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The Finished Novel Course
The writer-to-author pathway with a full manuscript review
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From first step to final destination
Suitable for writers at all stages of their journey, our comprehensive five-step program plus a full manuscript assessment. To develop the skills you need to discover your voice and find your big idea, then write and edit a complete work of fiction to publishing standard. With hands-on help from bestselling authors and expert fiction editors.
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Beginners warmly welcomed
Reasons not to embark on the complete writing journey
But I don’t have the time!
One hour per day. That’s all the commitment we ask of you. Just one hour a day to make your writing dreams a reality.
But I don’t have a story!
Then you’re in the right place. Step one of the course—The Classic Storytelling Class—is designed precisely to kindle your ideas and ignite your voice.
But I’m not sure I have any talent!
Not all writers suffer from imposter syndrome. Only the good ones. The art of storytelling can be learned. And our bestselling author coaches are the best in the business at teaching it.
The online alternative to a Creative Writing MFA with a practical career outcome: a finished novel!
Step-by-step guidance from blank page to book deal
The Finished Novel Course is a carefully structured program to guide you through coming up with the story idea using the ‘secret sauce’ of the all-time bestselling classic novels, and on to writing your full-length work of fiction.
Write with coaching sessions from a published, bestselling and award-winning author of your choice. All rooting for you, and at your side every step of the way to help you develop your story to its full potential. You’ll go on to polish and edit your work with editors from the Big Five publishers—Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan.
You’ll get a full manuscript read from your editor with a comprehensive line-by-line report to raise your draft to publishing standard.
When you join The Novelry on a course, your plan includes membership and access to all our online writing workshops and events. With bestselling authors and a writing community that’s open day and night, come on in—you’ve found your tribe! You’ll make friends and grow as a writer. Plus, you’ll be eligible for our direct submission of your novel to leading literary agents when you’re good and ready.
Come up with the big idea for a powerful story that excites you with The Classic Storytelling Class (or choose The Advanced Class as an option for more experienced writers)
Dive into The Ninety Day Novel to prepare and submit your storyline for review from your coach before you start writing and pace your first draft with a lesson a day and regular coaching sessions
Begin The Big Edit with feedback from your editor on your chapter outline before editing your manuscript using the cool, clear logic of the lessons
Submit your novel for The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment for a comprehensive review of your entire novel or memoir from our Big Five publisher editorial team
A final submission package for our submission of your manuscript to world-class literary agencies on your behalf
The Finished Novel Course
The writer-to-author career path
The Classic Storytelling Class
Come up with a fantastic idea for a page-turner. Plan a storyline that excites you and learn how to bring to life complex main characters. Outline and develop the world of your tale to capture the reader’s imagination page after page.
Find the Idea
You’ll learn how to create the space and time for your writing, and prepare your mindset for creative thinking.
You’ll discover the key features of a bestseller, where ideas (really) come from, and what makes a book a classic.
Lesson 1: Let’s begin
Discover the ingredients for a great story.
Lesson 2: Your space, your time, your mind
Organize your life to find the space and time you need to write and discover the fast track to creative thinking in fiction. You will have the subject of your story and a broad idea of the first half and second half by the end of the lesson.
Lesson 3: What makes a classic?
The biggest bestselling books of all time—the classics—have been crossover books, appealing to readers of many different backgrounds and ages. We’ll look at the three elements you need for a classic story.
Lesson 4: Where do ideas come from?
The formula for a big idea and how to create high-concept fiction. Learn what single element of a plot drives a page-turning story.
Lesson 5: Creative thinking
Dig into the richest sources of inspiration for an author according to a global bestselling writer, and get started creating material.
Once Upon a Time
Move beyond the conventional three-act structure to discover the great story structure that lies beneath long-form storytelling, and discover how big stories come from very small seeds.
We’ll guide you to where to find the source for your story. Clue? It’s behind you!
Lesson 6: The great story structure
Discover the five-part structure behind the classics and use it as a tool to develop your plot.
Lesson 7: The small story
How the best-loved stories of childhood can shape and inspire the long-form novel, why you have everything you need inside of you, and where to find it.
Lesson 8: Books based on myths and fairy tales
How these story-starters have been the kindling for so many famous books.
Lesson 9: A story as unique as you
Which parts of you and your life to bring to your story.
Lesson 10: A working model
See the great story structure at work in a famous short tale.
Lesson 11: The long shadow of the little story
Where your idea begins to gather flesh, and finding your theme as an author.
Lesson 12: Fairy tale ideas for very adult novels
A bestselling author explains how fairy tale archetypes help her create psychological thrillers.
Lesson 13: Walk in my shoes
A Booker Prize-winning author explains how to tell your story honestly and humbly to enchant your reader.
Lesson 14: Making ideas happen
Taking your idea to the novel form with our ‘Once Upon a Time’ tool.
The Process
You’ll find the hero, locate the narrative, and scope out the arc of the story. You’ll be looking for the hero’s problem, blindspot or flaw and we’ll be adding the antagonist for conflict.
You’ll discover how every part of who you are can serve your story. No wonder so many writers describe the course as deeply therapeutic.
Lesson 15: Why
Why we write. Using the flaws and failings of humankind, and your very own, to create memorable characters.
Lesson 16: Who
Stories start with who wants what. Someone special (fortunate or unfortunate) or a specialist (someone with unique talents, powers or expertise) wants something they should not have.
Lesson 17: What
When you know who or what’s truly important to your character, the next question for your story development is what should happen if they should lose it or them?
World-building
You’ll discover the deeper archetypal elements of page-turning stories.
You’ll browse a rich buffet of possibilities to feed your plot as you begin to compose and outline your novel. Writer’s block? A thing of the past with these ideas at your fingertips.
Lesson 18: Wonder
Our forgotten desires and the ingredients for creating wonderment in fiction.
Lesson 19: The numinous
How the main character’s yearning expands the world of a story.
Lesson 20: The feeling
Your hero in their leadership role and their ability to experience heightened states of emotion.
Lesson 21: The recipe with two ingredients
The double act for the creation of ‘delightful horror’ in fiction.
Lesson 22: Mysterium tremendum
Using techniques like foreboding to get ahead of the inciting incident to grow the size of the story.
Lesson 23: Fascinans
Why bestselling fiction requires more than an improvement of fortunes.
Lesson 24: The crucial transformation
Finding the genre of fiction you’re meant to write.
Lesson 25: A cozy start
Immersive storytelling skills for high-stakes stories.
Lesson 26: The Harry Potter spell
What made the all-time bestselling series a multi-million global phenomenon?
Lesson 27: The portal
Using a powerful device that takes us from the known world to the story world in all genres of fiction.
Lesson 28: The garden
How the setting of your story offers different possibilities for each individual character’s development.
Lesson 29: The homely guide
The qualities readers require from the character guiding them through the story.
Lesson 30: The surreal
Creating an original breakout fiction premise.
Lesson 31: The familiar
Using aspects of your life to begin world-building your story.
Lesson 32: The cast
Creating lifelike originals as people, not characters in fiction.
Lesson 33: Temptation
The irresistible force that drives pain-free plotting.
Lesson 34: The battle
How conflict between two opposing forces is the grand design behind your theme.
Lesson 35: Deeper magic: time
Strategies for telling your story a different way, with additional pace.
Lesson 36: Deeper magic: space
Covering the narrative terrain at speed for reader engagement.
Lesson 37: Treasure
The secret quest of every work of fiction in which author, hero and reader share the spoils, and when and where to hide it in your story.
Heroes and Villains
Your reader craves character development and your hero’s moral growth.
It takes a villain to drive that change, and to bring the required conflict, creating the light and shade of drama. Deliver proper justice via your narrative arc for a deeply satisfying reader experience.
Lesson 38: The villain
Learn how the ‘charisma’ of the villain lends strong messaging to your story and how they deliver certain truths to the reader, albeit less palatable than those conveyed by the hero.
Lesson 39: The hero
The hero resists. Learn the six identifying signs of a hero and how to test and demonstrate their strengths.
Lesson 40: Decency
Understand how to use the justice system of storytelling to give your readers a highly satisfying story.
The Reader
For a bold story beautifully told, you need to engage your readers in your hero’s plight.
Learn how the best-loved authors befriend their readers, along with storytelling techniques to help you earn the reader’s trust. We’ll show you how to write with unaffected and appealing honesty.
Lesson 41: Hello you, it’s me
Bring to mind the reader you are writing for to help you find a natural voice with which to tell your story.
Lesson 42: Little god
Learn how to bring your reader into your world. The stakes must be as high as you can make them and apply to others, not just the story’s hero.
Lesson 43: The older reader
The older reader adds to the power of imagination another superpower—empathy. Learn to create empathy using the writer’s most important prose tool: observation.
The Author
Understand what moves a bestselling author to write their book and gain the confidence to bring your whole self to the page. Create major scenes that will resonate with readers long after they’re written.
Lesson 44: The authors as individuals
Walk in the footsteps of some literary giants. Understand that their works were not ‘given things,’ born whole and glistening and intact. They were worked upon, often over years, and occasionally in collaboration.
Lesson 45: Mother god or his master’s voice?
Consider the ins and outs of the treatment, or how you’ll tell your story, by exploring the third-person versus the first-person.
Lesson 46: Idealism
Discover why Tolkien and Lewis became second homes for readers. Find your ideal, find your mythology, shape your theme!
Lesson 47: The impact of the classics
A look at the publishing sensations of the all-time classic bestselling books, and the rewards your writing can bring you sooner rather than later.
Lesson 48: My hero
Who was the greatest of them all? Find your author-hero as the lighthouse to guide your writing career.
Lesson 49: On the shoulders of giants
All writers borrow from each other. Have no shame. Find out who stole from whom and why.
Lesson 50: The source
Revealed! The secret source of most of the famous classic books of all time.
Lesson 51: The remnants
The mistakes to avoid in story planning when developing your idea to the novel form.
Farewell
Here’s where it all comes together. You’ll have all the ingredients to start writing a book, including a few surprises. Plus you will be invited to book in a session with one of our author writing-coaches to talk through your idea.
Lesson 52: The Five Fs at work
Structuring your ideas with the classic story structure.
Lesson 53: Ready for take-off!
Checking you have all the essentials for your story in your plan.
Lesson 54: Planning for success
Your story-building checklist assessment tool.
Lesson 55: Last words
Closing inspiration to get you started writing. We can’t wait to meet you and your story.
Your course certificate
Receive recognition of your achievement.
The Ninety Day Novel Class
Prepare and develop your initial idea, construct your novel from the ground up, develop a productive writing practice, power through the middle with bold plotting, and raise the stakes toward a satisfying ending.
The Inspiration and Preparation Phase
Discover the big hack that will change your creative life. Learn the one characteristic great writers need, and the essential ingredient that makes a page-turner. Boost your creativity, and receive guidance on creating the time and mental space to write around your day job.
Lesson 1: Welcome
Lesson 2: Read and be inspired
Lesson 3: Bedtime stories
Lesson 4: Habits
Lesson 5: The big hack
Lesson 6: Privacy
Lesson 7: Empathy
Lesson 8: Moods
Lesson 9: Bless you, writers
Lesson 10: What is story?
The Construction Phase
Take it steady with step-by-step guidance to prepare a one-page plan that packs a big plot. Say goodbye to writer’s block. A good story (almost) writes itself, so you and your writing coach will put an exciting storyline in place to get off to a cracking start.
Lessons 1–2: Welcome to your novel
Lesson 3: The hero book
Lesson 4: The golden hour
Lesson 5: Genre
Lesson 6: Setting
Lesson 7: The magic trick
Lesson 8: The main character
Lesson 9: The plot
Lesson 10: Story structure
Lesson 11: The hook
Lessons 12–16: Character development, the plan, let’s write (Writer coaching begins)
Lesson 17: Point of view
Lesson 18: Voice
Lesson 19: Chapter one
Lesson 20: Character mapping
Lesson 21: Relationships
Lesson 22: Emotional strategies
Lesson 23: The theme
Lessons 24–27: The heart of a story, names, the sacrifice and craft
Lesson 28: The big picture
Lesson 29: Happy writing
Lesson 30: Taking stock
The Swim Phase
Find your ‘voice’ and discover what makes your writing special. Learn how to pace a story and the expert skills and insider techniques to quickly improve your writing style. Build your confidence as your word count passes the 10,000-word mark.
Lesson 31: In the swim
Lesson 32: Moral rage
Lesson 33: Compulsion
Lesson 34: Conflict
Lesson 35: From magic to mastery
Lesson 36: How to write a cult classic
Lesson 37: A real dream
Lesson 38: Assumed familiarity
Lesson 39: The romantic imagination
Lesson 40: The use of repetition
Lesson 41: Redemption
Lesson 42: Keep it simple
Lesson 43: Overwriting
Lesson 44: Becoming an author
Lesson 45: The midpoint
The Heat Phase
Here’s where you fall in love with your story. Banish bad habits and keep your eye on what the reader wants to stay on track with your plot. Discover some game-changing writing power tools, and raise the stakes in your story.
Lesson 46: Music
Lesson 47: From what if, to why?
Lesson 48: The B story
Lesson 49: The lie
Lesson 50: I’m a creep
Lesson 51: Suspense
Lesson 52: Make it harder
Lesson 53: Crackling conversations
Lesson 54: That’s peculiar!
Lesson 55: The leitmotif
Lesson 56: The absurd
Lesson 57: The full stop or period
Lesson 58: Backstory
Lesson 59: Transitions
Lesson 60: The prize
The Enlightenment Phase
Using the inside secrets of a Nobel Laureate, you’ll apply new masterstrokes to fulfill the promise of your story. Discover the deft and economical touches that give the reader those ‘aha’ moments, and see the proof on the page that you’re mastering the skills of the craft.
Lesson 61: Mastery
Lesson 62: Difficult questions
Lesson 63: Self-destruction
Lesson 64: The title
Lesson 65: The wound
Lesson 66: The bridge
Lesson 67: Back and forth process
Lesson 68: Present tension
Lesson 69: Poet and programmer
Lesson 70: The chaptered outline
Lesson 71: Let them live
Lesson 72: The point of tragedy
Lesson 73: What is good?
Lesson 74: The big question
Lesson 75: The story so far
The Home Phase
Combine the key elements of storytelling and see theme, character, dramatic irony, narrative arc, and subplots working in harmony for a satisfying ending. Get advice on taking this draft to publishing standards. And then celebrate! You’ll have a manuscript in your hands and a story readers will love.
Lesson 76: Welcome home
Lessons 77–78: Let’s build a house of magic
Lesson 79: The rooms or chapters
Lesson 80: Interior style
Lesson 81: Ornaments
Lesson 82: The attic
Lesson 83: Housekeeping
Lesson 84: And so to bed
Lesson 85: Home alone
Lesson 86: First aid kit
Lesson 87: Leaving home
Lesson 88: The second draft
Lesson 89: Success
Lesson 90: Congratulations!
Your course certificate
Plus 50 bonus genre-specific lessons and resources
The Big Edit Class
Revise and polish your manuscript to the highest publishing standards, with in-depth feedback from your professional book editor, and management of the literary submission process.
Turning Pro
Prepare for the publishing process by learning how to format your document the way a professional editor at a publishing company or a literary agent would wish to receive it.
Lesson 1: Welcome
Lesson 2: Becoming the reader
Lesson 3: Order! Order!
Lesson 4: The smart manuscript
Lesson 5: Setting up your folder
Lesson 6: Your check up
The Developmental Edit
You’ll develop your elevator pitch, story theme, structure, narrative arc, character development, midpoint and more to work toward a chapter outline and a (pain-free) synopsis. Then it’s time for your first review session with a professional editor.
Lessons 7–9: The story, the title and genre
Lessons 10–11: The hook or pitch
Lessons 12–13: The five-part restructure
Lesson 14: The big picture
Lessons 15–17: Approaches to plotting
Lessons 19–20: The synopsis workshop + the chapter outline
Lessons 21–23: Casting characters
Lesson 24: Getting to grips with the material
Lesson 25: Meet the editorial team
Lesson 26: Red light—let’s check the plan (BIG EDIT FIRST SESSION)
Line Edit
You’ll interrogate your plot and characters, rework chapters, drill down into sentence structure and word choice, and eliminate grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors line-by-line. You’ll learn how to apply our unique technique for advanced prose skills: Lucid Compression®.
Next, it’s time for feedback on your writing from beta readers in our online community.
Lesson 27: Interrogation method
Lesson 28: The prologue
Lesson 29: The first chapter
Lesson 30: Cardinal sins
Lesson 31: The first sentence
Lesson 32: Voice and perspective
Lesson 33: Structuring a scene
Lesson 34: Suspense
Lesson 35: Dialogue
Lesson 36: Cure for overwriting
Lesson 37: Lucid Compression®
Lessons 38–42: Sentences, words, punctuation and last checks
Lesson 43: Yellow light—get feedback on your work from our community
The Submission Process
Your second session with a professional book editor will involve reviewing your pitch letter, synopsis and first three chapters, and making a plan to enter the publishing process with world-class literary agency representation.
Lesson 44: Pitch perfect
Lesson 45: The story
Lesson 46: The market
Lesson 47: Agents
Lesson 48: Publicity and promotion
Lesson 49: Career advice
Lesson 50: The final stages
Lesson 51: Green light—are you really ready? (BIG EDIT SECOND SESSION)
Lesson 52: Not there yet?
Lesson 53: Ready? Let’s go!
The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment
Enhance your manuscript’s quality and marketability with marked-up revisions from bestselling publishing editors. And a clear plan for submission to literary agents.
Next Steps Toward Publishing
You will receive an action plan with guidance and advice on how to implement our feedback. If your manuscript requires further work, we will include a detailed follow-up plan and offer suggestions for next steps. You can then book any further paid feedback sessions with our editors to work together toward submitting your manuscript to leading literary agencies.
Membership of The Novelry gives writers access to over 40 writing classes a month including guest events with authors, literary agents and publishing professionals, plus recorded masterclasses and our writing community of beta readers for ad hoc feedback. What’s more, you will find yourself supported by other writers like you worldwide who will cheer you on for every step. A published author needs a platform and The Novelry gets behind each and every writer loud and proud to celebrate their success.
When we agree the manuscript is ready, you will be eligible for our submission service—in which we submit your manuscript to our trusted literary agencies—and we will work with you from here on toward literary agency representation and publication.
Meeting with the Editor
For those seeking feedback to make an informed decision as to their next steps, nothing beats the opportunity to have meaningful dialogue with experienced industry professionals connected to the publishing industry worldwide. Writing a novel is a long haul and the least you deserve from a paid service is to enjoy a session where the focus is entirely on you and your manuscript.
You will be invited to book a 45-minute in-person debrief with your editor to discuss their feedback on your creative work. This is an opportunity for you to ask further questions and discuss in detail your writing process onward toward becoming traditionally published. This online meeting is recorded for you to keep and is included as part of your manuscript assessment.
A Marked-Up Manuscript
Our manuscript assessment report includes a marked-up manuscript that focuses on the detail of your creative writing, considering what each scene adds to your story, your characters and your overall plot development. We highlight the best sentences and flag areas for improvement so that you can make sure your story really shines.
Structural Development
You will receive a detailed report of some 20 pages that evaluates every aspect of your entire manuscript, from the writing and the structure to the setting and the characters. We look at both the big picture (such as the narrative arc, plot beats, character arcs and central questions) as well as the finer details (such as subplots and pacing), offering advice and practical steps so that you can continue to improve your manuscript.
We’ll examine it just as an editor would in a publishing house.
The Pitch
It is important to tighten the premise of your story into a single sentence, often called the pitch or the hook. This is one of the most important tools when it comes to securing an agent, so we always begin here. We will give you top tips to improve your pitch so that it’s compelling and designed to excite publishers. We also look at your ambition and how your work meets the requirements of your genre for your intended audience, offering ideas on how your novel or memoir might be positioned and its potential within the current market.
Recommendation to Leading Literary Agents
Why Do You Need a Literary Agent?
Almost all new writers seeking to be traditionally published need a literary agent in today’s publishing world. The major traditional publishing houses account for almost 80 per cent of book sales worldwide and acquire books almost exclusively from literary agents. A good literary agent can get you a traditional publishing deal, as well as TV and film rights. If you want to be published by one of the major publishing houses, also known as the Big Five (Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan Publishers), you’ll want to find the right literary agent to get you a book deal.
Understanding Agent Listings
Agent listings are hard to navigate. You’ll research literary agents no doubt for many weeks to find those who represent your genre, whether it’s historical fiction, science fiction, crime fiction, middle grade, etc. As you begin work to query literary agents, you’ll pore through each literary agency’s list, scrutinize their submission guidelines, spend time learning how to craft a strong hook, write a great query letter, and fret and sweat over every detail down to the subject line of your email query letter. After all that, you’ll no doubt be happy to sign with the first agent who offers you representation!
Finding the Right Agent
But even if a literary agent shows interest, requests a full manuscript, and likes your writing, you may still have questions. How well are they regarded in the publishing industry? New agents may not have contacts at a publishing house that represents authors in your genre. What would their submission process be? Editors receive submissions from many literary agencies, but they will prioritize their inbox according to how highly they regard a particular literary agent. You want to sign with the right agent.
Demystifying the Publishing Industry
Many new authors think the publishing industry is impenetrable, a closed shop. But that’s not the case. The writer’s market is stronger than it has ever been. You might be closer than you think. In fact, most literary agents and publishers are in search of the same thing. A literary agent views the query letter with the same eye the acquiring editor of a publishing house does. They’re looking for a certain something, and we know what that is because our team has hands-on experience of the publishing process, having worked as acquiring editors for the Big Five publishers. Getting a literary agent interested is a challenge but we can dramatically improve your chances.
How We Can Help
When your manuscript is deemed ready to submit to literary agents, our editorial team will invite you to our submission service. An editor will work with you to hone your query letter and submission package. We will then prepare a list of literary agents who work in your genre and are looking to take on new writers. We submit on your behalf, keeping you informed throughout and allowing you the choice of meeting those agents interested in taking things further. We neither ask for nor accept a commission for this; it’s part of the service. We cannot guarantee representation, but we will always do everything we can to help you. When we submit our writers, our success rate is over 60 per cent. It’s a joy for us to make that life-changing call to say an agent loves your book.
‘If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it’
Fast-tracked submissions to the top global literary agencies
This year alone, over 60 per cent of our submissions were successful. And typically, we receive replies within days. But we neither ask for nor accept commission; it’s all part of our service to you.
We’re the online writing courses provider most recommended by leading literary agencies.
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A six-figure two-book deal
U.S. rights were sold to Grand Central in a significant six-figure two-book pre-empt. Atlantic imprint Corvus acquired U.K. and Commonwealth rights to One Moment, the ‘heart-wrenching and uplifting’ debut novel by Becky Hunter as part of a two-book deal.
Says Becky, ‘I found The Novelry at a time when I was ready to give up. I was feeling very low on confidence and knew I’d be my own worst enemy if left to my own devices. The sessions with Emylia, my writing coach, were a real highlight—she always made me feel like she genuinely cared about my novel, and I was constantly amazed at the way she engaged with the story and the creative suggestions she brought forward. The sessions kept me on track and helped me work through plot kinks along the way and I felt like I had a real champion through the whole process.’
The Finished Novel Course
Progress at your own pace
Course and community access for an entire year.
Stay a little longer
Life. It happens to the best of us.
Money-back policy
Our Happy Writing guarantee.
Write with the best in the business
Award-winning authors. Publishing editors. Leading literary agents.
40+ workshops a month
In addition to your class.
Genre expertise
What’s your style?
Video masterclasses
From the likes of Kristin Hannah and Yann Martel.
A supportive writing community
Find your people.
More 5-star reviews
Than any other writing course. The Novelry is the world’s top-rated online writing school.
Better value than a university course
With a practical career outcome.
Flexible pricing
Pay up front or monthly.
Created by a Booker Prize-listed author
We don’t just talk the talk.
Fun. Flexible. Formidable.
The Finished Novel Course
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- Welcome Call
- Membership (1 Year)
- The Classic Storytelling Class
- The Ninety Day Novel Class
- 6 Coaching Sessions
- The Big Edit Class
- 2 Editorial Sessions
- The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment
- Course Completion Certificate
FAQs
If you’re bursting with questions we haven’t answered here, check out our full FAQs page or feel free to get in touch.
Your year is structured in stages to create, write and edit your book, allowing you the chance to work step-by-step through each phase and take any breaks you need between them. You will begin with The Classic Storytelling Class to come up with the idea for your novel and plan your story, then you will write your first draft with The Ninety Day Novel. Finally, you will be guided to raise your book to publishing standards with The Big Edit, before you submit your work for The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment and onward toward submission to literary agencies.
This is a self-paced program, with over 200 lessons served on our beautiful online platform by video and text. Enjoy the lessons on any internet-connected device. Watch the video, read the text and use the ‘speak aloud’ feature to listen. You’ll need 30 minutes for each lesson and probably some thinking time to capture your thoughts and ideas as you start writing. This might be a good opportunity to start setting aside an hour a day just for you and your writing, and you’ll come to love this special time.
We suggest you allow 1–2 months for The Classic, 3 months for The Ninety Day Novel, and the remainder of your year, 6 months or more, for The Big Edit. But as the course is self-paced, you can take each phase at your own pace, according to your lifestyle, holidays, vacations and commitments.
You can book your coaching sessions at any time during your year on the course.
Your coaching begins after the first week of the second phase of your program, The Ninety Day Novel, where you will write and refine your draft novel alongside a currently published bestselling author in your genre of fiction.
Before your first coaching session, we’ll guide you on how to create an outline for a commercially viable novel. You’ll be nudged in the course to use our interactive tool to submit that to us (on a regular basis as you develop your story). We’ll look at your planned storyline as a team, and if we think another writing coach would be best suited to your story, we’ll drop you a line, but you’ll be able to make the final decision (and can always swap coaches later if you wish).
Every writing coach reviews your storyline in advance of the session via the interactive tool we call ‘The Plan.’
Your first coaching session begins with your writing coach understanding your intentions and aspirations for your book and writing career. That’s your brief to us, and allows us to give you the dedicated and personal guidance and support you need to achieve your ambition.
The coaching sessions are 45 minutes online, and you’ll find that’s plenty of time to get help with story development and troubleshoot any problems to stay on track with your writing. All sessions are recorded for you to keep. You may schedule your coaching sessions whenever you wish during your year with us and will be able to browse our diaries to select a time that works for you, in your time zone. Some like to stay on track with a coaching session every two weeks of their writing period, for example, and others like to pace themselves with one a month or get more help up front or more guidance and advance later on. You can get the support you need when you need it.
During the writing of a first draft, our focus is on your storyline, and we work with you to creatively develop and expand the story together, reviewing development in every session and answering your questions for your story.
You can, additionally, book Paid Feedback Sessions which include a report and a live debrief. We suggest you leave getting feedback on your work until later in your program, after the first draft.
Unlike other writing courses, we advise you don’t share or ‘workshop’ the novel at this stage where your confidence and the story are still vulnerable. Some courses have first-time writers on first drafts advising others in their position, and we think this is a bad idea and at best a waste of your very precious time.
At The Novelry, we’ll keep you and your story safe within a one-on-one relationship of trust and care with wise guidance from a published author who cares about your success and will believe in you and your story.
You can browse our writing coaches and find the author you would most like to work with, then book your coaching session from your Library.
You may wish to book with an author experienced in the genre you are writing.
Another great way to consider who you want to write with is to take a peek inside the first pages of their published books on Amazon and see whose writing style appeals to you most strongly.
The wonderful thing about The Novelry is that you can work with the writing coach of your choice but also book sessions with any other writing coach whenever you wish. So if things change for your story, say you swap genre, or need more help on specialist technical matters from another coach, we’ve got you covered.
Yes! This is a flexible writing course you can take at your own pace around your other commitments. The time it takes to complete a novel depends on the time you can set aside, but with an hour a day we know it’s possible to comfortably finish your novel in a year.
If you need more time, you can extend your course and roll over everything including any unused coaching, editorial, or manuscript review sessions.
The cost of another full year is $599 (USD) or £499 (GBP) or you can pay monthly (cancel anytime) at $55 or £45 a month.
Alternatively, you can remain as a member only for just $29.99 or £24.99 a month.
The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment will give you the ultimate feedback on your novel! Plus, you will get feedback on the first three chapters in The Big Edit, and feedback from the community too.
You can also purchase Paid Feedback Sessions for $425 or £350 for a 5,000-word section of your manuscript.
The feedback sessions offer a detailed report and a live editorial debrief recorded for you to keep.
We don’t believe in feedback or workshopping a first draft. It can kill it.
But we do believe in giving feedback on second draft and beyond where you’re working with us toward publishing standards. Once you know what you’re keeping, it’s time to finesse and only then. So you’ll work with publishing editors formerly of the Big Five publishing houses at that stage. We follow a carefully managed process based on our combined industry experience of how great novels get made.
We will take great care of you and your novel, with every step at just the right time for your development.
You will work with publishing editors from the major Big Five publishers like Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan, who will guide you in the Big Edit phase of your program on how to raise your work to publishing standard for submission to literary agents and onward to publishing. You may work with the editor of your choice.
See our team of experienced professional publishing editors here. These senior editors are known and trusted by literary agents.
We’ll be able to advise you if you can’t find an obvious fit by reading the profiles of our editorial team. Our Editorial Director reviews all bookings and we will be sure to suggest the very best editor for your storyline and genre.
Our courses are suitable for people with visual or auditory impairment, dyslexia, and for those with English as a second language. We offer an app which translates the course into 99 languages and a speak-aloud option too.