Taming the Wild Beast: Making Inspiration Work for You

Presented By New York Times Bestselling Author Emily Colin

What Emily Colin’s Students Have to Say

Please note: Emily Colin’s courses are not currently open for enrollment. For those interested, you can join the waiting list for Plot to Publication here.

Emily Colin’s Class Was Amazing

I learned more about how to write a YA novel from her class than any other class I’ve taken (conferences included.) My writing improved in leaps and bounds. And I loved every minute of it! Emily is the best!!!!

Pamela Salmon
I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop!

I know it’s a cliche (bad, bad, Steven!), but it was invaluable to have the direct access to and feedback on my writing from from a New York Times bestselling author.

I LOVED this workshop. It was also great to receive feedback from the other students on the assignments I submitted, and the first chapter of my manuscript that I submitted. This workshop has helped my writing, and my hopeful career as a published author immensely. There is so much value in getting help from someone who’s been there and done what you’re trying to do; getting direct feedback that’s based on real, successful experience . . . the kind of success that I want.

I learned a long time ago to “be careful whose advice you take, as you may end up with their results.” Well, I want Emily Colin’s success as a published author of YA fiction. Thank you, Emily!

Steven Rose
I learned so much from Emily Colin!

I am very thankful to Emily Colin for being such a kind, helpful, and knowledgeable teacher. As someone who struggles with depression and anxiety, she really helped me feel better about certain worries and concerns I had. I feel a little more confident in myself after learning the valuable information found in her course, and I feel that publishing my writing is a journey I can take. I would highly recommend this class, especially to those who are unsure about their writing skills or are just starting out. Although it is highly beneficial to those just starting out, this is also a fantastic course for any writer — no matter where he or she is in the writing process. I found myself interacting with writers of various skill levels, and although I think I may have been the least experienced out of anyone in the class, I still learned so many important things that I will be forever thankful for. I still have a long journey ahead of me before I reach my goals, but after taking Emily Colin’s wonderful course, I feel like I am starting out on a much better track than if I didn’t take the course at all.

Ammon Merrill
Rich materials and a fantastic instructor

This course was a veritable goldmine of information for me! I am new to the writing world and felt so overwhelmed by all of the elements of writing and publishing before taking this course. Now, I feel armed with information and much less nervous. The instructor was incredibly helpful. She gave really personalized feedback and went above and beyond to ensure I understood key concepts. This course absolutely exceeded my expectations. I would highly recommend this course and any course taught by Emily.

Candace Haroldsen
Fantastic Course Taught with Compassion

Emily is a wonderful teacher. She clearly sets out a program that is sure to make you a better writer of YA, using good examples in current literature to illustrate key points. The assignments are challenging in a good way, you are learning by doing in this class. Emily’s follow up is superb. I learned so much from this class, and am so glad I took it. You will be too.

Stacey Upton
The importance of stepping back

Emily is a kind, thoughtful, and patient instructor. The course and her insights led me down a positive path of looking at my work from a more critical (in a good way) perspective. She asked pressing questions that caused me to go deeper into my character arcs and consider how my story would appeal to different audiences. The insights into and resources surrounding publication paths was incredibly helpful. Her feedback went beyond my expectations as she is willing to engage and dive into issues with you.

Christina Marasco
YA writing

I found the class materials to be appropriate to a four week class. I thought the assignments were well prepared. The speaker, Emily Colin, was well spoken, using good pacing, pronouncing well. Easy to understand. Not to be minimized. I was glad the class did not require re-signing up every time I started a continued class. I thought the ZOOMs well managed and welcoming. I shall value the class time and hope to have a conversation with Ms. Colin before I launch into the fine-tuning of another book. Thank you for a class, thought worth the fee. Thank you, KBennett

Karen Bennett
Excellent and so worth it!

This course had more practical, how-to, instruction and advice than I knew I needed! The way it was structured and the assignments all pushed me to get through the hard work of looking at the plot structure, character development, and overall theme of the story which were a big part of what has been holding me back from finishing it. Emily has a wealth of knowledge and resources that she shared throughout the course that I will continue to revisit. Her feedback has been clear and specific and quite vital to seeing where I need to put in more time and effort. I would highly recommend her as an instructor and editor. I found the platform easy to use and appreciated that I could do each lesson on my own time yet still connect with others in the class and for office hours.

Theresa Widmann
Accurate

Well done. I found new ways to focus on processed that had eluded me in prior courses (outside this platform) I will continue to refer back to the evergreen content for next projects. Emily was generous and professional and is definitely another one of your top providers.

Vali Hawkins-Mitchell
Young Adult Novel with Emily Colin

I found the course most useful and also an eye opener as I learnt so much about the craft of writing and the market. Emily’s personal interest in each of us made me feel that she was giving me all the help and attention that I needed. The practical exercises too made me learn so much form each of them from the 10 pages, to enhancement, then getting more insight into how to right a good synopsis, and the last session on writing a pitch were most informative. Also there was a generous amount of information from other source with each session. I felt that the course days went too quickly and I certainly could have done with a longer course. I definitely would look forward to joining her again were another course were to be organised by her. Thank you most sincerely.

Sundar Kanta Walker
Plot to Publication YA with Emily Colin

An excellent course, well put together with lots of insight, extra information and thought from Emily Colin. I really enjoyed doing the daily lessons and the homework exercises, which helped me to think about aspects of writing and structure that I had not considered before. The price of the course was well worth it for the content. Emily gave us personal feedback on submitted pieces of work and was very encouraging of ideas and thought processes, which I really appreciated. Asking us to consider how our own favourite writers (in published YA novels) tackle certain barriers such as plotting, stakes, etc, was a useful tool to apply to our own work. Overall, a fantastic course for anyone serious about writing, even if they don’t plan to write or publish YA.

Lucy Wilson
So useful!

Emily’s course was very well laid out and included a lot of useful information. While some of it was familiar, it was useful to understand her take on it. It also helped confirm previous research I had done on several topics, which was a relief! Emily’s feedback was always helpful, insightful and thought provoking. She really went above and beyond what was promised. Sometimes an ‘online’ format can end up being detached and mechanical, but not this one!

Jennifer Mitchell
I feel more on track toward my goal of being a traditionally published author

Emily was wonderful about feedback that has really helped me to focus. Attempting to become a published author is serious work. She was great with her guidance. She offered a path where before I was zigzagging, trying to do too much and accomplishing little.

Deborah Richardson
Excellent instruction and feedback on assignments

Emily Colin’s Plot to Publication was a wealth of information on how to build and strengthen a YA novel and how to get it out into the world. Emily has a clear and welcoming instructional style, and she provides extremely detailed and helpful feedback on assignments. This is truly one of the best writing classes I’ve taken, and I highly recommend it to writers of all levels.

Dianne Beck
Thank you

Emily Colin is a hard-working instructor. Instead of skimming through my work, she would dissect it bit by bit and ask me questions that I haven’t been asked before. It helped me to look at my story from a different perspective. Since she concentrated on this being a YA story instead of a romance, she gave me feedback to make my story work for the YA market. I am really glad I took this course.

Anuradha Dev
Incredibly Helpful and Thorough!

I loved this course! Through Emily’s course, I have a much better grasp of plotting, character development, and succinct writing. I also am able to apply her teaching to any type of manuscript I write and her comments on my synopsis and query letter were invaluable. I also have a much better understanding of the publication options out there. And lastly, I have many more resources than I did before as a writer. I know it is hard to manage with our busy schedules, but the only thing I would improve is the number of live office hours. That said, Emily is very reachable through email and she responds immediately.

Lindsey Goldstein
Engaging!

I find Emily to be an engaging teacher who knows her craft really well. I feel that I’ve learnt a lot from her, which will really help move my novel and short stories further along the desired road to publication. Thanks, Emily and to my cohorts from this class.

Gillian Tregidgo
Excellent Instructor!

Emily Colin’s course was amazing. She packed so much useful information into one week of lectures (which are downloadable!); and provided lots of tips and suggestions for further reading, etc. She clearly knows the romance biz; and it was refreshing to be able to talk about that aspect of things. And last but not least, of course, is the feedback: Emily provided high quality comments on my assignments. She was a very caring instructor who genuinely tried to understand all our stories. I feel ready to go forth and write!

Brandy McCann
Emily Colin is a terrific, whole-hearted instructor.

Emily made this course with with her whole-hearted approach and critiques.

Lynnecurry10 Curry
What I didn’t know

This course covers it all, plus the bonus of having a NYT’s best-selling author critiquing your work is invaluable. I am going back to the drawing board, armed with all of my new knowledge, and attacking my “novel” to make it more readable and entertaining. I can’t wait to get started!

Susan Goldstein
Awesome Class!

I cannot believe how much I learned in this class. What a helpful way to develop my romance writing skills. I highly recommend the class to anyone seeking to improve and even get published!

JanMarie Malik