MASTERCLASS | From Writer to Expert: Build Your Brand, Pitch the Media and Sell Your Book
MASTERCLASS | From Writer to Expert: Build Your Brand, Pitch the Media and Sell Your Book
November 9 @ 12:30 pm – November 16 @ 3:00 pm EST
Establishing yourself as a credible, go-to expert in your topic builds your platform and your audience. Discover how to pitch yourself and your work with confidence.
For Nonfiction, Memoir
Live On Zoom | SUNDAYS, NOV 9 & 16, 2025 | 12:30-3:00 pm EDT
Curious about how your favorite writers, coaches, creatives, and business leaders land TV and podcast interviews, get profiled in magazines, and get quoted in newspaper stories? It’s because they’ve established themselves as knowledgeable experts, and we’ll teach you how to do the same.
Media outlets are always looking for experts to help shape their stories with quotes, citations, and interviews. And you already know that a “hot essay” or viral media moment can help sell your teaching, coaching, and public speaking, as well as positioning your book to sell. But figuring out your unique perspective and pitching with confidence can feel overwhelming. What media outlets should you focus on? Where do you find these editors and reporters to pitch? What makes your pitch stand out in a crowded inbox?
Join two widely published and often interviewed writers for a two-day masterclass where you’ll learn to identify your expertise, build your brand, and pitch yourself to the media to gain visibility. You’ll discover how to leverage your media appearances and publications to build your platform and raise your profile. And you’ll gain tools to shape your story and practical strategies to position yourself as a leader in your space.
Includes video feedback on all pitches!
The first session will cover:
- Uncovering your expertise and translating your lived experience and skills into authority
- Building the foundations of a strong personal brand
- Understanding how the media finds and selects experts
- Writing an effective “expert pitch” (with examples + live drafting)
- Making your story timely and culturally relevant
- The difference between writing an essay and pitching your expertise, and when to do one or the other
Session Two will cover:
- Live pitch feedback and revision (as many as time allows)
- The anatomy of a strong subject line and email introduction
- Finding the right outlets that are aligned with your expertise and audience
- Using published placements to boost your platform
- How and where to share your interviews, quotes and publications
This Masterclass is ideal for:
- Anyone mystified by how people get featured on podcasts, TV, and in major publications
- Writers, coaches, and creatives looking to expand their visibility beyond the page
- Writers seeing rejections with “you need a bigger platform to sell this book”
- Experts, consultants, and thought leaders who want to establish media credibility
- Authors preparing book proposals who need to boost their visibility
- Self-publishing authors who need a presence in the specific audience for their book
- Entrepreneurs who want to become go-to experts in their field
Closed captioning is available. ✔
Think you might miss the first class? No worries, replay from session one will be available the Wednesday before session two. ✔
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTORs
Allison K Williams is the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book. She has edited and coached writers to Big Five and literary/university publishing deals and the New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists. She’s guided essayists and humorists to publication in media including the New Yorker, Time, the Guardian, the New York Times, McSweeney’s, Refinery29, Hippocampus, the Belladonna and TED Talks. As Social Media Editor for Brevity, she inspires thousands of writers with weekly blogs on craft and the writing life. Allison has been published, featured, profiled or quoted in media including the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, CBC Canada’s Dragons’ Den, the Christian Science Monitor, Michigan Magazine, the St. Petersburg Times, The Moth, Snap Judgment, and CBC Radio’s Definitely Not the Opera and Love Me.
Shanetta McDonald is the founder of The Giselle Agency, a boutique PR agency dedicated to supporting women, BIPOC, and queer authors with intentional, story- and mission-driven book launches. With over 16 years of experience, she has spent her career challenging societal norms and shifting cultural conversations. Today, she proudly focuses on amplifying the voices of those who need it most, marginalized groups who are making a difference. She is also a mother and a passionate advocate for young girls, serving on the Advisory Board of Shero’s Rise—a nonprofit that empowers girls from underserved communities to become agents of change. Shanetta’s writing has been featured in Allure, Refinery29, HuffPost, Essence, and Well+Good, where she explores themes of identity, healing, body image, and belonging.
THE FINE PRINT
We understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers.
Before the first class, you may request a full refund.
After class begins, you may request a refund for the remaining value of the course (less a $25 processing fee).
There are no refunds after the second class begins.
Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com
