Back to Home > Courses and Seminars > eClass: Boot Camp for Journalists

eClass: Boot Camp for Journalists

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 more 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.

Our signature class, Boot Camp for Journalists, has put hundreds of students across the country through a rigorous eight weeks, in which they learn to produce a perfect pitch letter, complete eight saleable assignments, and figure out whom to send them to. Assignments (each under 1,000 words; each due with a pitch letter for it the following week to be read aloud and critiqued in class) include a profile, an exhibition review, a Talk of the Town-style piece, a travel piece, an op-ed, a personal essay, and a business feature. Boot Camp is the perfect opportunity to restructure your career and start writing about the things that matter to you.

Before you apply, consider that this is called a Boot Camp because it is not for the faint of heart?or the short of time. This is a selective, rigorous course that requires a significant time (count on at least three hours outside of class per week, sometimes reporting and writing will require up to 10 hours). However, unlike many classes, you will not have to work on others' pieces outside of class.

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.

MORE INFO
Visit our eClasses info page, and make sure you take a tour of our demo class while you're there!

Instructor Bio

Allen Salkin
Allen Salkin has cast industrial films in Hong Kong, wholesaled rubber duckies in Las Vegas, picked oranges in Crete, peddled oil paintings door-to-door in Western Australia, and penned stories for The New York Times, Details, Cargo, Talk, Heeb, Maxim, Yoga Journal, People, and other venues. He is the author of Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us (Warner Books 2005, www.festivusbook.com). He has appeared on The Today Show, the E! True Hollywood Story: Chris Farley, #1 Single, Lisa Loeb's reality show, and elsewhere. Allen's list of profile subjects includes Donald Trump, Gollum (Andy Serkis), Julia Stiles, Eliot Spitzer, Carson Daly, Jean Harris, Robert Jarvik, Kyle MacLachlan, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and, among many less famous subjects, Roland Formica, the last waterbed salesman in the San Francisco Bay Area. Allen's clips, blog and short-films can be seen at http://www.allensalkin.com.

Testimonials


"I recently sold a profile I created as an assignment for my eClass, Boot Camp for Journalists, to a local magazine here in Philadelphia called The Insider. The feedback from Allen Salkin and the class was invaluable in helping me trim and tighten the piece. Plus, it gave me the confidence to pitch it and, even better, sell it! This class has really helped me get my "sea legs" back after a long hiatus from writing. The wide range of assignments has pushed me to try things I would never have thought of tackling on my own (an art review, for instance). Most of all, I like the way Allen treats us as professionals with all that implies. It's good to be writing again." -- Sara Robins, freelance writer

Courses

No courses available at this time.

Click to Apply

AvantGuild* Discounts on mediabistro.com courses are just one of the wonderful benefits of being in AvantGuild, our premium membership program. For just $59 a year, you'll receive instant access to our How to Pitch articles and other premium articles, transcripts from selected seminars and panels, and discounts on virtually everything we do (including eClasses and the Freelance Marketplace)! Click here to join now.