Are writing courses worth the money? That depends on 3 things:
- The type of course
- The quality of the course
- You
I took a creative writing course in Bali in 2004 and it was magic — not because I became a brilliant writer, but because, like photography, writing while traveling can sharpen your senses and add enormously to your enjoyment of travel and appreciation for other cultures. Had I taken the course in hopes of learning how to make more money as a freelance writer, it would have been a complete waste of money. That’s why “type of course” is at the top of my list. There are many different writing courses to choose from. The trick is to choose the one that’s right for you. I promote 2 very different writing courses here:
- MatadorU Travel Writing Course is perfect if you want to focus on travel writing.
- Freelance Writers Den is ideal for freelance writers looking for ways to make better money writing.
Having taken a peek at both of these courses, I can say with confidence that they are both quality courses that can help kickstart your freelance writing career or help you on the road to earning better money as a freelance writer.
Both MatadorU and FWD are packed with information of practical value to aspiring writers. For that reason, they are both worth the money, but only if the 3rd ingredient is included: You
A lot of people are attracted to the freelance writing lifestyle. What’s not to be attracted to? Today I have chosen to write on my laptop while sitting on my bed at home. The day before yesterday, I took my laptop to the beach to work. Other days I work in my home office, as if I had a “real job.” Why would I do that? It’s because freelance writing is a real job and requires as much commitment as any other real job — perhaps more. When deadlines are looming, knuckling down in my home office without distractions is the best way to meet them.
The photo at left depicts the travel writer’s dream: You pop your laptop into your backpack and walk down a scenic path to a beautiful beach, where you spend the day writing, swimming, and relaxing. Guess what? It’s a dream that’s come true for me, but it took a lot of work to get there. Even though I live in a cheap country, for the first couple of years of my career, I couldn’t afford to eat at the beach restaurants that had WiFi and a staff I could trust to look after my laptop while I went for a swim. Instead, I worked 7 days a week just to make ends meet and learn how to make a better living freelance writing the hard way — from experience. If the Freelance Writers Den or MatadorU had existed when I was starting out, I reckon I could have shaved at least a year off that learning curve — but only because I was motivated enough to do it the hard way in the first place.
My beach office
If you look at the photo above, think, “Gee, I’d like to do that”, sign up for MatadorU and then give up your writing dream after a few rejections, you’ve wasted your money. If you look at the photo above and think, “That is my calling!” and embrace the opportunity with passion and commitment, you’re in with a chance. In fact, if you’re passionate and committed enough, you’re almost guaranteed a career in freelance writing. It may not be exactly how you visualized it when you started out, but if giving up is not an option, you will find a way to succeed.
This is a photo of one of my beach offices. The management kindly keeps a table for me and when my battery starts getting low, they bring me an extension cord. After working for a couple of hours, I go for a short swim. After that, I order lunch. After lunch, I work for a few more hours; go for a final swim; pack up my stuff; and ride my mountain bike home from work. It’s a good life. I’ve accomplished this without the benefit of writing courses, but like I said, I believe a good writing course could have fast-tracked my career and since having spent some time in the Writers Den, I now know that it’s possible for me to do even better. Right now, though, I’m content to enjoy the level of success I’ve achieved and cruise for awhile.
So what do you think? Are writing courses worth the money?
I totally agree on the beneficial combination of writing and travel/great locations. Bali looks for more inspiring than Balham. I love the beach office concept though sun on the laptop makes one squint! My co-director Jo only managed to start her novel when she was up a mountain in Andalusia for six weeks and I found a beach in Sri Lanka good for mine. We run a Chalk the Sun Retreat in Southern Italy amid the olive groves and, though of course with discipline and determination you can write any where, our students seem to find inspiration and motivation from the surroundings, the morning workshops and the chance for relaxed one to one feedback, away from jobs and families. This is a precious luxury for a writer and really focuses the mind. I’ve nabbed the spot by the freshwater pool for my office! You might enjoy my blogs on the subject A Change is as Good as the Same and Trick or Retreat? http://chalkthesun.co.uk/?p=1389
I haven’t tried any courses for my writing, it is a passion of mine and would do it as a hobby regardless of my employment situation. I have been disappointed with other “internet entrepreneur” type guides and courses. I see writing as a type of art. I think that a course could help with polishing but some information that I have seen about copy writing for example seems a bit old fashioned and contrived. I will certainly defer to your experience on this and come back for further research
I got into Carol Tice’s Freelance Writers Den for awhile. It’s not exactly like a course – more like a writing workshop where you can share ideas and learn from more successful freelancers. It’s not really for creative writing. I attended a wonderful workshop in Bali back in 2004 and would highly recommend something like that if there are any groups in your area. I only went because I happened to be there at the time, but afterwards I signed up for the weekly workshops in Sydney.
Since I’ve made freelance writing my career, I’ve looked into a lot of writing courses and have been skeptical about most. Interestingly, one of the copywriting courses I was most skeptical about was highly recommended to me by a magazine publisher who paid me a visit here in Sihanoukville. She had nothing to gain by recommending it, but said she knew people who had gone from grovelling for low paying writing gigs to making real money after taking the course. I can’t afford the course yet (it’s $375), but on her recommendation, I’m going to take it. I’ll hold off writing about it till I’ve taken it, though.
Like you, I just love writing, but never thought of it as a career until circumstances forced me to. To my surprise, I enjoy the challenge of finding something interesting to write about forklifts [or pick another "boring" topic] as much as I enjoy writing about anything else.
Anyway, don’t take my word for anything. I started from scratch and in retrospect think I could have saved myself a lot of grief if I’d had some mentoring along the way. That was the main motivation for the blog.