So you want to write that book...

Hi friends,

Thank you for finding your way to Creative Coordinates! I’m Tara Goedjen, author of Please Enjoy Your Stay, a thriller set at a castle-turned-hotel, coming out with Atria in October.

We’re almost five months out from the release of Please Enjoy Your Stay, and I’ve been thinking a lot about my next thriller (due to my editor soon!) and my long publicity to-do list.

(Which did not get any shorter during my family’s vacation at a tropical hotel last week, but more on that soon…) After the return flight, I hopped on stage with Jessica Payne (of the very thrilling Somebody Worth Killing, out in June!) and memoirist Simone Gorrindo at the first-ever Tacoma Lit Fest.

Our talk was called “From the first spark of inspiration to the first draft,” and we met so many lovely writers and readers afterward. (I promise I have a point here…)

…and it’s this: a lot of people have asked me lately about how to write a book, and where to start if you haven’t had much (or any) writing experience.

For all the years that I’ve been writing, I’ve never taken the time to compile a list of resources. Instead, I’ve always given individualized answers to everyone who asked, though I usually started with this preface:

You don’t need to go through multiple years of graduate school like I did to write and publish books. (You definitely don’t!! In fact, please don’t!!)

And then I’d say:

Even after grad school, and after the years I spent working in a publishing house and as a freelance editor, I still like to take classes to educate myself about the industry and to get better at what I do.1

And some of these—relatively inexpensive—online classes have helped my development as a writer so much more than the two university graduate degrees I toiled over (and loved, to be entirely honest).2

So, now, in the vein of an absolutely lovely Substack that I recently read (and now can’t find the link for, but will add asap!),3 I’ll mention the online writing classes that I’ve personally explored and would recommend to anyone who has a book idea but is feeling a little lost.

Never fear, you’ve come to the right place!

Also, for all the writers who currently have a draft ready to go and are thinking “now what?”, I’ll go beyond craft classes to talk about publicity, career guidance, and social media, too.

(This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but these are the courses and craft books with course tie-ins that I’ve tried before and thoroughly enjoyed.)

For new or emerging writers who want to learn how to turn an idea into an outline or into a draft, try:

• Tom Vaughan’s Story & Plot. His courses, like ‘Idea to Outline’ and ‘Mastering Structure’ are geared toward writing a screenplay, but they’ll help for outlining a novel too. (Ask me how I know.) I’d especially recommend this course for anyone who has a story idea but who has never taken a writing class before. Tom also has an excellent newsletter with weekly craft lessons.

• I once took Maggie Stiefvater’s novel writing seminar years ago. I remember it being helpful and engaging and fun. You can find it here.

• A course that I haven’t tried yet is Jessica Brody’s “Page One to Done” (I believe this one is launching soon!). After having read Save the Cat Writes a Novel and Save the Cat Writes a YA Novel, I’m sure that anyone who takes a class from her would be in excellent hands.

• I also enjoyed reading Jennie Nash’s Blueprint for a Book, so I’d absolutely read that and also follow her on Substack to find out about her other offerings, including her book coaching.

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For debut authors and for writers who want to brush up their publicity skills (and really any writers seeking representation), Kathleen Schmidt’s publicity course is a wealth of information, as is her Substack, Publishing Confidential.

For authors who are thinking about career longevity (or who feel they need coaching!), I highly recommend the courses/memberships that Camille Pagán offers. Camille also has an excellent podcast, The Career Novelist, if you’d like to check out her work before signing up. (But beware, you’ll want to take a class with her after you listen!).

And even though this one isn’t course related, I also have to mention thriller author Andrea Bartz’s Substack, Get It Write—every time she puts out a post, I learn something new about the industry. Absolutely. every. time.

For writers who want to know more about cultivating an online presence, please do yourself a favor and take Leigh Stein’s Hype House course. If you are very much an introvert in the online world (hi, let’s be friends!) this class is for you. It’s for any writer, really.

Leigh also offers individualized coaching as well, and a perspective that I wish I’d come across years ago, and—bonus—I now have IRL writer friends from that class who I feel quite lucky to know.4

Another quick note: my author friend Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau has been putting out a lot of fabulous posts on building community online and coordinating launch events for her latest thriller, We Would Never Tell, so check out her Substack if you’re getting ready for a release!

I’m new here, and when I first signed on, I came across David McIlroy’s How to Write for a Living. It was such a good starting point for me, and gave me the confidence to hit ‘publish’ on my first post. If you want guidance about writing on this platform, take a peek at his page and subscribe if it resonates!

And if you aren’t ready to invest in a writing course or subscription yet, there are so many incredible writing podcasts. I started making a list and it became VERY LONG so I might devote a Part 2 of this Substack to my favorites soon.

When I started writing this post, I was on a flight to Honolulu with my family (we’d had our trip on hold for two years and finally went). And now, as I’m popping this newsletter draft into Substack, we’re already back, our hotel keys left behind.

Highlights were swimming in the ocean, driving around the island, seeing an author friend (Nicole Brooks from Canada!) who happened to be there too, and stopping by BookEnds in Kailua. I also came across a book crisis (below).

And lastly, as part of my preorder campaign for Please Enjoy Your Stay… (vibes:)

I’m opening up a few slots in May for one-on-one writing consultations.

If you’d like feedback from a former in-house editor and current S&S author, and/or if you have questions about writing, the industry, your work in progress, or really anything writing related!, OR if you’d like me to edit your opening pages, reach out for details at taragoedjenbooks@gmail.com.

Okay, that’s it for today—and please do add your own favorite classes in the comments, or share this post with anyone who might find it useful.

Thanks so much for reading and subscribing!

x Tara