All classes are recorded
99% student satisfaction rate
Refunds if expectations are not met
What to expect from classes that I personally host
The classes that I offer are delivered via Zoom by experts in the writing and publishing community. They feature enlightening lessons, encouragement, and practical next steps for your project and career. They are self-contained and do not try to sell you anything further.
Most classes last 60-90 minutes and always include live Q&A. Any questions that we can’t get to live are answered in writing. Afterward, all registrants receive the recording, slides, transcript, Q&A, and other supporting materials that can be downloaded and kept for as long as you wish. Classes can also be an opportunity to meet and share with other writers grappling with the same questions as you.
Now open for registration
Read testimonials about Jane’s classes
This is just a general THANK YOU. I’ve attended/listened to the recording of a number of your webinars and I always walk away feeling like I have several practical ideas that I can start using right away, and (and here’s the really important part for me) a sense of optimism, validation, and possibility. Lots of writer-related webinars cast a spell of “it’s all just too impossible, that’s cute you’re trying but nothing is really ever going to come of it.” Your webinars do the opposite. I don’t feel like you/your guest speakers are selling me positive thinking or anything like that, I just feel cared for as a writer. I feel respected. My time and the amount of money I spent on the webinar feels respected. And I leave wanting to keep going and trying, and also recommending your webinar to at least one friend afterward. Thank you for the time and care you put into each webinar.
—Christin Rice
I just want to thank you for always producing outstanding webinars—the quality is always way beyond all expectations. The fee is so small so I hope that you gets tons of people to make up for that. I have seen seminars of this nature go for 3 and 4 times what you charge. And I bet they aren’t nearly as good! In fact I’m sure of it!! So thank you very much—your knowledge, enthusiasm, and authenticity are unbeatable. Never change.
—Barb Wanchisen
After I finished my first draft, and began to pull together a book proposal, I made one decision early on that made all the difference. I decided to attend Jane Friedman University. I took as many of your workshops as I could shoehorn into my schedule. They are so affordable, and always offered at least one or two nuggets of information that were incredibly useful or offered a way of looking at a writing or marketing problem that I hadn’t thought of before.
—Maura Casey
Jane, I have taken a few of your online classes thus far and am beyond grateful for your choice of presenters, as well as your provision of the recordings afterward for those of us who need to review the incredible amount of information and support provided. So many times, we hear or share only the negatives in our complicated and somewhat frazzled lives. In my dotage, I am choosing to share only the positives. Your professionalism, accessibility and website are tops on my list. Thank you!
—Dianne Poole
I’m always so impressed with the course selection available, and the ease with which participants can access every bit of the materials—video, audio, transcript, chat, Q&A, slides, etc. There are no other offerings available where I feel so confident in the quality of the material and the easy access of all materials. Thank you.
—Shari Kaplan
Just to let you know how much I am enjoying your online courses. I am learning so much. What I really mean is … I am learning SO much. Your course instructors are much more informed than the speakers I meet at writing conferences. I just finished watching Allison’s presentation about pitching and publishing. (In fact, this is the second time). It was just as great as Tiffany’s presentation regarding tension and suspense. These teachers are fantastic, and there is no time wasted. Thanks so much.
—Karen DePinto
I’ve registered for almost all of your classes, but I’m seldom able to watch in real time and so don’t have the opportunity to provide feedback. Just want to say I’m so impressed with the quality of the classes and the topics are always useful. I really appreciate what you do! Thank you!
—B.K. Jackson
All of your webinars are high quality, practical, understandable, comprehensive, astute and affordable. I love hanging out with other writers, enjoy being in the company of professionals whose goal is not to impress, but to help, to elevate, to inspire and empower writers at all levels to achieve their aspirations.
Not once have I heard you or any presenter talk down to or negatively about anyone. We all have the same experience of starting with a blank page/screen; it either works or doesn’t work—no sense of good or bad.
—Colleen Patrick
Online classes taught by Jane with partner organizations
May 9: Effective Book Marketing for Any Author with Jane Friedman
In partnership with Writer’s Digest: Whether you’re traditionally published or self-published, every author must give some thought to book marketing. But given how fast tools and techniques change, and how hard it is to attract attention, it can be challenging to figure out what’s worthwhile to focus on. Few authors truly lack marketing opportunities; most lack sufficient focus and patience to pursue those opportunities, or feel overwhelmed by the task and end up doing nothing at all. This class helps authors first focus on the foundation of any book marketing campaign—the book itself and its target readership—and offers a framework for developing a strategy and approach that’s appropriate for your strengths and current abilities.
May 30: Write Compelling Queries for Novel & Memoir with Jane Friedman
In partnership with Zibby: The query letter has one purpose, and one purpose only: to seduce the agent or editor into reading or requesting your work. The query letter is so much of a sales piece that it’s possible to write one without having written a word of the manuscript. All it requires is a firm grasp of the story premise—the most essential part of the query for a novelist or memoirist. This class will directly help you with the second issue, as well as offer methods of determining whether the first issue might be a problem. Jane has edited more than 5,000 query letters during her career and has literally seen it all. Her industry experience gives her exceptional insight into what agents and editors see all the time, and what will or will not be memorable.
Self-study courses
The Great Courses: How to Publish Your Book
In the 24 eye-opening lectures of How to Publish Your Book, Jane Friedman provides you with sought-after secrets of the publishing process that will help you navigate this difficult progression, bypass pitfalls that many novice authors get hung up on, and improve your chances of being considered for publication.