Here’s a breakdown of each lesson in the Cadet Course:

Lesson 1: Choosing Self-Publishing or Traditional

• Learn the difference between and pros and cons of self-publishing and traditional publishing.
• Decide which route would be best for you.

Lesson 2: Understanding Age Categories and Genres

• Understand what elements categorize a story as middle grade, young adult, or adult.
• Figure out where your story fits in terms of age category and genre.
• Choose a movie to watch and discuss with the class.

Lesson 3: Genre, World, Concept, Theme

• Get the basics of your story down so you can create a foundation for your pitches.

Lesson 4: Character, Goal, Obstacles, Stakes

• Find out what every agent looks for in a pitch, and how to make your pitch irresistible.

Lesson 5: Writing the Query Letter (or Back Cover Copy)

• Pull apart successful query letters and gain insider information for writing a pitch that will have agents, editors, and readers asking for more pages.

Lesson 6: Choosing Agents (or Presses) to Query

• Get a bunch of resources for finding—and filtering—agents.
• While waiting for your pitch edit from Lara, gather your list of agents or presses to query.

Lesson 7: Responses and Rejections

• Decipher rejections—what do they mean?
• Learn how to respond to requests—what should you say? How long should you wait?

Lesson 8: Calls and Contracts

• Get your publishing questions answered by Jackie Lea Sommers, author of Truest (HarperCollins, 2015)
• How did you choose your agent?
• What was submission (to publishers) like?
• What do you wish you’d known before you got your book deal?
• What’s the process of getting a book deal?
• What happens after the book deal?

This practical pitching and query workshop begins June 8th.

Here’s how to save 50%!

Participants make or break a workshop, so if you refer a friend, both of you can save 50% off the total price.* If you refer multiple friends, each of you saves 50%.

1. Enroll in the complete workshop, priced $199 before June 1, $209 after May 31.
2. Tell your friends all about the workshop and why you should do it together.
3. Your friend emails me your name (lara AT storycadet.com)
4. I email your friend a link to purchase the workshop for 50% off.
5. Your friend purchases the class at half price.
6. I refund you 50% of the cost.

To receive a prompt response, email me before noon on a weekday. Allow a few business hours in case I’m away from my desk.

If you don’t send before noon, or if you send on a weekend, allow up to 1-2 business days for me to send the refund.

You may have to manually transfer the funds back into your bank account from PayPal, which could take another 3–5 business days, depending on your bank.

*Only valid for the complete workshop, priced $199–209. But please do tell your friends about the other options! Lesson 8 is free to the public, Lesson 5 is available for purchase a la carte, and anybody can watch the Lesson 2 movie with you 🙂