Arche Year Syllabus
Students will have access to the full Arche Year course videos on-demand. You may watch the videos as often as you’d like.
The following is a recommended schedule, and will dictate group discussions, Q&A sessions, and other collaborative events. Students in past years have found the most benefit from the course by proceeding with the group.
In addition to the classes, students enrolled in the “Arche Year Cohort” will receive weekly online consultation and encouragement with the course instructor. These online meetings and check-ins will have no more than 12 students.
Over the 9-month instructional program, students will attend weekly classes covering the following topics.
Students will practice these skills and put this information into practice over the course of the program. Successful students will complete the program with a professionally developed novel ready to be shopped to agents or published, as well as a solid author marketing platform and business infrastructure.
This syllabus is subject to change. Last update: July 26, 2021
Ready to get started? You can do so by clicking here.
Novel Class
4 week novel-writing intensive will teach students how to develop, organize, and execute nearly any novel concept. Students may bring an existing idea, but the course will also help students to develop ideas from scratch. These classes will be covered the week of 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, and 11/8.
The Cohort will meet one time in December to develop and critique novel concepts and outlines.
Industry Knowledge
This seminar series will teach writers about the publishing industry. Students will learn how books are produced, about different types of publishing companies (and scams!), and a paradigm for effectively growing an audience (a “platform”) as an author.
Publishing Industry - 1/3
Book Production - 1/10
Platform Building Basics - 1/17
Defining Your Business
This class series will guide students through the process of setting up a legal entity to do business and protect their interests. Students will be taught basic bookkeeping, and begin to explore creating an author brand.
What You Are - Legal Considerations - 1/24
Who You Are - Identity and Branding - 1/31
Staying Out of Trouble - Record Keeping, Taxes, and Accounting - 2/7
Connection
Students will learn how to set up a complete, professional online presence.
Connection Overview and Internet Basics - 2/14
Building a WordPress Website Step-by-step - 2/21
WordPress Basic Operations/Understanding and Q&A - 2/28
Social Media Setup - 3/7
Mailing List Setup - 3/14
Content
Students will learn to craft content that brings value to the world and grows their audiences.
Blog Writing - 3/28
Effective Email Newsletters - 4/4
Social Media Content- 4/25
Evergreen Content - 5/2
Exposure
Students will learn strategies and techniques for gaining new audiences for their content.
Paid & Earned Social Media Exposure - 5/9
Lead Magnets - 5/16
Networking - 5/23
Next Steps
By this point in the program, students should be completing their novel manuscripts. The final class series will coach students on finding publishing opportunities, avoiding scams, and working with agents, publishers, and self-publishing service providers.
Finding & Evaluating Publishing Opportunities - 5/30
Query Letters - 6/6
Final Question & Answer Session - 6/13
Course Commitment
Students are expected to devote 10 hours per week to the course. This time commitment includes classes and meetings, as well as independent work periods.
Students will put the information from these classes into practice over the course of the program. At the completion of the program, students will have a solid start to their professional author platform.
Students are encouraged to have $1,000 available over the course of the program to invest in themselves. This money will be spent at their discretion, on their behalf, for things such as web hosting, business registration, branding development, and social media promotions. All purchases will be made through third-party vendors of the student’s choosing, at the student’s discretion.
Ready to get started? You can do so by clicking here.