Make Your Own Literary Luck with Sue Divin

Course Summary

‘The harder I work, the luckier I get.’ Samuel Goldwyn. Is getting a publication deal just about pure luck? Can you make your own luck? This course is ideal for emerging writers currently working on a novel or hoping to achieve that elusive novel deal.

Delivered via discussion and some practical activities over 2 evening online sessions. Learn how to take your work to the next level through exploring self-editing, mentoring, pitching and the world of novel competitions including the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair.

Course Outline

Week One: Submit. Compete.

No matter how brilliant your writing, no-one will come knocking your door to ask to read it if they’ve never heard of you. How do get yourself and your writing noticed? Is it possible to do this on a budget?

• Author Bio & Pic
• Writer’s CV (History of Artistic Practice)
• Connections
• Submissions
• Competitions
• Resilience and purpose
• Funding
• Professional Development

The session is predominantly discussion based. Participants will not produce new creative writing. There will be one personal, practical activity where they will be asked to think about themselves and their aims as a writer including: Why do you write? What does success look like?

For homework, if participants don’t already have these, they will be asked to write their: Author Bio and Writer’s CV (History of Artistic Practice) and to obtain an Author pic.

Week Two: Polish until it shines.

Learn how to take your work to the next level through exploring self-editing, mentoring, pitching and the world of novel competitions the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair.

• Self-Editing – including voice, filtering and word-count.
• Mentoring / Paid Editing
• Novel openings – first chapter and first sentence.
• Synopsis
• Elevator Pitch – Book and Self.
• Pitching and Agent Hunting
• Novel Competitions & IWC Novel Fair

Course Outcomes

Participants will be purposeful, focused and active on working to breakthrough.

Participants will have:

• Increased awareness of and purpose driving their own professional development.
• Increased self-editing skills.
• A writer’s bio, CV/History of Artistic Practice.
• Understanding of novel pitching and competitions eg. Elevator pitch, synopsis, agent letter.

Sue Divin is a Derry based writer from Northern Ireland. As a peace worker, her writing often touches on diversity, reconciliation, borders and the legacy of the Troubles. She has two YA/Crossover novels (Macmillan), Truth Be Told and Carnegie short-listed Guard Your Heart, which won the Great Reads Award 2022 (Ireland) and IWC Novel Fair (2019). Her short stories and flash fiction have been published in The Caterpillar, The Cormorant, The Honest Ulsterman, The Bangor Literary Journal and Splonk.