jeremiah Perez, cooordinator, Baby Phat