Litopia's Writers' Seminars
The Information You Need.Exactly When You Need It.
Writing is a long game. “Overnight success” is usually the result of many years’ hard work.
But it doesn’t have to be a long, hard grind. The journey should be as rewarding – and as enjoyable – as the destination itself.
Litopia’s approach to your development as a writer has three core pillars.
- Our Seminars give you a concentrated dose of timely, relevant and highly practical information.
- Our live, weekly Writers’ Huddles give you the opportunity to meet other writers globally and to discuss works-in-progress, cover letters, author bios, synopses… everything, in fact!
- And our Writing Lab gives you the chance to receive thoughtful and helpful critiques: with confidence and in confidence.
These three pillars are integral to the Litopia Method.
All of them are included in your yearly membership!
Literary agent Peter Cox hosts our seminars
Litopia’s seminars are hosted by Peter Cox and feature specially-selected expert guests. Peter has been a national #1 bestselling author as well as a highly-successful literary agent: his expert knowledge of the business is unparalleled. Before working in publishing, he founded and directed an advertising agency. His marketing skills are widely recognised and his passion for encouraging new writers is contagious.
“There has never been a more exciting time to start your writing journey,” says Peter. “Writers have so many new ways of connecting with their readers. Yes, it can often seem perplexing. But that’s what we’re here for; our insights can help to guide your journey, and we can certainly make sure it’s a happy one!”
How To Access
You can access all our seminars from your Account Portal. Click on the “Courses” link in the main menu. If you can’t see anything there, please upgrade to Full Membership.
Latest Seminars
Creating Book Proposals & Sell Sheets
What even is a book proposal? And do you need one?
- Book proposals are essential to any non-fiction project where you don’t want to write the entire manuscript before getting a contract.
- Even though they lie within the realm of non-fiction publishing, the insights and skills you’ll learn from this seminar will be universally useful to all writers: fiction writers included.
- Includes downloadable files.
- Test yourself with a quiz after the seminar.
Stop Querying & Start Pitching
Here’s a radical idea… Instead of endlessly querying publishers and agents with your manuscript… Why not get out there and pitch it?
This short (50 minute) seminar comprises a high-voltage exchange between Litopia’s Peter Cox and Ed Simnett, an advisor to the global technology investment community. Ed brings powerful new insights that will help your manuscript escape from the dreaded slush-pile…
- “We agents are fundamentally in the rejection business”, says Peter. “Both literary agencies and publishers have systems in place to process the vast volumes of manuscript submissions they receive – and mostly to reject them. Is that really how you want your manuscript treated?”
- This seminar will give you the courage – and knowledge – to break the conventional rules of submission – and to shoot straight to the top of the pile.
The Joy of Synopses
Here's what you're going to learn in this eye-opening seminar:
- What a synopsis can – and can’t – do for your project
- Why there are two completely different types of synopses
- The Working Synopsis vs. the Submission Synopsis
- How to construct a Big Picture Synopsis – and what it does
- How to construct a Rope Ladder Synopsis – and what it does
- Includes downloadable files
Writing Killer Blurbs
If you’re like most authors, you hate writing blurbs.
Days – even weeks – of intense brain work… only to produce a pitifully small number of words.
It doesn’t feel like a great return on your investment of time and effort, does it?
But consider this. A good blurb will sell your book like nothing else. And a poor one will kill your sales.
Stone dead.
Those few dozen words you're laboring over may actually be the most consequential you’ll ever write.
- WRITING KILLER BLURBS will inform you, inspire you, and – probably for the first time ever – actually explain to you what a blurb is supposed to do.
- You'll learn everything you need to construct powerfully effective blurbs for today’s readers.
Writing Killer Titles
A good title can have a profound impact on your writing success, so it’s an excellent idea to hone your title-writing skills to perfection.
Yet most writers don’t know where to begin!
In this concentrated seminar you will learn how to confidently approach the task. The good news is that you already have all the writing skills you need. This seminar will teach you how to use them...
- Features a special appearance by Alan Samson, former publisher & chairperson of Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
- Relax! Don’t force the process. Great titles will naturally happen at the right time - providing you encourage them.
- An essential seminar for writers who are traditionally-published and for those who are embarking on the self-publishing route.
- Includes files to download