We're on the high seas hunting for a needle floating in the vast Pacific.
The needle is stuck through a blue Styrofoam bobber that's being dragged behind a leatherback hatchling via a 3-foot string. Even though we've got the means to find it -- a radio transmitter -- no one said this would be easy.
Wendee Nicole in "Love & Death on Turtle Beach" a 3-week Costa Rica Expedition for Discovery Channel Online covering leatherback turtle
research.
Do you wish you could spend less time staring at the computer and more time traveling around to exotic locales and covering stories that make a positive difference in the world? Do you want to learn how to write catchy queries and understand what editors really want for magazines such as Smithsonian, National Geographic, OnEarth, and others? Make this the year that you do more of the writing that fulfills the deep passion within that drew you into this career in the first place. Or get started today - learn to write about science, the environment and outdoor travel and get paid for it!
I love nothing more than going on adventures with scientists around the world and writing about it for magazines. I have been sent on assignment to scuba-dive with sharks in Australia - all expenses paid - and blogged about it for Discovery Channel as they filmed a Shark Week documentary. I traveled to the Galapagos to report on carbon-neutral travel, and trekked in Nepal in search of endangered red pandas. I often tell my students that getting published is easy; making a career out of writing is another thing altogether. However, I learned the ropes on my own and am here to teach you what I know! I can say this: I absolutely love my career!
I have personally met dozens of editors and bring the inside scoop on these magazines direct to you.
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees... - John Muir
Who: Aspiring and professional writers alike will benefit! Scientists and conservation professionals who want to write more about their work or consider a career change often taken the course, as have established professional writers or students just out of journalism school who didn't get the nuts & bolts details about the best ways to pitch unique story ideas to magazines, working with editors, and the business end of writing such as negotiating contracts, rights and other details.
Some students prefer to just receive the weekly resources, while others prefer to actively participate. Students are welcome to participate as little or as much as they want. By paying early, you get early access to the materials, which may help you get more out of the class, since the 6 weeks always flies by.
What:
The online writing course was originally designed for people wanting to write about all things green - broadly defined as nature, science, outdoor travel, and environmental issues - and most of the Editor Q&As are with publications in these genres, but the assignments can be modified for any topic and I am more than happy to work with you on any area you wish. The writing class teaches you how to break into magazines, online news sites and other publications and make money doing it.
Course assignments guide you 
through performing an in-depth analysis of your dream market, developing a carefully crafted query, and learning how to use the techniques of observation, journaling, and topic-spoking to improve your writing and land more and higher-paying assignments. An optional 5th assignment allows you to get feedback on a short article you've written or a revision of your query letter. If you follow all, you should have something ready to send to your target market at the end of the class.
Why: This course is jam-packed with useful information.
You will get:
- Constructive feedback on your queries and writing
- Q&A interviews with environment/nature magazine editors including
- Smithsonian Magazine
- Audubon Magazine
- Sierra Magazine
- OnEarth Magazine
- The Atlantic Magazine
- Orion Magazine
- Bird Watcher's Digest and Birder's World magazines
- National Wildlife Magazine
- National Geographic
- And many more!
- Weekly handouts with useful resources, articles, reviews, editor contacts and more.
- An attentive instructor that tailors the course to student interests
- View the course outline
This course was first offered through the Freelance Success Institute and is now offered through Wendee's business, LOGOS Communications, LLC, of which she is sole proprietor. She also authored course materials for the Australian College of Journalism's "Writing about Nature and the Outdoors" course and was profiled in the 2001 Writer's Market as the Nature/Outdoor Writer.
What: 6-week Online Magazine Writing Bootcamp ($200)
Cost: $200 by check, $207 by Paypal
When: Wait List Only. Next course dates announced soon.
Sign Up Now! Pay by Paypal below or to pay by check, send an email to Wendee with your full name, email address, and your
interest in signing up.
As soon as I receive your payment, you'll have access to all the course materials through a Yahoogroup you will be invited to. There, you can print, save and read the Q&As and resources, and even get started on the assignments, which will make your in-class time all the more focused and helpful. If you pass the signup deadline by a couple days, email me to see if there's still space!
Email me
PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO payable to Wendee Nicole
To send a checks Please email Wendee for the mailing address - or any questions about the course - wendeenicole AT GMAIL DOT COM
Class may be cancelled or date changed if fewer than 6 individuals register (but most likely your registration will get rolled into the next session, or I will push the start date back a couple weeks until I get the correct enrollment). Fee will be refunded if course is cancelled, minus the small Paypal processing fee. No courses have ever been cancelled for good! Once you have accessed the materials online, I can only offer the refund for the class minus the "materials" access fee of $140.
MATERIALS ONLY
What: If you want to get all the class materials but don't have time for a 6-week interactive course,
then you can purchase the materials only.
When: Pay anytime, and you'll get instant access to the materials
How: Pay by the Paypal link below.
How much? $140 by check, $150 by Paypal.
ADVANCED Writing Workshop
WAIT LIST
Work one-on-one with me for 8 weeks on an individualized writing plan to help you overcome your personal obstacles to success. I work with you to develop story ideas, write queries and improve your writing. My expertise is environment, travel, science, and health but I am open to working with you on any nonfiction writing topic area.
$500 check or $510 Paypal. Button below.
When:
o 8 weeks - anytime
An intensive 8-week program, this workshop will help you identify your long- and short-term career goals, uncover creative blocks, and develop steps to achieve your writing goals. This course will focus on what you
need to focus on, with ample feedback that will allow you to build on your strengths.
Although I encourage everyone to first take the magazine writing bootcamp before enrolling in the Advanced Workshop, new students are welcome also, you will receive
all the content provided in the basic class new students will need to get up to speed on everything prior to the workshop start date).
During the workshop, you can submit as many newly crafted query letters, magazine analyses, and topic-spoking exercises as you can. The course includes two phone mentoring sessions and a personalized writing plan.
Contact me for more information!
About Instructor Wendee Nicole
For two decades, national award winning journalist Wendee Nicole has written for publications such as Scientific American, Discover, Audubon, Smithsonian, Sierra, National Wildlife, OnEarth and other magazines, as well as writing for Discovery Channel Online and
AnimalPlanet.com. She was a contributing writer for Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine for many years, and won several awards for her work, and was the recipient of the inaugural Mongabay Special Reporting Initiative, which first brought her to Uganda.
Feedback from Past Students
"On the plane trips I found myself thinking about how much I learned about
writing for magazine publication. I admire you so much! You've been a
generous and talented teacher, and I think my life was enriched with
this class."
- LeeAnn Kryder
"I sold my first nature article!!! I sold my "Protecting the Humboldt penguins in Peru" story to Wildlife
Journal, a two-year-old quarterly magazine. I have been very persistent, as you urged us in class."
- Pat Terry
"I've thoroughly enjoyed your class. Your class has exposed me to topics to write about and ways
to angle to pitch to magazines. I've learned a lot about how journalism works from your insight,
feedback on my assignments, and the various useful info such as interviews, etc."
- Michelle Ziegler
"I just wanted to tell you how much I've enjoyed the class. You're a wonderful and inspiring
teacher and I've learned a great deal."
- Diane Williamson
"This has been an extremely worthwhile venture for me, not only for learning the mechanics of a
new craft, but also for gaining a new perspective in critical thinking."
- David Baker
"I also wanted to say how much I am enjoying this course Wendee and appreciate your teaching style,
content etc etc. BRAVO! Really getting a lot out of it and that will only double and triple once
I really get into the assignments."
-Sandra Phinney
"Wendee's experience as a nature writer, the individualized feedback she offers and the extensive
list of resources she includes in the course materials make Nature Writing a valuable experience for
both beginning and seasoned writers."
- Nancy Ross-Flanigan, Freelance Science Writer
~**~**~**~**~
Photos, Artwork, Design and Text Copyright (c) Wendee Nicole
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