Dorie's Courses

To be clear: no. Writing for High Profile Publications will teach you techniques for creating great posts and articles, and 'teach you to fish' in terms of techniques to reach out to editors, whether via "cold pitches" or through networking (I have experience with both approaches). But it does not guarantee that your work will be published by any particular publication, and it'd be irresponsible to do so, because only individual editors can make that determination. The goal, instead, is to prepare you to create amazing work that is worthy of being published by high profile publications, and concrete strategies to help you get it seen through your own contacts and channels.

If you're *really* not a great writer (flunking high school English and the like), you should probably start with a private writing coach or take more remedial classes. But for the majority of professionals I've seen, when they say, "I'm not a great writer," that typically means one of two things: 1) they don't enjoy writing because it feels stressful and takes them a long time; and/or 2) they feel like they're not a master prose stylist. If those are your concerns, this course can probably help. Writing blogs or articles feels much less stressful when you understand the structure and what editors are looking for, so you know what you're aiming for. And you definitely don't need to be a 'literary' writer for blogs & articles - in fact, that's often a hindrance. What editors are looking for is clean, clear prose - something where the organization of the post makes sense and the ideas are easy to understand. If you're able to do that well, you're in great shape.

The course will help you think through your areas of expertise strategically, so you can discover interesting angles that will be of interest to editors.

That's totally OK. In fact, I've been there. Before I broke into HBR, I had tried - repeatedly and assiduously - to write for both Inc. and Fast Company, and was unceremoniously blown off by their editors. I know what it's like to have your work rejected repeatedly, and the level of perseverance needed to finally break through. Just because some editors have rejected you before, that does not mean your work isn't worthy of being published. It just means you may need to try some different techniques and strategies, and that's what we'll be learning in the course.

Because it's an online course, you can go at your own pace. There are approximately five hours of video content, and of course you'll hopefully want to spend time after taking the course writing your own materials to submit to high profile publications.

I offer a course called the "Rapid Content Creation Masterclass." I think it's pretty awesome, so I recommend that, too! (Check it out at learn.dorieclark.com/courses/content). But to clarify the difference, the Rapid Content Creation masterclass focuses on writing quickly and effectively. Writing for High Profile Publications will touch on that briefly, but the primary focus is how to tailor your submissions to specific publications, develop your unique voice while matching the editorial style they're looking for, and tactical strategies for how to break in with editors, either via networking and/or cold approaches - so the material covered is different.

Please note that there are no refunds for the course, because I only want people to join who are fully committed. Do not join if you aren't sure! Research has shown that people who are "all in" are more likely to do the work and therefore get better results - which is our goal, after all. If you're trying to figure out whether the course is the right fit for you, or you have any questions that aren't answered here, please feel free to email me directly at dorie@dorieclark.com. I want you to make a decision you feel great about. I'll advise you personally about whether I think the course will be helpful to you, based on your goals and where you are.