Welcome to the Mystery Writing Academy

Welcome to the Mystery Creative Writing Training Institute (Mystery Writing Academy), the writing and indie publishing school. Seeing your name in print, on the cover of your book, elicits great feelings of awe and excitement. It is an achievement when you flick through a magazine or newspaper or get the first copy of your book and see your name staring back at you. It is proof that all your hard work has finally paid off.

However, it is not an easy journey. Sometimes writing for publication is frustrating and dispiriting: you will get reject notes and emails, and you have to learn to deal with that. Nonetheless, it is not you, the writer, being rejected, but that particular piece of writing at that time. Even the most successful writers were rejected at some point in their careers.

We will show you how to navigate the murky waters of writing and publishing, focusing on self-publishing.

Being published isn’t just about the writing. Whether you’re writing a letter to the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section of a magazine/newspaper, writing a short story for a competition, prize, magazine, or writing a book, you must know who your reader is and what the publisher or editor wants. The most brilliant piece of writing will still be rejected if it’s sent to the wrong readership, magazine, or publisher. The trick to becoming a published writer is sending brilliant writing to the right place.

You do not need to be famous, well-known, or a celebrity to be published. True, if you are famous, the road to publication may be a little easier, but the quality of the writing, with the right idea being sent to the right editor or publisher, sees writers fulfil their dreams. Even with self-publishing, the quality of your writing will make you stand out and get an unrivalled readership.

There’s no guarantee that your book will be a bestseller, and there is no formula or route to it. Every writer imagines their book topping the bestseller lists, but they don’t dig into why and how their book would be a bestseller. Many dream of being writers and even imagine they are writers, but they don’t actually write any words worth the title ‘Writer’.

At Mystery Creative Writing Training Institute, we will help you develop into a writer, show you how to target the right readership and help you produce publishable words that you can sell. Growing as a writer is something that you’ll continue to do throughout your life. Every time you sit down and write something, your skills will improve.

Whether you’re taking this course as a hobby or to hone your skills for your professional career, you will need to give it your all. As with any profession, you should respect your training period and learn all you can to become competent in what you will be doing in your writing career, whether full-time or part-time.

It doesn’t matter whether you want your writing to supplement your income or become your main source of income; whether you will submit your work to a traditional publisher or self-publish—you need to be professional at all times. You will, after all, be competing with professionals and a horde of many other professionally published books. Editors and publishers are not interested in who you are (unless you are famous or notorious). Their only concern is the quality of your work. And no matter how much natural ability you have, you will never achieve your full potential without expert guidance for your talent to flourish. That’s where Mystery Writing Academy comes in. We will do our best to help you develop your creative writing talent so that you can get published and earn from it.

Duration and Mode of Study

This course is meant to be completed within four weeks, including classwork and assignments. There is no pressure for examination—you set your study schedule but endeavour to finish within the duration. Remember, finishing the course really means nothing if you would not have mastered the art of being a creative writer.

The course is designed to give you the fundamentals of creative writing to start your creative writing career. It is a self-paced online study course, with all content online, but the tutor will be available for contact to guide you, clarify any concerns, and answer all your questions.

The self-paced mode of learning will help you develop as a writer. To be a writer, you need to be self-motivated and self-driven. For many of your writing projects, you’ll be the one who sets the deadline. If you decide to write for a particular paper or magazine, or they commission you to write the article to a particular deadline, it’s down to you to motivate yourself to do the research, write the article, and send it off in time. If you want to write a book, you must push yourself and write it. No one is going to write it for you. The same goes for this course. No one is going to tackle the assignments for you! So, use the course to create the habit of sitting down regularly to write.

Please get in touch if you encounter problems, get stuck, or don’t understand something. Generally, your tutor is the best person to contact if you’re having difficulties with an assignment or don’t understand something within the course. For administrative queries, contact Student Services at admin@academy.mysterypublisherslimited.com, who will be happy to help you.

Tutors

Our tutors are experienced people in the publishing and film industry—writers, editors, publishers, scriptwriters, producers, and film directors. They know what writing entails, the editorial and production processes, what it means to have your manuscript/script rejected or accepted for publication/production, and the publishing process. Because the tutors are writers and editors, we will allocate you tutors who are experts in your genre and passionate about the quality of the work you produce.  

Cultivate your tutor-student relationship. Perhaps you will like some tutors more than others. Some tutors are forthright and candid in giving you feedback (which you should be happy about), and others advise you in a less forthright manner and are patient with you when you don’t get it right. Get to understand who your tutor is.

The same applies to students: some like being told honestly and candidly where they’ve gone wrong on an assignment and what they need to do to fix it. Other students learn better by being advised in a more nurturing manner on how to improve their work. The best approach is to cultivate a working relationship and understand your tutor. But if you feel that you’re not getting on with your tutor, for whatever reason, please get in touch with the Students’ Services at admin@academy.mysterypublisherslimited.com, and we will arrange for you to be introduced to another tutor.

When your tutor gives you feedback on your work, always take time to go through it. If they recommend further work before sending something off, take those comments on board and make the amendments. In a way, your tutor is an editor.

When submitting your assignments, be as professional as you would be submitting a piece of writing to an editor or publisher. (In the course, we will look at how to submit your work for publication.) Be free with your tutor; ask them about anything you don’t understand.

Don’t only rely on the tutors’ advice during the course. Since they are writers, they are likely to have blogs or books published. Check out their writing and learn from it.

What Your Tutor Will and Will Not Do

Your tutor is your guide on the side, mentor, and friend. Your tutor will:

• inspire you by encouraging you to read widely; 

• enable you to find your writing voice by encouraging you to be versatile both as a reader (read everything, especially fiction) and a writer, to bring out the writer in you;

• help you to improve through objective criticism; and 

• provide you with the information you need to be a good creative writer.

Your tutor can’t and won’t:

• tell you what to write, but they will guide you (don’t be told what to write, but listen to reason);

• write it for you (your tutor is not a ghost-writer); or

• guarantee publication or competition success.

How to Study

Blended/hybrid learning combines online (web-based resources) and face-to-face/virtual classroom learning with class facilities and networking opportunities. Learn at your own pace and fit your course around work and family commitments while benefiting from teaching and networking opportunities during face-to-face/virtual classroom teaching.

The following suggestions may help you with your studies:

• Read one module at a time. Don’t be tempted to race through. The online platform is designed such that you cannot move on to the next lesson without completing the previous lesson. So, be disciplined.

• When you first read a module, don’t have any pens or paper on hand to make notes. Simply read it to get an overview of the subject matter. When you’ve done that, give yourself a break. It can be a few minutes or it could be a couple of days, whichever works best for you. But take some time to allow yourself to get a feel for what the module is covering.

• Read through the module a second time, making any notes you want to. Take your time. Read through each paragraph, and then check that you’ve understood its message. Jot down any notes or thoughts that come to mind. 

• Give yourself another break once you’ve read the module the second time. Then review the notes and comments that you’ve made along the way. If anything isn’t clear, re-read the relevant section one more time. If you’re still confused, make a note and contact your tutor or Students’ Admin.

• Some modules have an assignment/quiz at the end; others don’t. When you come across an assignment, read through what it asks you to do. Take some time to think about this. 

NOTE: Do not proceed to the next module before finishing the module you are reading. Be sure to click COMPLETE LESSON before moving to the next. 

Evaluation

This course is not academic. Thus, it is not a supervised course. What really matters is you acquire the necessary skills to become a professional creative writer. All the quizzes and assignments are for your self-assessment. Even though they will be graded, the quizzes are meant to assist you in gauging your retention of the content. We will award you a certificate upon successful completion.

NOTE: The certificate will be automatically generated when you complete the course, or we will send you an email link to download your certificate. You must complete all your lessons and modules and pass quizzes and assignments.

How to Become a Successful Writer

To be a successful writer, you’ll need commitment, passion, determination, and a good tutor (the tutor we will provide). But you’ll also need to be a good learner. Every creative writing tutor’s pleasure is to see their students published, win prizes, or be shortlisted for prizes. This course will improve your confidence as a writer and enhance your writing skills to use your special talents to your maximum potential.

Students who are most likely to succeed enjoy engaging in all aspects of the writing process and are also good learners—who listen, are willing to take direction and are open to suggestions. Good learners are happy to participate in constructive discussions and have plenty to offer the tutor in student feedback.

Our aim at Mystery Creative Writing Training Institute is to help you discover the pleasures of creative writing and become a successful writer.