5 Deadlines in August 2025

Do you ever wish you could get my comments on work you didn’t just write in craft class? Here is your chance to get a more sustained version of my same incisive, honest response–what I love, what is alive on the page, anything that confuses me or throws me out of the story, tips about strengthening craft and prose to build on what you are already doing well, and to hone your work to your deepest purpose.

5 Deadlines in August (1, 8, 15, 22, 29) 

Submit up to 1000 words every Friday at noon. Get my notes weekly by end of day on Mondays.

You will have the option to give and receive weekly notes from one writing partner (and me) or a small group of 2 - 3 writers/ readers (and me) or just get notes from me. 

The magic of this course is that each submission must be new, or newly revised, depending on your goals, requiring you and rewarding you as you power forward, generate new work, and meet your deadlines!

Everything happens in our shared forum, so you other than getting your work in by the deadline, you never have to show up at a particular time.

What you get in addition to 5 Deadlines in August:

1. You will receive thoughtful, encouraging, rigorous and honest marginal notes, some line edits, and an end note on each submission from me. These are designed to give you a picture of what it’s like for a smart, engaged reader to encounter your work, along with insights from an experienced editor. The goal is to help you push the work across the finish line in the direction you most want to take it.

2. My edits and editorial notes for all participants will be made available to the whole class, since it is easier to immediately grok editorial notes on someone else’s work than on your own, and for some reason this labor-intensive learning opportunity is rarely shared among others!

3. I will provide a weekly checklist of editorial lessons based on all the reading I do that week. I call these “Insights:” tips and tricks you can draw on for your own work. Easy review of the most important and widely-needed editorial lessons.

4. Options: 

   • Team Option! Be paired with 2 - 3 other readers besides me, to give and receive notes on the same schedule with the same submissions. 

   • Partner Option! Be paired with ONE other reader besides me to give and receive notes on the same schedule with the same submissions. 

   • Editor Only Option! Fly solo with the option to look over the work of others along with my notes.