VIRTUAL

Memoir Revision Bootcamp

Do you have a complete or near-complete first draft of a memoir? Do you need a roadmap for the revision process and how to pitch your book? This bootcamp is for you! Taking place over the course of 5 days, this virtual intensive gives you the structure, guidance, and craft tools to kickstart your revision. Through a combination of in-class exercises, craft lessons, and live editing, you will leave with a roadmap for revising your manuscript and pitching it to agents.

THE DETAILS

5 live classes via Zoom, June 10 - June 14, 2024, 10:30am - 2pm ET
All sessions will be recorded (so you can sign up even if you can’t join live!)

In this bootcamp, you will:

LEARN

techniques for revising your memoir and how to make it stand out to agents.

EVALUATE

weaknesses in your memoir so you can resolve problem areas.

POLISH

 your opening and final pages through live editing, hooking agents from start to finish.

a roadmap for revising your manuscript and pitching it to agents and editors.

CREATE

BUILD

a virtual community of writers to help hold you accountable.

  • • 10:30-11:30 – Logistics, Introductions, & Setting of intentions
    • 11:30-12:30 – Craft lesson (Evaluating the strengths & weaknesses in your manuscript)
    • 12:30-1 – Lunch Break & Revision exercise on evaluating strengths & weaknesses / creating a revision blueprint
    • 1-2 – Live-editing

  • • 10:30- 10:40: Setting intentions
    • 10:40-12 – Craft lesson (Opening pages)
    • 12-12:30 – Lunch break & Revision exercise on opening pages
    • 12:30-1 – Planning Exercise: Evaluating your beginning chapter
    • 1-2– Live-editing

  • • 10:30- 10:40: Setting intentions
    • 10:40-12 – Craft lesson (The Murky Middle & Scene Revision)
    • 12-12:30 – Lunch break & Revision exercise on middle pages / scenes
    • 12:30-1 – Planning Exercise: Evaluating your middle pages / scenes
    • 1-2– Live-editing

  • • 10:30- 10:40: Setting intentions
    • 10:40-12 – Craft lesson (The Ending)
    • 12-12:30 – Lunch break & Revision exercise on ending pages
    • 12:30-1 – Planning Exercise: Evaluating your final pages
    • 1-2– Live-editing

  • • 10:30- 10:40: Setting intentions
    • 10:40-12 – Craft lesson (Query Letters & Pitching)
    • 12-12:30 – Lunch break & exercise on writing query letters / pitching
    • 12:30-1 – Planning Exercise: Building platform & pitching agents
    • 1-2– Live-editing

Meet the instructor:

Katie Bannon is a writer, editor, and educator whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Rumpus, ELLE, Newsweek, and more. A graduate of GrubStreet’s Memoir Incubator, she holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Emerson College. Her memoir manuscript was a finalist for the Permafrost Nonfiction Book Prize. She currently teaches writing at GrubStreet and lives in Central Massachusetts with her husband and two cats.

TESTIMONIALS

  • “Katie is the best writing instructor I have ever had. Her presentation was impeccable. She provided an abundance of ideas, details, examples, and information. In fact, the class was overflowing with information. I have nothing but praise for Katie and the class content.”

  • “Holy moly, this was a superb class. Instructor was well-prepared with lots of valuable and well-organized information and ideas. I have already begun applying some of the tools from class to revise—and what a difference it's making!”

  • “Katie was an amazing instructor- she explained core concepts with clarity and ease, provided excellent examples and writing samples, and created a very supportive learning environment. The class truly exceeded my expectations!”

Cost Details

• 17.5 hours of instruction in an intimate, small-group setting.
• Live editing of portions of your manuscript (approximately 1-4 pages), with feedback from an instructor with 10+ years of developmental editing experience. (Please note that there will be no formal workshopping in the class.)
• A 30-page workbook filled with craft takeaways, revision exercises, and further resources.
• Unlimited access to the instructor via email.
• Recordings of all sessions in case you can’t join live or want to rewatch.

$495 for the bootcamp

  Optional add-ons:


• Developmental edit of 25 pages (+$300) of your memoir, including detailed margin comments and a feedback letter.
• 1-hour Zoom coaching session (+$150) with the instructor to come up with a personalized plan for your memoir moving forward.

This bootcamp is for…

  • Writers who have a complete or near-complete rough draft of their memoir, but need help with revision.

  • Writers who want strategies for pitching their book to agents and editors.

This bootcamp is not for…

  • Writers who are working on a fiction project.

  • Writers who are not working on a book-length work.

FAQs

  • Not to worry! All sessions will be recorded, so you can participate at a time that’s convenient for you. Those recordings will be available for you to watch for 90 days after the bootcamp ends.

  • Toward the end of each class, students will have the opportunity to share a page or two of their memoir with the group. I will read your pages out loud as you share your screen, and will then give you a live critique. Every student will have at least one chance to have pages live edited during the bootcamp. These feedback sessions can be incredibly helpful even to writers who aren’t being critiqued — we tend to all struggle with the same revision challenges!

  • This bootcamp is designed for memoirists with complete or near-complete first drafts. The drafts can be very rough — our objective is to shape what you have, honing your craft and getting a clearer sense of your story / how to pitch it.

  • All you need to participate is a computer and internet. I’ll be sending a Zoom link ahead of our first class. We’ll be discussing the basics of Zoom and how to use it at the beginning of class.

  • Please feel free to let me know about any accessibility needs you have (you’ll be prompted to answer this question as part of the checkout process). I am committed to making this an excellent and accessible experience for all!

  • • 17.5 hours of instruction in an intimate, small-group setting.
    • Live editing of portions of your manuscript (approximately 2-5 pages), with feedback from an instructor with 10+ years of developmental editing experience.
    • A 30-page workbook filled with craft takeaways, revision exercises, and further resources.
    • Unlimited access to the instructor via email.
    • Recordings of all sessions in case you can’t join live or want to rewatch.

  • • Editing and/or meetings with the instructor outside of the bootcamp sessions.
    • If you’re interested in adding on a 25-page developmental edit, click here. For an added one-on-one coaching session, click here.

  • No portion of your class fee is refundable within 10 days of the class start date. Refunds will be sent within 30 days of receipt of notice of cancellation.

    Memoir Revision Bootcamp reserves the right to cancel the intensive in the event of civil unrest, natural disaster or Act of God. In the event of cancellation of the intensive in its entirety, you will receive a full refund of any fees paid. You agree to release Memoir Revision Bootcamp and its agents and/or representatives from any liability, including consequential expenses you may have incurred in planning to attend.

Space is limited, so be sure to snag a spot while you still can.

Ready to kickstart your revision?