(Photo by Lauren Mancke on Unsplash)
Around the turn of the millennium I reached a crossroads with my writing. I had written two unpublished novels and was working on a third, one that I truly loved, but which was pushing me right up against the limits of my abilities. I knew I needed help, but had no idea where to turn.
That was when I discovered the Writers’ Workshop, run by the novelist Harry Bingham. Their website was full of useful information and I decided to get a critique of my novel from one of their editors. This was one of the best things I have done in my writing career. It gave me encouragement when I needed it most, and ideas for how to improve the book. And although that book has also not found a publisher, I did go on to secure an agent.
Accepting I needed help was one of the big lessons I learned, and it’s one that has stuck with me to this day. Even after over twenty years of pretty solid writing, I often feel as if I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’m still benefitting from the good advice that’s out there, if you know where to find it. Writers’ Workshop has recently morphed into Jericho Writers, and it remains one of the best writing sites around, though much has changed – not least the fact that there is now a members-only area, available via a paid subscription.
There is still lots of great advice available for free on the website. The Library section has posts such ‘How to Plot’ and ‘How to Get Published’, as well as ‘The 15 Most Common Mistakes Made By New Writers Writing Their First Novel’ (and this is not just for those writing their first novel).
The big question is whether the paid-for content provides value for money. I think it does. The members’ area includes videos from industry experts, including an entire ‘How to Write a Novel’ course, masterclasses on various writing techniques, such as creating vibrant characters, and a whole series on self-publishing. There are also in-depth interviews with agents, publishers and writers. The calibre of the contributors is high – for example, Debi Alper, one of the best editors in the game, provides a masterclass on how to edit your novel.
The ‘Conversations’ section allows members to pitch their novels live and direct to agents, while the ‘Ask Jericho’ feature gives members the opportunity to ask any question or to have their query letter evaluated. If you are looking for an agent, ‘Agent Match’ provides a database of agents, searchable on different criteria – size of agency, number of clients and so on. Members also receive discounts on the site’s other services, such as manuscript evaluation.
I have a couple of reservations. One is technical: if I go from the Members’ area to the free Library section, it logs me out of the Members’ section and I have to log back in again. The other is a slightly bigger niggle: the ‘Townhouse’ feature is a forum where members can discuss writing tips, agents and publishers, and self-publishing, and get peer review on their work. This was one of my favourite parts of the old Writers’ Workshop site, but putting it in the Members’ Area means that, currently, there are not the same numbers of people taking part. Obviously that will improve once the membership increases, but I did wonder if this was one area which would be more beneficial even to members if it was on the free part of the site. It’s a shame too that all the threads from the old site are no longer available.
Overall, though, compared with the cost of attending festivals and workshops, and especially compared with doing a creative writing MA, Jericho Writers offers a relatively inexpensive way of getting good-quality help. It’s like a whole festival of writing that you can enjoy in your own home, at your own pace.
Find out more about Jericho Writers here
Ian Critchley 