Pacific Coast Children's Writers Novel Workshop - Applying to The Pacific Coast Children’s Writers Workshop

Nancy Sondel's Pacific Coast Children's Writers Workshop

Tenth Annual October 5-7, 2012 Master Class to Masterpiece

UPDATE: Success! In-depth, whole-novel consults and focus sessions by 2011 editor and agent continue to inspire our alumni/published authors. Teens add savvy feedback. Inquire now!

APPLICATION PROCESS

Deadlines at a Glance

May 15 Email your pre-registration materials: Brief Questionnaire and 12-page manuscript sample.

May 25 Submit your application: Full Questionnaire, full manuscript sample, nonrefundable $30 application fee (credited to potential registration).

June 25 Send your final manuscript for faculty and balance of registration fee.

Like the in-depth workshop we offer, our enrollment process is multi-layered and literary. Here are six steps from application to completion.

As an intro, read our application excerpts—practical, thought-provoking questions about your novel; in themselves, a helpful tool. Then contact us by May 15 to request
pre-registration materials. Some late
applications may be considered.

Step 1: Pre-registration

By May 15, contact us to request your Brief Questionnaire with manuscript formatting and mailing guidelines. Email the novel excerpt you’d like critiqued at the workshop. (This manuscript may be revised before your June 25 submission to faculty.) Group A and Group B submissions: 12 pages, plus one-page synopsis.

Critique-Enrollment Options

Group A includes a full-novel critique (plus synopsis) with an editor or agent who has selected your manuscript, plus two in-person consults with that faculty. One or more consults will be observed by up to five silent peers who have critiqued your manuscript.

Group B includes a critique of your first 12 pages and synopsis by both the editor and agent. Critiques are team-taught, in-person discussions in an open clinic format. All peers may observe and ask questions; they will have read and/or critiqued the manuscript.

Group C See TeenSpeak Novel Workshop.

Brief Questionnaire Highlights

Describe your most relevant writing background (educational, professional, workshop, and/or publishing) in 100 words or less.
What do you most want to learn, solve, or achieve re: your story and writing career?
Which enrollment option do you prefer, Group A or Group B?
If not selected for Group A, are you willing to enroll in Group B?

By May 20, we will either invite you to proceed with Step 2, or advise that your manuscript is not a match for our seminar.

If you don’t qualify for either Group A or B—nor for Group A if you request it—our panel will offer one or more sentences to briefly indicate why the manuscript was not a match for us, and/or a suggestion for strengthening the submission. No further communication will take place at this level regarding the manuscript.

Step 2: Applying

May 25 Manuscripts will be given to faculty for final selection. Send the workshop your Full Questionnaire and manuscript sample, per formatting and mailing guidelines. (Group A applicants submit 30 manuscript pages; Group B applicants submit 12 pages. Synopsis length varies.) A nonrefundable $30 application fee is also due; if you enroll, this entire amount will be credited to your registration fee.

Step 3: Notifications

June 15 We’ll notify you of your status (or sooner, depending on the faculty’s response time). If your manuscript is accepted, you’ll be invited to enroll in either Group A or Group B. If you applied for Group A and your manuscript is not a match, it will automatically be considered for Group B, unless you have indicated otherwise.

June 20 Deadline to email the workshop that you accept or decline our invitation to enroll.

Step 4: Final Registrations & Submissions

June 25 Deadline to send manuscript for faculty. Send either an electronic or hard copy of your manuscript for faculty (TBA, depending on their requests). This submission may be a revision of your e-application sample. Balance of registration fee is due, minus the application fee.

Step 5: Pre-Workshop Prep

In August, begin pre-workshop HOME STUDY. You’ll receive a treasure trove of materials—our free, online course manual with optional articles about craft and submissions, worksheets for focus sessions, an anthology of peer manuscripts to choose for critiques, and an annotated workshop roster.

Step 6: The Workshop and Beyond

On October 7, enter Pajaro Dunes Resort for our seminar. Then enjoy occasional alumni newsletters and online bulletin board dialogues throughout the year.

Join us on the sunny Central California coast—a cornucopia
of nature and culture. Perfect for a writer’s retreat!

We look forward to receiving
your 2011 application!

“One way of thinking about the suspense in your story is as a rubber band. You, the author, stretch the rubber band gradually over time, making drama in your plot more and more taut with every event, every plot point. After each scene or sequence you write, ask yourself, ‘How did this event stretch the rubber band?’” — Robert Kernan, Building Better Plots

HEADS UP! For maximum critique options and lowest fees at our October 5-7, 2012 workshop (16 enrollees), or concurrent retreat (6 enrollees), inquire early. Teen workshops: click here!

Meanwhile, don’t miss our exclusive faculty interviews; read about our innovative masterclass critique clinics and peruse our full weekend schedule. For more information, contact Nancy Sondel—a Children’s Book Insider contributing editor and the workshop’s founding director.