What better way to kick off 2021 than to do some intensive planning for your life as an author? Goals are dreams with deadlines. But we must define those goals first.
Think about:
How much do you want to write?
What do you want to publish and how?
How will you grow your audience?
What will you do to nurture your creativity?
I used to be a hesitant writer, quietly producing work, waiting to “be discovered.”
Let’s face it, there are millions of writers out there. You can’t wait for it to happen, you have to make it happen.
Don’t let another year go by waiting for the right time. Conditions will never be perfect. The right time is now.
To say that 2020 has been a crazy year is an understatement. What we’ve experienced is stranger than fiction, and whatever plans we made for this year surely were disrupted in some way.
Now that we’re about to close out 2020, it’s important to process all that happened (or didn’t happen) for us as writers this year.
We need to find out what worked and what didn’t, so that we can double down on the things that brought us results and eliminate whatever is draining our time, energy, and creativity.
Author Year-End Review
What worked for you? What didn’t? Let’s analyze.
What reasons do you have to celebrate?
What helped or hindered your creativity?
How close were you to your writing, publishing, and sales goals?
What daily habits and mindsets are holding you back?
If you want to make 2021 your best year ever as a writer, then the Author’s Year-End Review will help you 100%.
As a writing coach, Joseph Sale knows that everyone has a story burning inside them. It’s his job to nurture that flame, and when the time is right, let it shine. He has coached numerous writers from nobody/nothing humble beginnings who have gone on to receive professional publication credits after working with him through one-to-one sessions. His story-writing technique derives from the classical 5 Act model, but adapted for the modern age with influences from Henry James and other American writers.
In this masterclass with Joseph Sale we will discuss:
How to formulate an opening that hooks
The correct place to add backstory and details
How to “turn the screw” to crank up the suspense and tension
The secrets to creating a satisfying, impactful ending your readers will never forget
Who this class is for
New writers who want to learn the framework powerful storytellers have used throughout the ages
Experienced writers who want to hit all the right narrative notes to take their storytelling to the next level
What’s included
A 6-Part Video Series
The 5 Act Structure Workbook – analyze your stories for optimum structure
Ongoing structure chats and challenges in the Facebook group
Live Q&A Zoom call with Joseph Sale (recorded for replay)
Cost
FREE. Included with your 30-day FREE trial at the Writers’ Mastermind. Register here.
Act 1: The Opening
Every story must have a beginning. The problem is, where and when to begin.
In this part, we discuss:
Creating the Inciting Incident
Who needs to be introduced
Nailing the opening line
Establishing Person, Place, and Action
Setting Up External Forces
Act 2: The Complication
How to develop the narrative, “turn the screw,” and complicate things for our protagonist.
In this part, we talk about:
How to make the reader care about our characters
Where to add flashbacks and backstory without bogging down the flow
Introducing villains in interesting ways
Establishing stakes and then raising them
Act 3 : The Crisis
Most people view stories as one continuous process of escalation. But actually, they are more dynamic than that.
In this part, we discuss:
The crisis that needs to happen in Act 3
How do get our readers invested in the outcome
Why we need to give our characters the upper hand, at least for a moment
Act 4 : The Revelation
The point in the narrative where a surprising truth comes to light.
In this part, we talk about:
The descent into hell, the lowest part of the story
How the revelation can be physical, emotional, spiritual, or a mixture of all three
Examples of Act 4 revelations
Act 5 : Catharsis
The story reaches its climax and denouement, the final part of the story in which everything converges and is resolved.
In this part, we talk about:
How to create a sense of catharsis for the reader
The dynamic of loss and gain
How to balance your ending for maximum impact
Bonus Lesson:
What happens when the story structure is out of sync?
What interesting things can be done with the 5 Act Structure?
Joseph Sale gives us examples of The 5 Act Structure using real movies and books from all time periods and genres.
How to register
Get FREE accessto The 5 Act Structure Masterclass with Joseph Sale, plus all our other masterclasses, resources, and Zoom calls.
In this masterclass you will learn public relations skills to take your book releases to the stratosphere.
If you are not ready to do publicity for a book, these PR skills will give you the edge when submitting stories or querying agents.
Part 1: Book Reviews
How to collect interviews from the three main sources of book reviews in addition to your readers, friends, and followers:
book bloggers, bookstagrammers, booktubers
online/offline review journals and magazines
paid review services
Part 2: Interviews, Journalists, Podcasts, & Book Stores
In this lesson, we learn how to find interviews that are worth our time, how to become sources for journalists and bloggers, and how to find podcasts who cater to our potential readers.
We also talk about how to tell if you’re ready for a reading or signing event at a book store and how to collaborate with other local authors for offline events.
Part 3 : The 6-Step Pitch Formula
This is where the work comes in. Now that you’ve built your list of media outlets to pitch, you must make a compelling reason for them to have you. In this lesson, we cover what information you do and do not need in your pitch and how to position yourself so they are excited to show you off.
