On-line workshops: new media & travel writing		Writers.com offers each of my ten-week classes several times a year. I conduct the courses on-line, through the excellent Internet classroom service www.nicenet.org. New Media Travel Writing (intro) Travel Writing On-going Workshop Travel Writing Master Class
Travel writing: From press trips to punctured tires (10 weeks)		Travel Writing: From Press Trips to Punctured Tires (10 weeks) The glamour of travel writing attracts many people. After all, who wouldn't want subsidized trips to exotic destinations? But it's not all easy living. Journalists must concoct ideas, sell them, plan the trip, research extensively in the field and then craft a gripping article. It's work. Nice work, if you can get it, but a far cry from slobbing on the beach with a margarita. The ten-week course prepares you to enter this competitive arena. Explore the different types of travel writing, including first-person memoirs, destination guides, historic reflections and news flashes for globe-trotting executives. Learn to devise appealing pitches and target the right editors. Discover the tricks of the trade, from filing taxes to building a journalism portfolio. Other topics include photography, narrative devices, research and interview techniques, new media as a marketing tool, and – perhaps the greatest challenge – how to earn a living wage. The class also covers ethical considerations (for example, subsidized trips alienate publications like The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times). You don't need to be a world traveler to become a "writer about place". Reveal the secrets of your hometown for visitors. Record an exceptional hike or festival. Share family holiday hassles and tips on how to avoid friction. The important thing is to learn how to capture a journey's details and sensations – even the frustration of a flat tire – then spin them into published work and paychecks. This course takes you through the process step-by-step, with weekly lectures, discussions and feedback. Amanda works intensively with students' prose, interleaving comments (line-critiques). She fine-tooth-combs the text, figuring out what's naughty and what's nice – and why. The process can help amateur and seasoned writers alike discover a new voice and inspiration. By the last lesson, you should have a polished draft ready for submission – and be on your way to making vacation a vocation. Dates for 2010: January 4, March 22, June 7, August 23, November 1. Late-enrollment open until day ten, space permitting. Fee: $310 via Writers.com, email Mark Dahlby for details
Syllabus		Class 1 : Specializing What is travel writing? Controversy. Three catchall categories: inverted pyramid, commentary and features-style. The different facets of travel writing, including essays, adventure tales, destination guides, news briefs, special interest and historic articles. Capturing the moment. Goals and experience. Assignment: Travel brief (500 words or less). Class 2 : Bright ideas Generating concepts. Angles. Write what you know. Spotting trends. Press releases. Media kits. Press trip and tour traps. Online options. Research. Travel writing and literature. Guidebooks. Review brief. Assignment: Brainstorm ten story ideas (500 words or less). Class 3 : Selling the goods Researching your market. Keeping an eye on the competition. Writer's guidelines. Writing succinct and successful queries. Approaching editors. Simultaneous submissions. Writing on speculation. Portfolios. Trappings of the trade. Snail mail vs. electronic pitching. Do you need a Web site? Review story ideas. Assignment: Query letter. Focus on one story idea for development (500 words or less). Class 4 : Building blocks A colorful palette. Universal themes. Gathering quotes. Interview tools – digital and analogue. Key volumes. Guidebooks. Online resources. The future of your work and your library: cybersolutions versus tangible media. Review query letters. Assignment: Find ten resources for your article (500 words or less). Class 5: Story structure Themes. Capsule sentence. Plot and narrative arc. A snappy start. Prioritizing information. Transitions. A strong finish. Sidebars. Review resources. Errors to avoid. Finishing touches. Fact-checking. Assignment: Article outline (500 words or less). Class 6: On the net and on the road Establishing expertise. Building a brand. Social media as a research and promotional tool. Blog basics. Self-publishing. Writing sticky content. Introduction to SEO (search engine optimization). Content sharing. Citizen journalism. Media convergence. Reality versus romanticism. Freebies and junkets – the controversy. Editorial transparency. Ethical double-standard? Pre-trip research. Planning, but not over-planning. Tools. Cultural sensitivity. Review outline. Assignment: Begin the rough draft (500 words or less). Class 7 : Toning up Target audience. Viewpoint. Colorful language and metaphor. AP style. Punchy headlines. Short, clear sentence structure. Avoiding word repetition. Revise concepts. Why redrafting matters. Writers to emulate. Review rough draft. Assignment: Finish the rough draft (500 words or less). Class 8: Travel multimedia The pros and cons of self-sufficiency. Basic image composition. Photojournalism versus snapshots. Model release. Equipment: getting started. Lenses. Accessories. Film and slide. Digital. Submissions. Stock shots. Showcasing art: Flickr and other photo-sharing sites. Assembling a digital slideshow. Introduction to Audio and Video. Review rough draft. Assignment: Polishing your article (1,000 words or less). Class 9 : Ethics and etiquette Subsidized trips. Freebie ethics. The middle road. The benefits of anonymity. Recycling material. Following up a pitch politely. Dealing with rejections. Courtesy in the face of frustration. Advertising pressure. Coping with rewrites. Review article. Assignment: Prepare package for submission (1,500 words or less). Post questions. Class 10 : Nuts and bolts Rates. Syndication. Earning a living wage. Rights. Invoices. Tax and Accounting. Where to go from here: Conferences, organizations and books. Q&A. See FAQ for further details or email Mark Dahlby with questions
Ongoing Travel Writing Workshop (10 weeks)		Ongoing Travel Writing Workshop with Amanda Castleman (10 weeks) An ongoing writers' workshop for anyone who has taken Amanda's travel-journalism class.  No lecture, no lesson and no assignment. Instead, the course focuses on works-in-progress: from queries to articles to book-length memoirs. Whether you're trying to rough out a first draft or polish pieces for publication, each week you'll submit up to 750 words for feedback. You'll also critique other writers in the workshop. Via Nicenet, Amanda will post links, commentary and conferencing material. Advanced Travel Writing Instructor Edward Readicker-Henderson may "guest star" occasionally. Dates for 2010: January 18, March 22, June 21, September 6, November 15. Late-enrollment open until day ten, space permitting. Fee: $310 via Writers.com, email Mark Dahlby for details Recommended reading: Best American Travel Writing 2009 by Simon Winchester Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark
Travel Writing Master Class (10 weeks)		Travel Writing Master Class (10 weeks) By invite only, this workshop allows prior students to hone their craft under guidance from Amanda and guest instructors. Mark Dahlby will contact eligible authors by late-April. Please contact him if you suspect you've been overlooked (cyberspace can be dodgy...). Dates for 2010: June 7
New Media: Explore the Publishing Frontier (10 weeks)		New Media: Explore the Publishing Frontier (10 weeks) Taught by a retired Microsoft programmer and a full-time freelance writer, this workshop focuses on the art and the craft of new media. Instructors Mike Keran and Amanda Castleman offer a crash course in self-publishing, online promotion and social networks, suitable for raw recruits to intermediate bloggers. The brave new media world has revolutionized self-expression, so even hobbyists can create professional-looking platforms for their prose, photography and graphic design. The instructors' wide skill-sets and wry styles help them painlessly coach any pupil to his or her comfort level, whether that's an intimate family chronicle, a monetized commercial site or a shingle in cyberspace for an author or communications expert. Students lab-test blogs, while learning about Web 2.0, social media and responsible citizen journalism. They explore the history of new media and its future, ethics, syndication and traffic generation. The workshop also focuses on literary aspects: developing a distinctive voice, thematic continuity, content pacing and shaping short narrative. It touches upon "other voices, other rooms:" adding diversity though interviews, memes, images, links and multimedia. From basic SEO to CSS-hacks, this class provides new-media newbies with the tools to grow more serious. New Media: Explore the Publishing Frontier runs on Blogger (lectures, comments) and Nicenet (feedback, calendar, messaging). More comprehensive than any other new-media class online – and likely the most affordable– this workshop provides any amount of challenge you crave. Dates for 2010: January 13, April 21, July 28, October 27. Late-enrollment open until day ten, space permitting. Fee: $310 via Writers.com, email Mark Dahlby for details
Syllabus		Week 1: Hang a shingle in cyberspace Media revolution; Introduction to Web 2.0, Wikis, User-generated and crowd-sourced content; Rise of the indie geek; Blog stars are born; History and highlights of blogging; Ripples outside the pond; Citizen journalism; Why should you blog? You're not alone – or screaming into the void; Bloggers making it work; Successful bloggers who have moved on; Why write without pay? Introduction to freeconomics; Ponder your genre; Naming and branding your blog; What's in a name? The hit list and examples; Taglines; Choosing a blog host; Anatomy of a blog; Introduction to design principles; Choosing a template; Posting – compose mode versus edit; Finesse your settings; Blog software tips; How to ask the right questions; Site navigation Assignment: create a blog or assess your current one, answering these questions in 25 words or less: Why is this blog important? Who cares (target audience)? What skills do I bring to this subject? What community is my blog building? Make at least one entry Feedback: (Amanda) critique of design, tone and overall effect Week 2: Start the press! Matching design to topic; Feature original material and context high; Post-frequency. Archiving; Adding, deleting and repositioning sidebar elements; Private or public? Pseudonyms versus transparency. Kicky bios and other profile tactics; Single author versus group submissions; How to link; How to be linked to; Page-specific URLs (permalinks); The importance of art; Sourcing images legally: an intro to public domain and Creative Commons; Photo editing and management (Flickr, Picasa, Photoshop Elements: what's best for you?); Prepping images; Web-friendly formats and compression; Image upload; Art alignment and text wraps; HTML and CSS – the mysteries revealed; Assignment: settle on a template, make at least one entry including a link and photo. Post/refine your bio. Feedback: (Mike) tech and design suggestions Week 3: Strong, Sticky Content is Key Master the headline; Tantalizing openers – how to make your first 25 words pop for search engines; Writing for narrative or thematic continuity; News vs. features vs. opinion; Finding the right format; News angles attract audience; Avoid the echo chamber; DJ your blog: mixing expertise and entertainment; Content pacing; It's all in the timing; Creating static pages and teaser text for longer material; Fact-checking; Redrafting and self-editing; Text-trimming tips Assignment: Three posts – one 25 words, another 100 words, the last 350 Feedback: (Amanda) writing line-critique Week 4: Meet the reader Target audience; Keep the home court advantage; Genre refinement; Building communities; Blogrolls; Link farms; Comment interaction; Organizing blog material; Labels; Search capacities; Hitlist; Dynamic Sidebars; Widgets and gadgets; Intro to Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools; Exposure – yours, interviewees' and readers' (ISP data-harvesting etc.); Who's reading? Alterting search engines; Test blogs Assignment: Add Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools, and make two posts Feedback: (Mike) Q&A, tech troubleshooting Week 5: Mix It Up – Adding Diverse, Original Content Digging down: creating distinctive, original content; Interviews; Citizen journalism – Reporting 101; Classic blog entry formulas; Blog jump starts; Mining press releases for ideas; Tapping pro-writer tools like media kits; Memes; Sourced content; How to access and credit multimedia – or create your own; Introduction to audio, video and podcasts; Open Source Movement; Redefining intellectual property rights; Creative Commons License Assignment: Incorporate at least three sources - quotes, memes or multimedia - to add texture to your blog. Bonus points for original audio or video uploads! Feedback: (Amanda) writing line-critique Week 6: Step Into the Spotlight Building readership; Link review (internal and external); How search engines work; Page rank – the pixie dust of the pixelverse; Squeezing Googlejuice; Basics of nabbing higher rankings; Introduction to SEO (search engine optimization); Wooing the Googlebots; Avoid the false prophets; Attracting even more eyes: aggregators; Keywords; Developing a presence in the blogosphere; Technorati and other portals; Blog review sites; Social networking and microblogging (Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, etc.); Followers; Syndication (including RSS feeds); FeedBurner; Blog networks (Gawker, Blogher, Weblogs, Examiner, etc.); Resources to learn more about SEO (search engine optimization); Web and mobile (cell) devices Assignment: Burn your feed, add a subscription/email subscription widget to your blog, claim your blog on Technorati. Feedback: (Mike) Q&A, tech troubleshooting Week 7: Shaping Short Narrative Storytelling in the age of content curation; Snappy ledes (starts); Plot your posts; Bring the context (enter the nut graf); Suspense; Transitions: write the sweet segue; Plot arc; Points of insight; Climax; Denouement; Satisfying conclusions; Envelope ending; Short, clear sentence structure; Colorful language and metaphor; Avoiding word repetition; Tips for trimming Assignment: either a longer post (500 words) or three thematically linked entries (no more than 600 words) Feedback: (Amanda) writing line-critique Week 8: Advanced Geekery, including Multimedia Uploads and Embeds Do I need a domain? Know your Frenemy; Is dot.com da bomb? Making your custom domain search-bot friendly; Creating a three-column or custom template; Analyzing Google Analytics; Web-prepping images, a review; Altering images ethically; Image quality versus download speed; Compression troubleshooting; Image placement for ace design; Art alignment and text-wrap review; Video embeds (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.); Viral video; Slideshows; A primer to uploading original video; Teaser text for multimedia; Challenges of the "backpack" journalist (aka the one-man-band); Sourcing free or cheap online software to rock your at-home multimedia studio Assignment: Comment on at least five newly discovered blogs and respond to all feedback left on your site. Make at least two posts, one with an image, the other with a video Feedback: (Amanda) holistic critique Week 9: Money Makes the World Go Round Death of tangible media? Can it pay? Freeconomics; Amazon and other affiliates; How pay-per-click works; Google Adsense; How Adsense interacts with feeds, Google Reader, etc. Display adverts and providers; Newsletters role in the blogosphere. Poindexterish? Spreading the word: public relations tips; Micropatronage and blog sponsorship; Merchandise me a la Cafepress; Pay, why it matters and the cruel truth about exposure... Assignment: Add one or more of the following: Google AdSense, a widget, blogroll, a "best of" panel or labels. Monitor statistics, especially referrals, from last week's community outreach, then report on your findings. Feedback: (Mike) Q&A, tech troubleshooting Week 10: Protecting Content and Yourself The enemy: Scraper sites and Made for AdSense blogs; Digital watermarks and other plagiarism detection tools; Allowing some content sharing; Strike back at copyright thieves; Don't be a pirate; More ways to be a good cyber-citizen; Derivative works; Images as derivative works; Libel; Slander; Freedom of speech protection; The future of citizen journalism; Growing further; Segueing into "mainstream" media; Book deals; Self-employment; Blookers; Brave new gadget world – how Kindle, epaper, video books and Apple's tablet may change the landscape; Media convergence; More resources; Q&A. Feedback: (Amanda) final evaluations See FAQ for further details or email Mark Dahlby with questions
Frequently Asked Questions		Can I travel during class? Students - and the instructor - frequently travel during the course. The lessons and discussions remain online, and late submissions are welcome by special arrangement throughout the ten-week period. The decision should hinge upon your work habits: can you work and focus well on the road? Will you have the discipline to make up assignments back home? Is the introductory course suitable for experienced writers? Absolutely. Amanda's taught full-time travel journalists and professionals jumping genres or reviving skill-sets (including former staffers for Shape, The Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal). Most find the pitching advice and line-critiques (detailed feedback on assignments) the most valuable aspects, as well as the class camaraderie. How much time does it take? The time commitment varies, of course, but students seem to average 30-60 minutes for the lectures and at least 60-90 for the assignments (some may be quicker, like the outline). Ambitious readers can delve deep via links and articles: some study is self-guided and entirely optional. Why only one article? Resources and rewriting separate beginners from the pros. This course addresses the typical weaknesses of fledgling authors. What sort of success can I expect? Students have landed work in outlets like Islands, Sunset, National Geographic Traveler, The Independent, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Toronto Sun and The Christian Science Monitor, among others. But placement depends on timing, connections and marketing savvy, as much as talent. I work to boost each student up a few ladder rungs from where he or she began. For some, that's publishing a first clip, for others breaking into A-list publications. I live outside the U.S. Is this a problem? The class is entirely online with no fixed hours. All you need is a word-processing program, Internet access, a browser and a credit card. A recent session included students from Ireland, Scotland, Prague, India and New Zealand, as well as across North America; such a mix really invigorates the class. Amanda's staffed in the US and UK – and continues to work for publications around the globe. Thus she's sensitive to Anglophone dialects and how they might effect publication-ready prose. What happened to the advanced workshop? My friend and colleague Edward Readicker-Henderson will be teaching this for a while. My course remains a prerequisite. What if I have another question? Mark Dahlby can answer any queries (writers@writers.com).
Tutoring		Private instruction allows one-on-one relationships between instructors and writers at all levels. I can critique and hone texts; help with plot and structure; tune dialogue; aid research; teach the fundamentals of craft; or prepare a manuscript for submission. Fee: $60 per hour via Writers.com. I bill one hour for a detailed line-critique of 750 words or for a more holistic overview of larger texts, depending on the student's needs, budget and word count. Money permitting, I would recommend at least one line-critique (where I edit the piece thoroughly and explain the rationale behind each suggestion). Most pupils – even experienced journalists for publications like the Los Angeles Times – consider this the most valuable service I offer. Please contact Mark Dahlby for further details.
Comments		"I haven't taken Amanda Castleman's class – I already make a living as a travel writer – but because she's a friend, she just looked over a 6,000-word piece I was doing for National Geographic Traveler. Plain and simple, her comments and suggestions were the best I have ever seen from any editor, anywhere. Amanda's a genius." –  Edward Readicker-Henderson Winner of a 2004 Lowell Thomas Award. "She is a dream teacher, just the right balance between a knuckle-rapping tutor and a mom full of hugs. Thanks again for Writers on the Net. The course fees are lots cheaper than a shrink!" – Linda Petrucelli "To have my first article accepted by the first publication I approached – the Christian Science Monitor – was like rocket fuel for me, and I have Amanda Castleman's expertise to thank." – Anne Clippinger, PhD Adjunct Lecturer, Department of English, Montgomery College, Md. "After taking her class, I went on to publish a number of travel writing stories and currently have 20 travel assignments due to my favourite editor (Canadian Living's online presence: www.canadianliving.com) before July 1. I started picking up assignments while taking Amanda's class and have kept all my notes for easy reference. Cheers." – Dee Van Dyk Professional Member Periodical Writers Association of Canada Travel Media Association of Canada Read more reviews
Resources		I am unable to respond to all requests for career advice, due to a busy work schedule. My best (and admittedly biased) recommendation? However, I've posted some advice here, as well as a list of books and sites useful for travel writing, part of my curriculum.
Updated January 2010		Back to the teaching index