See What Others Say...
Here are some comments from our students. Their views say more about the course and tuition service than we could ever do.
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"I could never have believed what would happen to me the day I joined The Writers Bureau. I'd always enjoyed writing – but I had no idea whether I was any good. I needed the expertise of the one-to-one tuition that The Writers Bureau offered. The assignments were so well targeted that I managed to sell every piece of course work to magazines and newspapers – with requests for more. Now, I've had sixteen novels published and work regularly for magazines, running my writing career as a small business. It is simply a dream come true. I am having a lovely time – being interviewed, appearing on radio and TV, giving talks – but most of all I'm earning a living doing what I love most. Writing. The Writers Bureau made this possible for me." Christina won the 2008 Pure Passion Award. For the full story click here Christina has been short listed for the Melissa Nathan Award. For the full story click here Her latest book – Happy Birthday – is due out August 2008. |
"Since I started writing seriously I have earned over £23,000, half of which was during the past twelve months. Besides contributing to my local magazine more or less on a monthly basis, I have also written a number of articles for The Lady, Amateur Photographer and Period House as well as a number of overseas publications."
Lucille Grant.
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"The modules that came with the course were fantastic. They rekindled my desire to write and be published. The assignments really tested me but within a few weeks I had written and submitted to magazines that I never would have dreamt of approaching before. The first article that I had written for an assignment came back from the tutor. I made the necessary corrections and sent it off. It was accepted. I think what meant most to me was being taken seriously by editors. Knowing how to research a market and pitch an idea was the first of the many skills that I learned on the course. Since I first started the course I have been published by the Big Issue, the British Science Fiction Association and an academic teaching magazine. I am now a regular reviewer for Interzone, and I'm really proud of my association with such an eminent publication. I have had a couple of stories printed on the Internet and a Cambridge publishers are considering my proposal for an original English Reader. A Dublin production company has started work on turning two of my stories into comic form and I was long-listed for The Aeon Short Story Award 2005."
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“My book – ‘Horse and Rider Fitness’ will be published by Quiller Press. They paid me an advance of £1,000. I wrote it while I was pregnant. I worried constantly about being out of my depth but thanks to my tutor and the course materials I received a great compliment when my editor wrote’, I’ve just finished working on your book manuscript – what a pleasure!’ I also sold several articles on the same subject matter to the main UK equestrian magazines, which really helped to boost my confidence.
“I’ve found the whole experience to be an extremely positive one and I’ve started work on my next book already. My time is not my own as I have a six month old baby to consider – but The Writers Bureau course has been ideal as I’ve been able to take a break while concentrating on being a new mum. I’m now looking forward to getting going again with my remaining assignments.”
Linda Bethell.
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"I was three months into my maternity leave when I received an e-mail asking if I would like to become a regular columnist and contributor to a magazine which had published some of my work. They sent their photographer round to take my picture and I was put on NUJ rates so my £30 per article rocketed to £180 per article. I now regularly sell articles specialising in nursing and health and I am working on a book proposal. The amount of hours I am able to work have been limited but I have earned approximately £3,500 from my writing this year." |
"Recently, I have been asked to write investment reviews for private investors by a company which plans to enter the arena of publishing monthly Internet investment newsletters. I have also been writing course materials for the Open University ENVIRONMENT U206 course, teaching basic writing skills and writing personal health and industrial hygiene management articles for company magazines.
Interestingly, one observation I've made is that commercial writing assignments/contracts seem to beget more and more work. There is a great wealth of demand for writers with a range of key skills, all of which reaffirm one of the main messages in The Writers Bureau's advertisements."
Alex Bianchi.