Are Writer’s Digest Workshops a Rip-Off?

As a follow-up to my last post, this is about a trap that I want to avoid when it comes to increasing the odds of my book actually attracting the interest of an agent. I’m calling it the “advice trap.” 

Given the fact there are millions of us writers out there who dream of getting published and are willing to put in the investment of time and money to accomplish that goal, it stands to reason that there are numerous resources available to help get us there—for a price! Subscribers to Writer’s Digest receive emails every day offering workshops that promise to help you write irresistible query letters, slam-bang opening chapters, attention-grabbing blogs and so forth.

Most of these services are provided by reputable literary agencies and include a webinar and live chat session outlining best submission practices, and charge between $100 and $200. The cynical among us may think that these are simply quick money-makers for agents seeking additional streams of income to supplement the feast or famine commission structure of their primary job of landing publishing deals. Nothing wrong with that, as long as they are providing a valuable service that can move us struggling writers closer to our goal.

I’ve taken a couple of these workshops and I’ve encountered some pluses and minuses. They’ve helped me tighten my query letter and opening chapter a bit. This is, of course, critical because agents spend about seven seconds on each submission they receive, so you have to hook them quickly. 

The webinars themselves mostly reinforce knowledge that I’ve already acquired from other seminars and especially from THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO GETTING YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry. However, the major value I’ve received is the agent critiquing your query has to spend more than seven seconds on it and is more likely to see the value of your manuscript and possibly ask for a larger sample. That has been the case in one of the workshops in which I’ve participated.

The downside is nothing is guaranteed. Even after two workshops, my improved submission materials have not generated any additional interest. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that there are no hard and fast rules when composing submission materials—and agents are inconsistent in even applying their own standards. 

In one workshop, the presenting agent insisted that a fiction query include the book’s genre, word count, and potential audience. Also, she insisted that it’s a bad cliché to begin a book with the protagonist getting up in the morning. After covering all that, she produced what she considers the best query letter she’s ever received. The query was very good but it left out the word count, genre, and audience—and the synopsis begins with the protagonist waking up in the morning. Go figure.

So are these workshops a useless rip-off? Not necessarily. While some provide inconsistent and unreliable advice, they also increase your odds of making an agent provide a fuller assessment of your work than they would a cold query. For that reason alone, I will continue to sign up for the occasional workshop, not only to further refine my submission package, but also to develop relationships with the presenting agencies.