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Our New Writing Course
Developing as a Writer
4 Weeks - 5th August 2025
Our brand new follow up course to our flagship 9 week writing course began on August 27th 2024 and ran for 4 weeks, all remotely and with lessons you can do at your own pace. The course is aimed for those who have already completed the 9 week Indie Novella Writing Course (below) or those who have come to the end of their first, second or fifth draft and struggling to get their manuscript placed at with an agent or publisher.
The idea for this particular course was that when working with writers from both our Hackney writing group and those who have finished the current writing course, many were looking for something to help them polish their current novel and figure out where they need to take it so it has a better shot at representation.
In this course we look at improving as a writer and developing a writing career: How to build yourself up as a writer, how do you become more experienced, how do you develop your craft, how do you navigate the UK literary scene if you’ve never been part of it? How do you fellow in the footsteps like writers like Julia Armfield or Ajay Chowdhury? How do you not get disheartened and be protective? What if you’re on draft 5 and it’s not going anywhere?
It may sound a lot but if these are the questions you're currently asking yourself we recommend taking our course. As with our 9 week course, it is completely free and we have incredible content from the brilliant Watson, Little as well as masterclasses from the wonderful publishers Weatherglass Books and Scratch Books.
Our Developing as a Writer Course will be running in August 5th to August 26th where you will form a group with other writers in the same boat and receive feedback from Indie Novella.
Indie Novella Writing Course with Watson, Little
We believe all authors should have the same opportunities to find agent representation and get published, therefore we’ve done something radical: we’ve developed the first publisher and agent led writing course that is completely free.
We have also now developed the Indie Novella Self-Starter Portal which allows you access to sessions from our flagship course, including tutorials by Watson, Little, but at your own time and pace.
Key Information
Duration
9 weeks
Cost
Start Date
£0.00
3rd June 2025
Application Deadline
2nd June 2025
Duration
6 sessions
Cost
Start Date
£0.00
Anytime
Application Process
Duration
4 sessions
Cost
Start Date
£0.00
5th August 2025
Application Process
Our 9 Week Course
How It Works
In weekly sessions, you'll not only learn everything you'll need to transform that rough draft into a polished novel, but you'll interact with other authors, peer-reviewing each other's work and becoming a cohort who can learn from and support each other to take your work to publication.
Each week you will receive a lesson with a writing exercise and video content for you to do at your own pace while engaging on an active forum with fellow writers, applying what you have learnt and reviewing and learning from others.
The Indie Approach
As a self-paced course, even though learning material and writing exercises will be posted each Tuesday you will have until Sunday night to complete each short assignment and interact with other writers on each exercise. You will also have access to the learning materials for the entire course and beyond. And at the end of each week our editors will provide their feedback on a handful of assignments.
Our role is to give you, the author, the tools and guidance to hone your craft & tell your story.
Damien Mosley
Indie Novella / Course Tutor
The Bookseller Rising Star 2023
Laetitia Rutherford
Watson, Little / Guest Contributor
Our Guidance
A helping hand, support and advice from a range of editorial and publishing experts goes a long way. Indie Novella's focus is to provide a supportive, open, and encouraging forum so you can find and develop your own unique voice. We want you get to the core of your novel and let your writing explode with confidence.
Watson, Little Agency
We have partnered with Watson, Little to provide advice and tips from the world of a leading literary agency. Throughout the course, Laetitia Rutherford will answer questions on the submission process, what an agent's day is like, and her thoughts on what authors can do to catch the eye of potential agents, publishers, but also readers.
Commitment & Cost
Our online writing course is funded by Arts Council England and Indie Novella's Social Enterprise commitment to make publishing accessible to everyone. The course itself is estimated to cost £1,500 when compared to other providers, however, it is brought to you for FREE, with appreciation and thanks to our funding partners.
What We Will Focus On...
Weeks 1-3
The Opening page: what makes a reader read on / Plot & Structure / Narrative: Point of View
Weeks 4-6
Style & Language / Characterisation / Exposition: 'Show' vs 'Tell'
Weeks 7-9
Dialogue / Pacing / Editing and the Publishing Masterclass
First Application Step
Simply click on the 'Apply' button. You will need to create an account with us, and upload a covering note and book recommendation.
This should be a short note detailing your writing experience and what you hope to gain from the course. Please also include a book recommendation on which novel would you recommend to another writer, and why.
Second Step
This is where you will shine as a writer. Upload an example of your writing (approx. 1,000 words).
Don't worry, we won't assess this, it is just for us to get an idea of your writing style and help us match you with a peer. This doesn't have to be from your proposed novel, but it’s useful if it represents your voice and genre.
Our Self-Starter Programme
It is sometimes not possible to commit to a 9 week programme. We understand that some writers are looking for a course they can start now and complete at their own pace.
If this sounds like you, we offer the Indie Self Starter Programme which gives you access to a series of Indie Novella writing lessons. You can work through these at your own pace. Our new platform will be up and running in March 2024.