Journey Institute Press

Writer’s Program

This once-a-year program is unlike any other writing program available. It begins with a 4-week boot-camp-style workshop designed to help you get your book kick-started and give you the structure you need to write; followed by weekly check-ins and monthly training / video meetings to support and help you get your manuscript finished for A FULL YEAR.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS AMAZING PROGRAM BELOW

You have a book you want to write . . . what happens now?

Writing, however, is one of those things that looks and sounds easier than it is. It can be overwhelming just thinking about where to start. Once you start, what happens next? How can you become the author you want to be on top of everything else?

What you are struggling with is exactly why we created this course. There are plenty of writing courses that will get you writing a book quickly. We help you create the framework to write your best book, not just any book. This course is about how to write.

Here’s how one of our authors put it:

“The Journey Institute Writer’s Bootcamp gave me a highly flexible, reusable scaffolding for moving from ideas to completed chapters. Never cumbersome or overly rigid, each step built on the last until my own experience showed me I could do this after all!”

– Peggy

Program Features

Start with a 4-week program with daily assignments, feedback, and community support.

Proven program to help you create your book outline, character development, and start writing chapters.

Custom goal-oriented program to help you get started writing your book, and the structure you need to finish your book after the program.

Access to private Social Media group and community engagement.

Following the 28 day course, you will have accountability partners to keep you on track. continued weekly goal setting and monthly video calls for ongoing writing training and support for a full year to help you finish your manuscript.

28-Day Writing Bootcamp

Customized program designed to help you put together the structure you need to finish your book.

Community

Become part of a community of authors with similar goals who support and encourage each other.

Education

Insights, education, and transparency about JI Press and the publishing world.

Priority Consideration

Authors who complete the course receive priority consideration for their finished manuscripts.

Investment

Yours

28 Days of focus on your book manuscript.
15 – 90 minutes each day, improving your craft as an author.
Provide feedback to other authors.
Be open to receiving feedback.
Attend weekly video calls.
After the course – weekly accountability check ins and monthly training for a full year.

Ours

80 Hours of intense interactive training with you and your cohorts during the initial boot-camp training.
Customized program developed to help you write your manuscript.
Daily personalized feedback and support throughout the program.
Weekly Video Calls.
Private interactive group support.
Expertise as authors and publishers with our own ‘skin in the game’.
Continued weekly goal check-in and monthly video support calls for a FULL YEAR.

TESTIMONIALS

It's an amazing program!

I have found the writer deep within during this workshop. While I have always written, it helped me identify and connect with who I am, as a writer, at my core. It’s an amazing program, and it gives me the confidence to finish my book, and get it published.

Vanessa

I strongly recommend this program to others!

This program not only normalized my fears about writing but allowed me to re-define what writing from core (soul) was and allowed me to process my fears and insecurities in a safe space. In turn, it has empowered me to show up in my writing and NOT compare with others as this story (narrative) is mine alone to tell. I strongly recommend this program to others that have the desire to write within their hearts, but fear enables them to engage in process. Thanks, Dafna and Michael for the mentorship and inspiration!

Alex

If the inspiration is there, this workshop will provide the guidance.

I knew there was a book inside me that needed to be written, but I had no idea what that process looked like, or how to get started. What Michael and Dafna have created here is a safe space to break down the writing process into small doable steps. I was given the freedom in the workshop to write about whatever part of my story is inspiring me that day. I could write from beginning to end, end to beginning, or completely all over the place, which is how I’ve ended up doing things. Just write, one piece at a time, not worrying about how it will all come together later. I have learned in this workshop, that books are nothing more than puzzles, that have been permanently glued together. I also learned that there are only two things needed to create a book, and that is inspiration, and guidance. If the inspiration is there, this workshop will provide the guidance.

Kimber

Make your dream a reality!

If one ever wonders, will I write that book and how will I get started, Journey Institute has figured out how to be your North Star. I am so much further along with this dream than I ever thought thanks to them!

Ray

From dreaming to writing.

I have been running around in the writing desert for four years. I have taken classes and learned about writing coaches that were extremely expensive. I was introduced to Journey Institute Press by a former colleague and Facebook friend. After participating in the 28 day Bootcamp I can say with confidence that I will write a book. This program took me from dreaming about to actually writing. Having a supportive writing community made the experience even more enriching.

Claudia

Go For It!

For any beginner writer, this writing course given by Journey Institute is a must. It has given me direction and focus as I work my way towards finishing and publishing my book. If you have the option to take this course, I say, “Go for it!”

Tatyana

FAQ Common questions about the program

Who is this program for?

This program was designed for people who have always wanted to write a book but weren’t sure where to start, what to do, or how to do it.

Additionally, authors who began writing but never finished their books.

Finally, for those who have an idea for a book but aren’t sure if they can write it or are unsure how to take the idea and put it into book form.

This course will help build the foundation, the structure, that will help you put your book together; help you begin writing; and give you the momentum to finish your book.
What will I be doing in this program?

This is an intensive program (thus the term boot-camp) designed to help you move forward with your book.

We will be giving you assignments seven days a week for 4 weeks. You will be expected to write to prompts, create lists, write pages, chapters, descriptors and more.

Each day will build on the one before so that when you finish the program not only will you have already started writing chapters in your book, but you will have all the structure necessary for you to finish writing it.
What genre is this program for?
What is the time commitment?

This 28-day course is designed to be intensive.

The workshop is 28 consecutive days, including Saturdays and Sundays.

Each day will have different assignments that build upon one another. The assignments range in time commitment from fifteen to thirty minutes to an hour or more depending on how quickly you write.

You will also be asked to provide feedback to others in the group which engages you in your author community as well as exposes you to other writing styles and helps you learn from others.

The biggest commitment is to stay with the program for 28 days so that you get the most out of the experience. Following the program there are weekly check-ins and monthly training/catch-up calls of approximately 1 hour in length to help you continue your writing journey.
Will Journey Institute Press publish my book if I take this program?

Journey Institute Press is a non-profit model publisher which relies on grants to fund publishing of manuscripts. This means our ability to publish can often be cyclical.

While we cannot guarantee publication of any manuscript, those who complete this writing program will receive priority consideration of their manuscripts.
Is there a cost for the program?

“If you are looking for help writing a book this program is a good one to consider. You will get help identifying your “why” and your audience. You will learn how to organize your book and, by completing all assignments, you will find yourself well on the road to a complete manuscript.”

– Ron a satisfied participant

Reserve your spot now !

The back cover copy you write for your book is among the most important marketing messages you’ll craft. It’s the essence of your book’s most exciting features, distilled into a few hundred words. It typically serves as the foundation for your online book descriptions, as well as any press releases or pitches you make to the media. It will get re-used and re-fashioned for dozens of purposes. Whatever labor you expend on perfecting it will reward you in the long run.

Here are the key principles that publishers and authors alike use to create what should become a masterpiece of your book marketing and an essential piece of your book metadata.

Back Cover Copy for Nonfiction (Non-Narratives)

The most important question you must answer in your back cover copy is: Why and how will the reader benefit from this book? If you know your audience well, then you know the problems they face; your back cover copy should tell how your book addresses these problems head on and helps readers overcome a challenge or succeed.

Two of the most common mistakes that nonfiction authors make in crafting their back cover is:

Focusing too much on a description of the book’s content, rather than how the content will help, inform, or entertain the reader
Focusing too much on the author’s background, rather than how the author’s credentials or experience helps them expertly address the subject matter

Rather than crafting copy that’s a long, solid block of text, you can help ensure the copy is read by including (in this order):

A headline at the top of the cover that succinctly sums up the key benefit or selling point of the book—or consider a convincing quote (blurb) from a recognizable authority who recommends the book
About a 100-200 word summary that expands upon the headline and demonstrates the value of the book
A bullet list of features and benefits the book provides to readers
A final sentence or two to close the message, with a mention of the author’s credentials if not earlier described
(optional) Praise (blurbs) for the book from recognizable authorities
(optional) A brief author bio and author photo at the bottom of the cover

A professional designer can work wonders in arranging this information in a way that helps it get read, especially if you have a range of elements you’re trying to assemble (description, blurbs, bio, photo, awards, and so on).

Back Cover Copy for Fiction (and Nonfiction Narratives)

It’s not uncommon for traditional publishers to put nothing but blurbs or book reviews on a novel’s back cover, especially if it’s by an author who is already well-known. But that’s rarely the best strategy for authors who don’t already have an established audience. Potential readers will want to know what the story is about before committing, and the hook you provide may determine whether they start reading the first page or chapter. (The same is true of memoir and other true-to-life stories.)

The hook for the back cover isn’t so different from the hook you’d put in a query letter to a literary agent. The hook needs to convey:

Who is the main character(s)?
What do they most deeply desire?
What stands in the way?
What is the setting or context for the story?

If you can’t identify what the main character deeply desires, then ask: What challenge do they face? What sets their story in motion?

Ultimately, what you’re trying to get across is an intriguing story premise. For example, My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult tells the story of 13-year-old Anna, who was born as a “savior sister” specifically so she can save her older sister’s life. When Anna turns 13, she is told that she will have to donate one of her kidneys, and she sues her parents for medical emancipation.

That length of description is all you need to sell the story to potential readers. To improve your own story description, read the book marketing copy for dozens (even hundreds) of books in your genre, and pay attention to length, point of view or voice, as well as how much of the story is described. For example, it’s very popular for contemporary romance novel descriptions to be written from the point-of-view of the heroine. Here’s how the book marketing copy for Baller by Vi Keeland starts:

The first time I met Brody Easton was in the men’s locker room.
It was my first interview as a professional sportscaster.
The famed quarterback decided to bare all.
And by all, I don’t mean he told me any of his secrets.
No. The arrogant ass decided to drop his towel, just as I asked the first question. On camera.

In those 60 words, we know who the main character is, a good idea of what she desires (or will desire!), and what her challenge will be. We also know the setting or context.

No matter what category or genre your book falls into, you have to pack a lot of punch into a couple hundred words, sometimes less. Don’t just write one version and consider it done. Write multiple versions, test and gather feedback, and improve it until you feel it’s the best possible sales piece for your book.