How does the course work?
Ten modules will be sent to the student over the duration of the course. The modules contain the set reading from the prescribed textbook, as well as the writing assignments for that module. At the end of each module, students will be required to submit assignments to their tutor for feedback. An assessment and feedback will be sent to the student, and the module will be considered complete.
You will regularly send instalments of your manuscript to your tutor for feedback. By the end of the 10 modules, you will have gained important writing skills and have a text of around 10 000 words. If you feel the need for further support and mentoring, you may choose to continue with the follow-up course aimed at completing the manuscript.
Our Write a Non-fiction Book Course assumes that you are already proficient at writing content. This course is designed to help you put together a non-fiction book, not to teach basic writing skills (please look at our ‘Basics of Feature Writing’ or our ‘Magazine Journalism Course’ for non-fiction writing skills).
On this course, your tutor will help you fuse your ideas and research into a coherent manuscript, and assist you with the feasibility of your project, the style and tone of your writing, and a support structure to help you make a solid start on your word count.
Conditions of Certification:
Students will receive an SA Writers College Certificate upon successful completion of the course, provided they meet the following conditions:
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Students must have completed the set writing tasks.
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The course must have been completed within 12 to 24 months of registration.
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Students are expected to attain a minimum average of 50% for the course.
Minimum Estimated Time Commitment:
This is hard to predict, as some people are simply faster writers than others. However, for each 1000 words of your book, you could calculate on spending about an hour researching, an hour writing and at least the same amount of time in revising.
The exercises should each take around two hours to complete. And finally, you should expect to spend some time at the end of the course, giving your manuscript a final polish.
This gives a rough estimate of 70 hours over the course of 10 modules, or around about 6 to 7 hours a month for 12 months.
Need more advice about the best course for you?
We would love to chat to you if you have any questions about our writing courses.
If you need some advice about the best course or writing field for you, drop us a line or give Koos or Nichola a call at 021 813 9224. We can tell you about going rates in the field, chance of publishing success and general writing career options both in South Africa and internationally.
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