You Don’t Need an MFA to Write a Great Book
You’re thinking about writing a book. Or maybe you’ve written one, but it’s your first pass, and you’re enough of a high achiever to face that it needs work. You don’t mind admitting that you don’t know what you don’t know, and achieving your writing dreams will take hard work and investment.
You know you need to learn how to write before your book will be as good as you want it to be. So what do you do? You consider signing up for a MFA (Master of Fine Arts). You need feedback from the pros to hone your craft, and the credibility that comes with a degree to become a ‘writer’ — Right?
Wrong. You don’t need an MFA to write an incredible book.
Look, if you’ve got lots of time and money on your hands, have an obsession with academia, and want to write literary fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry then awesome, an MFA might be perfect for you. We have nothing against MFA programs, but if you’re strapped for time or cash, or want to write anything commercial (like fantasy, young adult, crime, romance, or any kind of novel that’s not literary), then an MFA program is unlikely to help you — at least not in an efficient manner.
But if not an MFA program, what can you do?
Well, let’s break down the reasons you might want to enroll in the first place:
- You want to improve your craft
- You want to write an incredible story
- You want feedback and guidance from the pros
- You want regular accountability, through deadlines
If any or all of these desires ring true, then you should actually consider hiring a Book Coach.
What’s a Book Coach?
A book coach is a personal writing teacher that you hire to work with you on your manuscript on a regular basis.
Like an MFA professor, we are trained writing professionals. We’ll provide you with detailed resources and training to help you level up your skills. But perhaps unlike an MFA professor, we’re trained in commercial story craft. We can help you build exactly the kind of story you want, without the constraints of academic expectations.
Like in an MFA course, we can teach you how to write an incredible story. Unlike in an MFA course, we’ll work with you on any project of your choice. The best way to learn is by doing. The fastest way to write your dream book is to learn how to write with your dream book as the course material.
Like an MFA professor, we’ll provide you detailed and targeted feedback to help you improve your writing. Unlike an MFA professor, this guidance will be tailored where you are in your personal writing journey. You won’t waste time on craft elements you already understand, and we can dig deep into those that are particularly difficult for you.
Like an MFA course, we provide regular guidance and accountability. Unlike in an MFA course, we’ll work with you one-on-one, giving you our full and undivided attention during coaching sessions. We’ll look at your pages weekly, provide feedback, and give you assignments to keep you on the most efficient and targeted track to achieve your writing goals.
Next Steps
We totally understand the drive to learn more about writing and the need for external advice and feedback to level up your skills in an efficient way. If this is what you’re looking for, it’s totally natural that an MFA drew your attention. But if writing an incredible book (one of your choice, rather than for academic assignments), is what you truly desire, personalized training from a book coach will save you time, detours, and money.
Are you ready to take the next step? We’d LOVE to chat with you about our book coaching programs. Sign up for a Free 30-minute call, no strings attached!
This story was first published at goldenmayediting.com. We provide book coaching & editing to fiction writers. If you’re interested in our other blog posts or in checking out our services please visit us there!
