Anyone completed, or done, the Writer's Bureau Diploma?
I'm looking at it seriously, but due to financial constraints (in particular that the UK Pound is NZD $2) it being $264 (currently) which equals about $500nz, I'd like to know if it's worth it
I have not done it. To be honest, this is the first time I have heard of it. I would like to have more information on it. If you can direct me into the direction where I can find more about it, that would be great.
I have not taken it. I read the FAQ below. I've been writing for over 40 years. From, what I see, you can learn the same at no cost, and get your materials faster, too. I don't know what type of writing you want to learn. If it's fiction, then check out books on writing by great authors. (My favorites are Ursula K. Le Guin, John Gardner, and Stephen King.) All include exercises. If you want to learn to make money writing online, the HubPages Apprenticeship Program is a great place to start. There are also excellent courses in children's writing and becoming a freelance writer.
I think that, if you search around, you will find what you want for free or for very low cost. You could even help out all us hubbers by writing a hub about what you find on how to become a better writer.
And - if anyone has tried the Writer's Bureau program, I'd like to know how it did for them.
Stephen King's 'On Writing' is a fantastic book for any aspiring writer. I love his saying that the pearl comes from grit in the oyster, not from going to pearl-making seminars with other oysters!
I totally agree with you both on Stephen King's "On Writing". I've had that book since it came out, and it's worn and dog-eared like crazy from how many times Ive read it. Its realistic and not sugar coated, and his advice it to the point and hones
Agreed. His 71-page auto biography is a must-read for anyone in trouble with drugs or alcohol, or needing to do an intervention with family for that, as well.
Thanks. I've read Stephen King's one. I've also applied for the Hubpages Apprenticeship - and been declined. I will take a look at the stuff you mentioned - and, I like the hub idea - will do!
I bought the British version of this many years ago. I never finished it because the tutoring was at the level of correcting typos, which was not what I was looking for. As I remember, I got comments such as, "Your writing is very strong. Keep it up."
My writing was not that good, and would have benefited from more constructive criticism.
Also they lost my first assignment and I had to resubmit.
I found more benefit from attending creative writing classes at a local university, because you get more feedback both from tutor and other participants - but it depends on what you are after, and what access you have to courses locally.
And this is 20 years later, so they may have changed!
I think Sid Kemp's advice is very good, and for books on writing I'd recommend Natalie Goldberg or Anne Lamott.
Thanks for the notes on your experience of The Writer's Bureau. And Natalie Goldberg is great fun, and my wife (a poet) likes Anne Lamott.
Thanks for sharing your experience of the WB. I've looked at classes etc - this is by far the more cost effective of the lot in NZ.
All I can say is that I've had two courses with them over the years. Article writing and at the moment Copy Writing - do you know that you can pay the course fees up over a few months? I know how financial constraints can seem to close all doors to you, I'm paying my present course as monthly installments. However, with article writing and some other courses, with the Writer's Bureau, there is a guarantee that if you haven't earned your course fees within a certain amount of time, you get your money back.
Yes, of course you can get information from books as someone else has suggested, but what you won't get is one to one tutoring on where to improve your writing and constructive criticism on your weak points. In addition, you do get a certificate that proves you have done at least something towards learing the skills of writing rather than being self-taught. It's highly competitive out there and you want to give yourself the best chance of success - that's my own personal point of view and I'm not saying everyone will agree with this.
It depends really on what you want to do with your writing. If you want to learn skills just to ensure your own web site/blogg is up to scratch, then buy some good books. If you want to have other people perhaps hire you as a freelancer, then you're better with some certification. Good luck and I hope this helps!!
I bought and paid about £300 for a course about 2-3 years ago. I only did the first assignment. I got reasonable feedback, but didn't much like the subject matter of the next assignment, and never got round to finishing it and sending it off. I still mean to start it again, but am not sure whether there is a time limit. Don't see why there should be, as they have my money. I get their magazine regularly, and don't read that usually either. What am I like????
Diana - you just got busy is all! Perhaps you need to take a look at their magazine again, and see if it is for you!
I enjoy the magazines when I read them, buy you're right, I'm just too busy, and maybe I should start the course again - beginning of new year and all that
What are you like? You are a writer who sees the world in a wonderful way. Your dropping the course says nothing about you.But your picking it up could speak worlds about your dedication to your art.
by Michael John Mele 12 years ago
Anyone here on Hub Pages aspiring to be a professional writer?I am aspiring to become a professional writer...hoping one day to write for some kind of video game publication or something similar...but I'll take whatever I can get in the meantime for the experience. I use Hub Pages mainly to...
by Eiddwen 12 years ago
Back in 1999 I enrolled in A Writing Course with The Writers Bureau but did not go further than module 2.However there is no time limit on it so I have today returned to complete. I am now wondering if anyone else has completed a course and how did they find it helpful ?Take care,Eddy.
by inevitablesecrets 13 years ago
Has anyone gone through the The HubPages Apprenticeship Program?If you have what were your thoughts? Do you recommend it? What did you find the most valuable thing about it to be?
by Steven Philip Lindquist and aliases in nature 9 years ago
Have you ever thought that you are the product of everything you have ever read and there for you write what you know or you read what you want to into the written words you read? I would think that there were times that it is important to question the references and the topics covered in...
by stanwshura 12 years ago
Does anyone else get writer's block that is ironic and/or seems to have "O.D.D."?Is it just me, or does anybody else notice that the closer they get to their desk and/or *literally* "the blank page (and/or screen), the foggier, less focussed, and anxious they become, while YET when...
by northweststarr 14 years ago
A common problem for all writers, taking other peoples' suggestions and criticisms gracefully is essential to the process. I personally, welcome any and all advice from my readers that is constructive and true. I find that my work improves dramatically and I'm more interested if discussions result...
Copyright © 2025 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. HubPages® is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Copyright © 2025 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners.
As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.
For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy
Show DetailsNecessary | |
---|---|
HubPages Device ID | This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. |
Login | This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. |
Google Recaptcha | This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy) |
Akismet | This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Google Analytics | This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Traffic Pixel | This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized. |
Amazon Web Services | This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy) |
Cloudflare | This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Hosted Libraries | Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy) |
Features | |
---|---|
Google Custom Search | This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Maps | Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Charts | This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy) |
Google AdSense Host API | This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Google YouTube | Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Vimeo | Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Paypal | This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Login | You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Maven | This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy) |
Marketing | |
---|---|
Google AdSense | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Google DoubleClick | Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Index Exchange | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Sovrn | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Ads | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
AppNexus | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Openx | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Rubicon Project | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
TripleLift | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Say Media | We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy) |
Remarketing Pixels | We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. |
Conversion Tracking Pixels | We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. |
Statistics | |
---|---|
Author Google Analytics | This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy) |
Comscore | ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Tracking Pixel | Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy) |
Clicksco | This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy) |