The Writing Room provides a structured system to help writers who want to become authors. We build a relationship through this creative process by community, connections and friendship. We have many ways we can work together.
As a literary agency we like books to be commercially publishable - and over 100 published authors will show you that it works. At the end of our process, and if you really commit to it, you will have a book ready to submit or to publish.
"I know after working with and teaching over 1,000 authors over 17 years that writing a book is both a deeply creative journey, and an investment in your future. It is a big, brave and bold move to share yourself with the world, to gather all your thoughts, lessons and expertise in one place - a book. It can be a madcap writing adventure, or a slow and steady build to create your brand. I like writers to understand the market into which they are writing, to position their book in a niche and to deliver a world class product."
It takes time, hours of work and a good writing strategy. It takes a deep calling to share a story. We can start at any point in the writing process. Most often I work with an author for 6-12 months to get a book from IDEA to publication. Some books take longer. Some take less time. The way we work is initially over 6 months.
"Writing a book is no small thing. It is not a poem, a short story, or an article. It is not 10,000 or even 40,000 words. It is going to take you a year at least to write, and another year to get it to market."
Writing a book is such a leap of faith. It may never get published. It may sell 10 copies. It may also fly, change your life, and open doors to a new future. In The Writing Room we work together for the long duration it may take to get your story told."
The Writing Room Community
To sign up please this link rather https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/writersonthlysubscription.html
It may have been years ago when you started your writing journey on a course, or it may that you are at the start. We know how hard it is to keep walking down this path as a writer. We are going to make sure you do. This is our very best way to support and nudge you along the path.
Join the online writing community. This is a subscription-based community and we do a lot together in writing every week, and month. Mostly we have a lot of fun, connect and share the journey of writing.
We are both strict, coupled with oodles of love. Join us on this ongoing commitment to your writing.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The rate is $20 per month and it is a monthly subscription (The first month is FREE).
You can cancel it at any time. As part of it you get all these things...
1. Unlimited access to our WEEKLY WRITING SESSIONS
Every Wednesday there is a writing sprint session. We gather from 11am-3pm UTC/.GMT and hang out and write. Sounds boring? Then it is not for you! We are all writing, and many writers will be on mentorships, but we also connect, chat and share. You can join for one hour, or all four and can be working on any project (writing or book related). Join and get your writing locked down and in progress. Drop ins or non-subscription rates are $10 per session.
2. Access to the MONTHLY THREE DAY WRITING IMMERSIONS
A monthly 'at home writing group'. Three days of solid and real writing. We connect in 9 hour sessions over three days. It is a sure way to progress your writing... 27 hours of solid work.
Drop ins or non-subscription rates are $80 per retreat
3. The entire Write a Novel in 100 Days course at an 80% discount
You pay just $60 instead of $250.
4. A seat on the MONTHLY WRITING CHAT AND Q&A
We have a monthly chat on the craft and either we will answer your questions or cover a topic, or we will invite an expert to chat - an editor, poet, publisher, Amazon expert, author brand specials or agent once a month for a chat, Q&A and lesson.
5. The Writing Room Author Support Group.
This is a dedicated FB page for our authors, a place to ask questions, share your writing and connect. You can get feedback, share your concerns, get Beta readers and find out what we are up to next.
You can join and ...
- Tackle and finish any writing project in your heart
- Simply connect and be in a community of writers and creatives
- Push your book the the end.
- Write your second draft to make it the best version possible
- Finish your book proposal and pitch deck
- Build your author brand collateral
- Commit to blog content
- Write a course
Sometimes it is not that easy to put LIFE aside and do it. We consistently find that what writers need most is to be held accountable. For someone to set a deadline, watch that you actively work towards it and hold you to your promise.
Write your NOVEL in 100 Days Online Course
(please note the price is only in USD as this site only allows that! Please convert to ZAR). This is a 3.5 month course with The Writing Room that will prompt, push and hold you to your promise to write your NOVEL.
First up you need to know that I am a huge fan of structure and plotting. I am book editor and literary agent as well as a writing coach so I know that all stories need the architecture to hold them for the length of a full novel. I will want you to give your story into a rough outline, so my first step is to get that down on paper. I have a very tight plotting method we will use.
In 100 Days you will end up with up to 80,000 words if you do the work as it is laid out in the course. I have been running this course for eight years in various forms and I can honestly say it is just fantastic. It will teach you to write a novel and push you the entire way to your first draft with daily emails, lessons and deadlines.
You will get a book mentor and have two 45 min sessions with them over the course of the 100 days.
You will have FREE access to The Writing Room community, which will include the weekly Wednesday Writing Sprints and the At Home Retreats for the 3.5 months.
HOW DOES IT PRACTICALLY WORK?
* Every day for the first month you will be given a short 2 min lesson via email to read, or to watch.
* Each day has exercises that takes you systematically through how to plot your book.
* At key points you will be asked to send some work for feedback and review.
* The lessons will show you how to plot your story, step by step, beginning to end, going over what the story is about, who the characters are, where the story starts, how it reveals itself and how it ends.
* The format of the course will make sure your story is set up right (the beginning hook) and has the dramatic momentum (the middle build) to carry it through to a fulfilling ending.
* You start actually writing after Day 10 and then the course will take you deeper into advanced plotting, storytelling, characters, dialogue, style, theme, genre and writing.
* Each stage of the mentorship has a task and word count targets for you to reach.
* You block book your own writing time when it suits you, using the prompts that I send you to know how far your writing should be at each point.
This is the course I did in 2008/9 and I wrote my first novel. I was sick of thinking about writing a novel and making false starts for years, so I took a week off work and did this course. By the end, I'd trashed the novel I'd been wheel-spinning on, and had a new idea. A month later I had a very dodgy first draft, which later became A Million Miles from Normal, published by Penguin Random House in 2010. Today I'm working on my 9th novel, and pretty much still using the same techniques Sarah taught me.
So, if you're thinking of doing a writing course, stop thinking about it and do it. I can't imagine you'll regret it. Paige Nick, Million Miles from Normal
“This was a very useful course to do, particularly the early modules that actually got me plotting and writing in two weeks. I had no clue how to even start writing and the clear information that you provided just mapped the way forward.’
Maria Phalime, author of Second Chances and Postmortem: The Doctor who Walked Away - Winner of the Maskew Miller Longman Literature Award in 2013.
Non Fiction and Memoir Book Mentorship
This is a tightly-held four month mentorship that will take your book all the way from an idea to a completed (and possibly publishable) book. This could be a professional book, non-fiction, biography or memoir. This is not an online course. Nor is it for Novels (rather do this one).
This is a mentorship process where you work together with an experienced book author and mentor to get your book planned, structured and written over four months.
The full course description is here
Writing a book is a big deal. It can (and should) change your life. It takes time, investment, sweat, hours of work and a good writing strategy. Some books take longer. Few books take less time. It will depend on your own writing speed, the amount of material you already have, and the genre of book you are writing.
This is a very structured four month programme I use that runs with a series of emails, calls and key lessons over these months. You meet every 4 weeks with your mentor to review your work and to keep your book on track and make sure you are meeting your word count deadlines. Over 100 published authors over 15 years shows it works.
What does the mentorship include?
* A structured programme with a series of emails, calls and key lessons over these months. You get tasks to complete each week for review.
* Personal one-on-one calls every 4 weeks with your mentor. Here are some of our mentors
* A Wednesday Weekly writing group 4 hours a week
* Once a month Three-Day Writing Binge (online) where we write for 8 hours a day x 3 days.
We know most writers need a few things to make real progress in their writing:
- An experienced mentor to give you the right advice at the right time
- Someone to hold you accountable and make sure you get it done.
- A place to ask experts questions when you get stuck
WHAT HAPPENS - PRACTICALLY?
In a nutshell, you will plan, write and produce your first draft over 100 days (realistically about 4 months with all the planning)
This is a leaner version of our intense personal mentorships.
What will you learn?
- BOOK STRUCTURE: This is both a course and a mentorship and Sarah is a structure fanatic who will show you that a strong structure is the gift that sets your writing free.
- What is your STORY? Let’s find it together.
- The basics of planning a compelling book
- The key elements of structure / plotting/ planning
- Finding your hook, genre and message
- How to build your book - chapter by chapter
- Titles and log lines
- Develop your characters and events
- Working with dialogue
- Knowing what to include and exclude
- Adding depth and layers, tone and voice
- Dealing with EMOTIONS of writing, procrastination or overwhelm that will kick you to touch if you don’t know how to handle it.
YOUR COACHES
You will be assigned a book mentor who has worked in your genre. A list of some of the mentors we work with is here
If you want to be mentored by Sarah Bullen only, please email directly and I will send an application form
WHAT WRITERS SAY
"I LOVED everything. The structure and the accountability. I loved the combination of Kate's inspiration and Sarah's taskmaster writing challenges. I loved hearing other people's progress and stories – it inspired me to carry on. Also was great as a forum to discuss some of the structural aspects of writing and really narrowing the focus of your book's core. The one-on-one sessions were brilliant as it really kept me believing I could do it and gave me good ideas to implement going forward. For someone who wants to do it but isn’t sure how or if they have it in them, this is the perfect way to test yourself.
Leigh Taylor
I did your 100-day writing course in 2015. Gracie Stirling and the Whisper Horses is getting published! A small publishing house in Wales picked it up and will be publishing it. I have already signed the contract and they have sent their edits. I just wanted to say a big thank you so much. The course was invaluable and it provided me with the structure and "action" they loved in the book. Thank you!
Jenny Kling, Gracie Stirling and the Whisper Horses, Gomer Publishing 2019
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With all the content for my book in hand and a message I wanted to share, I needed someone to help me structure my thoughts and give life to my ideas. Sarah Bullen and her team masterfully brought all the words together into a completed manuscript with patience, persistence, integrity and professionalism. |
HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER?
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CONNECTION
You want a personal, honest and upfront connection while your formulate your story COMMUNITY Writing is a solo journey, but being able to reach out to others who are on the same journey is important TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST A mentor who can guide you and bring out the best in you, and your book. GUIDANCE You are open to a creative method that is rich and deep and to work with someone you can relate to and trust. RESULTS You want to go from thinking about your book, to writing it and getting it published. I like books to be commercially viable - and over 100 published authors will show you that it works. At the end of our process, and if you really commit to it, you will have a book ready to publish. |
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I’m no writer but had a story I needed to tell. If you have a book “inside” you and you have determination then catch a ride. The mentorship is gold. Sarah's wealth of knowledge on the craft of writing, the industry, and process and the motivation around it all was priceless. |
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