Course Details

Let's face it: If you knew you'd still be writing about eraser manufacturing for Pencil News Monthly, covering city council meetings for the Boondock Weekly, or trying to track down a former child star to write a "catching up with" for the Irrelevant Gossip Daily, you would have gone into a lucrative career. You became a journalist because you feel passionate about the truth; there are stories you insist need to be told. And doing a story on the adverse effects of size-8 knitting needles on a yarn-based Afghan doesn't qualify.

In this class, you can expect to learn:

• How to write a pitch an editor can't turn down
• How to figure out whom you want to write for
• Which magazines are easiest to break into and identify which sections are most freelancer friendly
• How to edit yourself
• How to manage tight deadlines
• How to negotiate your contracts

By the end of class, students can expect to have:
A complete portfolio of 7 publishable articles that will impress any magazine editor, the ability to work under tight deadlines, and an understanding of how to achieve the career you started out (or ended up) wanting.

Admission requirements:
To be considered for this class, you must submit a non-fiction writing sample (up to 2,000 words), plus a letter of interest including a work history.

Instructor Bio

Douglas Gantenbein's Courses

Douglas Gantenbein has more than 20 years experience writing for magazines. He's the Seattle correspondent for The Economist, the influential London-based newsweekly, and has contributed articles to Outside, Scientific American, Popular Science, Architectural Digest, Smithsonian Air & Space, Travel + Leisure, The Atlantic, Discover, and many other publications. In addition, Douglas writes a regular column for Outside's web site, where as the "Gear Guy" he answers readers' questions about outdoor equipment and safety.

Douglas also is a book author whose book A Season of Fire: Four Months on the Firelines in America's West, detailed the growing problem of wildfires in American's forests. Described by Publishers Weekly as "thoroughly engaging and thought-provoking," A Season of Fire not only took readers right up the fireline, it also offered an unsparing look at whether we're wasting time, money and lives fighting fires that often have wide ecological benefits.

An experienced writing instructor, Douglas has taught many classes in nonfiction journalism for the University of Washington's continuing education program, and several of his former students now are active freelancers. He's adept at giving students real nuts-and-bolts tools for solving common problems such as generating story ideas, conducting interviews that get results, and organizing short- and long-form articles.