In this 6-week writer coaching program you will work closely with Literary Agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin to create the best version of your young adult or middle grade book, chapter or picture book, or graphic novel script, and move it toward publication!
You will improve your craft and your book with weekly feedback on your writing, enjoy motivation and accountability, and join a fun, supportive community of your fellow writers.
Are you an aspiring author who writes for the young adult, middle grade, or children's market? Do you have a story idea that you've begun to write, but can't find the drive to finish? Or, maybe you have finished a first draft but have no idea what to do next?
Are you struggling to harness your inner child, create authentic characters, or pace your book in a way that will engage younger readers?
We've been there. Writing a book is hard enough. When you're writing for the younger set, there's the added challenge of needing to understand the youthful mind to such a degree that they empathize with your story—and would choose it over scrolling through social media.
At the end of this 6-week program, you’ll use the feedback you receive from an expert literary agent and your peers to raise your writing and your book to the next level, and move toward publication.
There is no better motivation for writers than getting instant feedback on your work. In this program, you will share your writing (up to 5,000 words each week) and receive helpful feedback and guidance from literary agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin and other writers in the program.
Consider this program a kind of “One-Stop Shop” for building your kidlit writing career. It will turn you into a better writer, help you craft your query letter, finish your book faster, and create the best, most polished product at the end of the 6 weeks.
From our experience helping hundreds of writers with their books (and being writers ourselves), we know that writers improve fastest when they share their writing, get feedback, then incorporate that information into their work.
The best kind of feedback is from an expert in the field—someone who has edited numerous books, and helped publish many authors as a literary agent—someone like Alyssa Eisner Henkin, who will lead this coaching program.
Because this program is limited to 6 writers, each participant will get to share their writing each week and receive critical feedback from an industry expert and your peers, which will help you revise and improve your manuscript.
At the end of the 6-week program, you will have all or part of a book written, and you will be well-positioned to publish, either traditionally or by self-publishing.
Alyssa Eisner Henkin is the owner and Lead Agent at Birch Path Literary. She has a BA in American Literature from the University of Pennsylvania and a background in editing at Simon & Schuster, where she worked for seven years in the Books for Young Readers department.
Afterward, she took a literary agent position at Trident Media Group. Over the next fourteen years at TMG, she championed a list of award-winning and bestselling children’s book creators and rose to the role of Executive Vice President.
In early 2021, Alyssa Eisner Henkin launched Birch Path Literary, where she provides a compass in helping authors and illustrator navigate the intricate, ever-changing, and ultimately verdant publishing landscape.
Alyssa Eisner Henkin has had the pleasure of representing many clients, including:
In addition to agenting, Alyssa Eisner Henkin became a popular speaker at The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conferences throughout the United States and has been a frequent workshop leader at the Writing Barn in Austin, Texas, the publishing master’s program at Rosemont College, and Kelly Writers House at her alma mater, U Penn.
Alyssa Eisner Henkin resides with her family in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Register NowWe have designed a program that’s meant to support writers who are at many stages in the writing process, but this is not for everyone. The format and approach will likely not suit the following writers:
Picture holding the first printed copy of your book in your hands. Picture seeing it on store shelves around the world. Picture pulling it up on Amazon and seeing hundreds of five-star reviews.
This 6-week intensive mentorship will help you crack your writer's block, boost your self-confidence, and give you the expert feedback you need to there.
This program is led by Alyssa Eisner Henkin, a literary agent with more than 23 years of experience in the publishing industry. She knows great writing, but also what publishers—and readers—are seeking.
Look, you've spent enough time trying to get into the mind of your young characters to get them just right.
You've read countless blogs on how to improve your pacing to hold the slippery attention of children and young adults.
You've tried your best to stay motivated long enough to finish your manuscript and wade through the murky query trenches.
You've learned how to plaster a smile on your face and spew vague answers when your friends ask about the progress of your book.
You could stay in this place, confused about the path to publication.
You could continue trading pages with amateur writing friends you met online, scrolling through blogs, wasting time on Twitter.
You could enrol in yet another writing course with no new information.
...But we'd rather help you leave a legacy for the world in the pages of your book!
In this program you will go from confused about character development, voice, and pacing to clear on how to write authentically for youth and hold their attention...
From overwhelmed by the publishing process to clear on the exact steps needed to get to bookstore shelves...
From writing inconsistently to producing 10 or 20 quality pages per week...
From unsure if your writing is any good to confident that readers, agents, and publishers will compete to get your book...
From writing alone in a vacuum, to writing in a supportive, enlightening, motivating, and fun community with talented peers and curated resources, under the guidance of an experienced industry insider and a team of experts.
Register Now
(Dates subject to change.)
February 15: Introductory video chat and first sharing and feedback session |
February 22: Slack session |
March 1: Video session |
March 8: Writing catch-up week |
March 15: Video session |
March 22: Slack session |
March 29: Video session |
In this program you will receive weekly feedback that will help you improve your writing, find accountability and motivation, and join a fun, supportive community so that you can produce your best book and get published faster—all under the guidance of an established literary agent.
The cost for 6 sessions and ongoing engagement via Slack is USD$795 USD $995.
Not sure if this program is a fit for you?
Our consultants (who are also writers) will meet with you to discuss your project, goals, and suitability for the program.
Or email us with your questions. We try to accomodate all special requests.
Type: Group Coaching
Category: Author, Editor, Fiction, Literary Agent, Middle Grade, Young Adult & Kidlit
"Alyssa has been a super-agent to me since the start of my career. Her editorial insights, her business acumen, her deal-making abilities, and her pulse on the industry are spot-on. She's been a champion, an advocate, and a true partner in growing my creative career. I can't recommend her highly enough."
– Julie Berry, Printz Honor Award, and New York Times Bestselling author
"Alyssa knows how to access the essence of a story, helping to flesh out character, setting, dialogue and plot to make it the absolute best it can be. Her critiques are constructive and insightful, and it is truly a joy to work with her, and benefit from her infinite wisdom!"
– Lisa Greenwald, author of 11 BEFORE 12 (Harper Collins) and two dozen other celebrated books for kids and tweens
"My career definitely blossomed after I signed on with Alyssa and I value very highly the working partnership that we have. Alyssa’s experience as an editor prior to becoming a literary agent is invaluable as it allows her a much broader understanding of the creative process. She knows and respects the fact that every writer works a bit differently and she honors that individuality. The wide range of projects she has represented speaks to the depth of her passion for good literature in all its many forms."
- Jen Bryant, Caldecott-Honor, Schneider Award, and Seibert-Honor-award winning author
We stand by our services with a 100% satisfaction guarantee if you are unhappy with the program. We also realize that life happens. If you are happy but still need to withdraw from the program early, here are our refund policies:
• 50% refund before session 4
• No refunds after session 4
Final decisions about refunds are at the discretion of So You Want to Write? Inc.
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