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Writers on the Net offers Classes, and Tutoring

© Roxianne Moore

Writers on the Net is a group of published authors with solid teaching experience. They offer a variety of classes in all writing fields, from articles to poetry to fiction. Their site is very plain: no fancy graphics, no animation. Just a list of offerings and links to various sections.

But don't let the plain vanilla appearance deceive you. Writers on the Net is the best site I've found for online writing classes, tutoring, and referrals to writing groups.

The course listings for this summer include:

• JUNE
  • Writing and Selling Travel Articles, starts 6/20
  • Write Like A Lover! Begins 6/21
  • Episodes and Voices: Short Short Story Writing, begins 6/22
  • Writing and Dreams, starts 6/23
  • Journal Writing NEW! (dates to be announced)

• JULY
  • Introduction to Fiction Writing 7/98
  • Poetry and the Sacred 7/98

• AUGUST
  • Writing Fiction for Children 8/98

Most of the classes are eight weeks long and cost $150 (US dollars). For personalized critiques from a published author, this seems like a reasonable price. Courses are conducted via e-mail. If you've ever taken another e-mail course, you'll be pleasantly surprised with these. For one thing, class sizes are kept small, so you're not swamped with 20 or more messages a day. You'll be able to interact with other class members and still have plenty of time for your writing.

I have taken "How to Write and Sell a Contemporary Romance Novel" with Judith Bowen, and was impressed by the depth of her knowledge of the romance field. She also brought in experts to answer students' questions, and made excellent comments on our work. My only complaint is that the course was too short, and we were slow in getting started. I got about eight messages a day, not including my own. The list server was down a couple of times during the eight weeks, but was usually up within a day.

If you prefer to work one-on-one, many of the instructors also offer tutoring and editing. Your tutor keeps track of time spent reading and replying to your e-mails, and you are charged $36 per hour each month. This could be especially helpful if you've finished a book, for instance, and want an expert opinion. If your work has been repeatedly rejected, you might find the answer here. While the costs could mount up, they're probably no higher than the standard. I'd certainly trust these authors more than some nameless advertiser in a writing magazine. Besides, if you take a class first, you'll know the author's style and be sure of getting a good fit.

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