Review of Writing it Real: Creating an Online Course for Fun and Profit
What better way to write a book than by reading the genre of what you will write about?
I was not sure if this book would be something I should read for my own education or if it was a book just to have something more to review on BookSirens, a place to review advance copies of books.
I later found out that a client of mine was going to do an online class and this book was fundamental in helping me help her.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, I enjoyed the book âWriting It Realâ by Melanie Faith. There are a few suggestions below to making it easier to read on an app on a phone or in a Kindle. These suggestions allow readers to have visual breaks rather than long paragraphs without bullets or bold text. I did find it interesting that some areas of the book had bullets or bolded areas and others did not.
The logistics of the book made sense, but it would have been nice if the table of contents was at the beginning of the book, rather than the end.
I give it 5 stars for an interesting title. However, she does do this for her work and career. There is some humor with it, and while it can be fun, I think there is a bunch of work, especially for those that have never taught online or off. I believe this book is geared mostly to teachers or trainers looking to go into the online world and getting their first taste of what that entails. I am sure there will be a follow-up book to answer all of the questions.
Four stars for readability. There could be more bolding and bulleting for those that need the breaks.
Table of Contents should be in the beginning.
There are more Pinks than Yellows so on a scoring level this book is a 5 star.
FIVE STARS
What do the colors mean? For this book, yellow is errors, blue is suggestions, and pink is highlighted for my own reading and knowledge.
Highlight(yellow) - Location 15 pedagogy Note Method and practice of teaching? Or something else. I donât understand why you do not say that?
Highlight(blue) - Location 17 series of four sets of exercises in the book that I encourage you to take for a spin, to spark your creativity and hone your class-forming skills as well.
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Self-Quest Survey about what fires you up about online teaching and to peruse the three interviews I conducted with professional online writing teachers whose authentic and varied experiences with online teaching offer much wisdom to consider. Note: At the end of the book.
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Focusing on a single topic from the get-go is a time-saving and clarifying way to go.
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What genre have you published in (most)?
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Choose a genre you would like to explore more.
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genre that is themed or combined with another artistic
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The combinations are exponential. Note: Good ideas
Bookmark - Location 86
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donât need instruction or examples on how to write a query letter to a literary magazine, but they might enjoy tips for improving their author bios, launching an author website, and writing a more-effective Note Donât / Do not More effective rather than with a dash
Highlight(yellow) - Location 147 Pros: Note: Bold
Highlight(yellow) - Location 196 Cons: Note This should be bold.
Highlight(pink) - Location 224 âmean, Iâve heard from a reliable source that canâ Note Hahaha
Highlight(blue) - Location 264 This is part of the job for which there is no monetary compensation or time regained. Note I think the cons were still less than the Pros.
Highlight(blue) - Location 289 others.â Note: Strange break
Highlight(blue) - Location 325 Tips for Choosing Class Length: Note This should be bold rather than the Sentence below it.
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students want to work on a project during the class, consider longer classes rather than shorter ones to give the students time to complete Note: Good idea.
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You will need at least an hour per day to answer texts or emails,
Highlight(blue) - Location 418 Accredited programs frequently have a multi-part hiring process just like brick-and-mortar schools do, often including but not limited to: a phone and/or video-conferencing interview, outlining of your teaching philosophy, a series of essay questions from the school about your skills working with a diverse array of writing students, an updated CV/rĂ©sumĂ©, your college transcripts, a variety of recommendations from other teachers or writing professionals (which might include editors youâve worked with), a list of your publications and genres, and a sample class lesson and/or syllabus. Start gathering these materials before approaching accredited schools, especially ordering your transcripts which can take days or weeks to obtain. Once initially hired, many accredited programs require a short training course about university teaching policies before offering new hires a first class. Granted,
Note - Location 425 Bulleted list would be a good option here.
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Many independent programs, however, hire writers with a BA and publication credits. Have you edited or advised with literary journals, led or advised clubs, or hosted a writing circle? Published a lot? Make sure to mention these independent ventures that may set you apart from the other applicants. Independent programs will still want to see your sample class syllabus and synopsis, your CV/rĂ©sumĂ©, references, possibly your college transcripts, and your publication history, so assemble those items and keep them updated and on hand before applying. Non-credit writing programs will often require teachers to pitch their class ideas along with completed syllabi and reading lists to editors or a committee a few weeks or months before each semester starts or a few times a year. This is standard and a great opportunity for teaching a wide variety of writing courses that have always interested you. On the other hand, itâs a
Note - Location 440 Bullet list
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Independent programs also like to see that their instructors have extensive experience within the field. If you donât have publishing credits in the genre you want to teach, Iâd recommend that you begin submitting to literary journals
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online to get publication credits. Another way to show your dedication and skill within a field before proposing a class is to post two or three samples of your relevant writing on your website. Just be aware, should you choose this option, you wonât be able to publish those pieces in literary magazines later, as they will likely be considered already published. Publishing credits from edited journals are considered better credits than online posts and portfolios.
Highlight(yellow) - Location 496 Youâve Note Used too often. Not a fan of this
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sharing in public on a message forum. Students bond with an instructor who goes the extra mile.
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Writerâs Digest.
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Unsplash.
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Begin Where You are; To âIâ or Not to âI?;â Quotation Power!; âFlash,â You Say? Four Tips for Compressed Dialogue; Villains and Note: A bulleted list would read easier.
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Vamps: Crafting Realistic Antagonists; Writing Private People; The Big Cs; Snapback: Incorporating Details of Era and Setting; I See You: The Value of (Re)Connection; Spark, Spark, Light! The Inciting Incident & You; Mixed-Emotion Station; Descriptive Ruts; Attributes: Adventures in Style and Syntax; Idiomatic Time Travel and All that Jazz; The Advocate: Personality Types and Your Protagonist; The Whiplash Compliment; FOMO: Fear of Missing out & Your Characters; Tight-Roping: Balancing Self-Revelations with Self-Protection; Joy Bombs: How to Write Happy without Turning Your Reader against You; Playing Genre Ping-Pong; The Strategically-Shattered Plate; and much more.
Note - Location 777 Ditto
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Does this sound like a course Iâd want to take? Which parts appeal most? Which parts sound dull? I revamp the dull spots as I edit the description.
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Will you use a textbook (or two)? If so, list the text(s) in your description. Note You have bullets here, as you should have elsewhere.
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Itâs wise to avoid being too personal, however. Note Already stated.
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When students scroll online, they need more white space than in print, so divide longer paragraphs (and then divide again) to be kind to studentsâ eyes. Note This is also true with kindle app books
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Women on Writing,
Highlight(blue) - Location 1120 Try this exercise: Note - Location 1120 Bold
Bookmark - Location 1123 Highlight(blue) - Location 1157 The Vampire. Note Bold
Highlight(blue) - Location 1168 The Extra-Pretty Princess. Note Bold
Highlight(blue) - Location 1189 The Mummy. Note Bold
Highlight(blue) - Location 1205 The Ghoulish Ghost Who Goodbyes and Goodbyes and Goodbyes and Never Leaves. Note Bold
Highlight(blue) - Location 1220 Try this exercise: Note Bold
Highlight(blue) - Location 1307 Try this exercise: Note Bold
Highlight(blue) - Location 1585 encourage. Note - Location 1585 Ended here. But not really.
Highlight(yellow) - Location 1904 Table of Contents
Note - Location 1904 Should have been in the beginning of the book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
If you have read all the way down, I appreciate your time.
I use the Kindle app on my iPhone. It has a great tool for bookmarking and highlighting text and creating notes. These notes become my reviews. Those reviews go onto BookSirens, BookBub, Goodreads and Amazon. They are located here on Tumblr and Medium as well.
My Plan is to read 52 books this year and Review every one of them. All while finishing my own memoir. Ambitious goal, but one I already have a head start on, with this being my fourth book reviewed.
Stay tuned for more!