Should You Pay for Classes as a Writer?
Have I paid for writing classes, webinars, etc.? Sure. But in this video, I explain why beginning writers — who typically have zero money anyway — might benefit from waiting until later to fork out cash.
Trends you might encounter
As I shopped for classes that might be helpful, I quickly noticed that, as with other subjects, a lot of classes are little more than marketing ploys. Half the time is spent with the speaker telling you their story and what they plan to cover, about 10 minutes is useful stuff, and then the rest of the class is telling you how they can teach you more stuff in another class or book.
OR, a new scheme…
You get advertised a “class” about how AI can help you be a bestselling author, and it’s just some dude who doesn’t even write telling you how they use AI to “write” books, toss the junk on Amazon, and make tons of money.
DO NOT TAKE THE BAIT.
What to look for in a great writing class
In general, good writing classes allow you to practice, engage directly with the speaker beyond one or two questions, and offer a slew of resources that allow you to take next steps. They also allow you to connect with others and get constructive feedback. They are specific and target just one writing concern or concept at a time — a narrow scope means you can get into the nuances and pragmatics better. Don’t waste your time with classes that promise to make you a bestseller — even the most experienced people in the industry can’t promise you how your work will do, so look for concrete, realistic delivery points, not “offers” that just prey on what you dream about.
Are you considering a writing class or know of a good one others might benefit from? Share it in the comments on Linkedin!
[Transcript summary]
Hey, everybody. Wanda Thibodeaux of takingdictation.com here, and the question I am tackling today is, should you pay for classes as a writer?
Now the short answer to that question is yes. But there are so many resources, especially online, that are completely free. You can go to YouTube or whatever. There’s — there’s so many resources, blogs that will break down a lot of things pretty well. And especially if you’re a newer writer, things where they are explaining basic concepts to you, you’re just getting your foot in the door, you do not have to pay for that.
The time to pay for a class is when you start to get a little bit more advanced and you really need one on feed — one-on-one feedback, or you are at a level where you really need something that’s customized, somebody to show you, walk you through your own plan, like maybe a marketing strategy or something like that. That’s the point where you need to start paying. Then it’s absolutely worth it.
The other thing is, if you are going to pay for something, make sure you are still vetting your sources, and your providers, because there are a lot of people out there, especially with all this AI things, people want to take advantage of the writers still clinging to their dream. So, you need to be vetting those people and making sure that they have good reviews, make sure that they are connected, they have good affiliations, all of those things that you would normally do for any other provider, do for your writing hosts as well.
Take care. Everybody.