My motto this year is, ‘grab every opportunity you can’. That means, no matter how unlikely it might be that I succeed, I’m going to try!
I didn’t think I’d get into the HarperCollins Author Academy, and yet here I am – a graduate. I’m still in awe that it happened; my mind, still dancing in dreamland (perhaps you shouldn’t trust anything I say in this post). I want you to feel the same joy, which is why I am writing this post; to encourage you, the underrepresented writer, to apply.
There are four divisions within the course: childrens, fiction, non-fiction, and design. When you apply, you apply for one of these. (The design lessons were only added during the fourth uptake of students. The fifth uptake won’t have the design option, but it will return!) All, except the design classes, have a limit of fifteen students. Design only takes five students (oh, the prestige to be one of them). Imagine being one of only fifteen students in each cohort; that’s a great achievement to add to your cv!
Have I convinced you to apply yet?
No?
Then let me continue …
The lessons are divided between the pre-recorded masterclasses, and the live, weekly, sessions. This combination allowed HarperCollins to delve deeper into our specific interests (during the live classes), whilst teaching us the ins and outs of the publishing industry, all within a six-week period. I’ve come out of the course feeling like the gaps in my knowledge have been covered. Questions that I’m sure all writers are curious about were answered, including how the author-agent relationship works; a detailed breakdown of the publishing process; and how to query.
The pre-recorded masterclasses were a wealth of information, but nothing beats a present teacher to whom you can direct your questions and get real-time answers. My class (the children’s group) were lucky to be taught by the marvellous, children’s book author, Anna Wilson. Our lessons covered the basics, such as structuring stories, dialogue and setting, and world-building. And what class would be complete without exercises to rev our brains?
Is it strange to say that my brain is fuller, but my load is lighter? Knowing what I’m up against has taken some of the stress away – the anxiety that comes from not knowing what you don’t know … No? You can’t relate? Then I shall move on …
For me, writing has been a lonely pursuit. I had no one I could rely on to run my ideas past; or to ask for help. Now, I have fifteen people – my classmates – that I can ask for feedback, and for whom I can provide the same. I finally have people who understand the rock-laden path I am travelling on.
If nothing else had come from this process (which, of course, is not the case), the new friendships would make it all worthwhile.
After all this, there’s still one great prize left for us to potentially achieve – the golden ticket of the Academy. Every graduate is able to submit a proposal for their fiction (or non-fiction) work directly to an editor of a HarperCollins imprint.
Did you ‘hear’ me?
Directly.
No agent required.
That’s not to say any of us will be accepted for publication, but isn’t the chance of publication a shining opportunity? Especially for the underrepresented writer – the ones for whom this course was made?
Wouldn’t you want this chance to bypass the agent gatekeepers and go directly to the source?
This is what the course ultimately allows you to do.
… So …
Have I convinced you to apply yet?
No?
Now I just think you’re playing with me.
Shahema Tafader
Shahema is a designer from Barking, London. She is a graduate of the HarperCollins Author Academy. Her writings and artwork have been featured in magazines and an anthology. Shahema’s work is often a way for her to understand humanity.