The Academy is Back
and better than ever ❤️
Now is the time for you to write & publish a book…
based on your own story.
Because let’s be honest. The diversity and variety of stories being published, even in 2023, is severely lacking. But what if you made this the year you committed to your writing—in a supportive community of teachers and students just like you?
Welcome to our online memoir writing school, The Unexpected Shape Writing Academy.
You’ve been writing... and writing.
Filling your computer, or notebook, with half-formed essays and notes for a dream book that has yet to be written. You’re not sure know how to go about structuring or writing, work that will one day land on bookshelves—a book that will grasp the hand of a reader who needs to hear your words.
But what you're doing isn't working.
You're one of the many brave writers living with limitations, who wants to write in spite of your circumstances.
But because your limitations won't be magically removed from your life, so that you can luxuriate before the typewriter and create to your life’s content—forever free of symptoms, inconveniences, and mean commenters on the internet...
Here's what has to change.
No more signing up for writing workshops here and there, more often than not never going over the recordings and notes once you’ve done it.
No more collecting books and resources on writing—so that your understand of writing and the publishing industry is hodge-podge and willy-nilly (much like the dish-ware selection at your local thrift store).
Not only for the thrill of seeing your words in print—but for what sharing your story and having your voice heard would mean to you.
There is another way.
As a student in the Academy, you'll be doing things differently.
Pre-recorded workshops taught by me, Esmé Weijun Wang, as well as chatting and sharing in our new platform, Skool, with fellow students taking the Writing Intensive.
Best of all, you’ll be in a community with students who also understand what it’s like to live with limitations.
Who can speak to managing a writing life as well as chronic illness, disability, and/or caretaking responsibilities.
You’ll learn concrete skills like using index cards for creative discovery; the five questions to ask yourself before including someone else in your story; writing about emotions and painful experiences; pitching to publications; and putting together a book proposal. (And much more.)
The truth is that finally writing your book is bigger than you.
It’s about representation. Having an impact on the world. Changing someone’s life. Helping someone who is where you once were.
I want you to share your stories with the world.
"Wanted to share I finally signed a publishing contract for my first creative nonfiction that deals with sexual trauma, hysteria & liminality! After struggling to find a publisher, there were three publishers offering me a contract. Thank you so much for your brilliant workshops!"
— Susannah H.
But guess what.
I can help because (settle in)—
In 2014, I had a big-shot literary agent who had brokered seven-figure deals. And I approached her, over and over again, with an idea for a book that I knew I wanted to write—an essay collection about the schizophrenias.
But she wasn’t interested in the idea, and she told me that she wouldn't help me shop it.
Inexperienced and unprepared, I didn't know what to do next. (I submitted it to the Graywolf Nonfiction Contest. This book ended up becoming the award-winning, New York Times-bestselling book, The Collected Schizophrenias.)
I've created the writing school that I needed at the time—a place for community and a curriculum that provides resources to marginalized writers.
Because I realized that back then when my later-to-be New York Times-bestselling book was my pet project... what I needed was support.
Support in writing and developing the book. Support in learning about navigating the industry. And support from other writers—writers like me—who could cheer me on.
I've been there.
INTRODUCING...
The Unexpected Shape Writing Academy.
A full-service, open enrollment, online writing school. Recorded classes, full of generosity and spirit. A community to support you. We care about being knowledgeable, generous, and aesthetically pleasing (because hey—beauty does add to the experience).
Here's What You'll Learn:
Pre-Writing
Module 1:
Is this okay to write about?: ethics & personal nonfiction. We look at the subject of the ethical questions we need to consider when working on personal nonfiction.
We’ll look at the questions to consider and ask yourself before and during personal nonfiction and memoir-writing.
Rather than making recommendations, we provide exercises designed to help you figure out your own answers, including 10 questions to ask yourself before writing personal nonfiction and/or memoir.
Module 2:
Journal-keeping for memoirists. We walk through the process of journal-keeping for both your current book idea and the ideas to come. You'll excavate memories in. your journal, using concrete exercises and prompts. To get to the details you need for the project you have in mind—no more wandering in the foggy lands of I don't remember how exactly that went—as well as recording the events of your life for future personal nonfiction and memoir projects. You'll inspire topics for writing that you didn't know your life contained.
Module 3:
Indexing as creative discovery: using index cards to develop ideas, organize your thoughts, and keep track of research. We will dive into the practicalities of writing a book and the system I personally use to create the bones of any story (including The Collected Schizophrenias).
We’ll take a practical look at how to use index cards to brainstorm, write, and revise creative nonfiction. When used as writing tools, index cards can not only retain facts and ideas, but can also keep track of important bibliographic and structural information for an essay or book.
Once collected, cards can then be spread out to visualize the shape of a written project, see what is missing, and envision what needs to be added.
I've previously taught this technique at the Northwestern MFA nonfiction program, as well as in the Lighthouse Writers Workshop and the Tin House Writers Workshop.
Module 4:
Structure & perspective: how do we tell the story? You know what you want to write about. The question is: what kind of structure will your narrative take?
Metaphorically speaking, are you building a castle, or a tiny house? Will your essay/chapter/book take the form of a braid, a single thread, or a complex tapestry?
We'll look at the structures and perspectives of different published essays, and discuss how to find the structure and perspective that fits what you want to write.
Writing
Module 5:
Writing personal nonfiction about what hurts. We will take a look at writing about painful subjects. Questions that we will address include, How do we prepare to write about trauma while doing minimal harm to ourselves? How do we know whether it's really time to write about something painful? What about the other people that are involved in the things that we want to write about? And how do we keep ourselves from making our nonfiction into a self-absorbed journal entry, as opposed to literature?
Module 6:
Accessing & writing emotions. Here I address three major areas: accessing emotions before writing, accessing emotions and employing self-care during and after writing, and getting emotions onto the page via style, language, and content.
Publication
Module 7:
Pitching & querying. Writing is one thing; publishing is another. How do you get published in a magazine or newspaper? What does a "pitch" look like? And how do you find an agent? What does an agent do, and how do you know when you need one? We'll look at successful pitches, talk about the structure of a query, and discuss the ins and outs of agents, publication, and everything in between.
Module 8:
What the Heck Is A Book Proposal (& How Does It Work?). We will take a practical look at how to create a nonfiction book proposal that sells. I'm a former book proposal coach who specialized in helping those new to the publishing world create and sell their nonfiction books. Along the way, I learned the ins and outs of writing nonfiction book proposals—and I want to share that information with you. I'll walk you through a book proposal and answer questions about traditional publishing, intended for those who are inexperienced with the book proposal process.
Our library of guest lecturers includes:
Leslie Jamison
Eula Biss
Mitchell S. Jackson
Suleika Jaouad
Stephanie Foo
Yahdon Israel
Hanif Abdurraqib
Soleil Ho
Vauhini Vara
T Kira Madden
Melissa Febos
...and MORE.
The Results You're Going to Get
Be working on projects that are fulfilling — both financially and creatively.
Have a regular writing practice—and know how to pivot when life challenges you.
Be able to clearly articulate the parameters of your writing project—your "elevator pitch"—on demand & confidently.
Have a clear, actionable plan in place for building a writing life and taking things to the next level.
Understand the process of traditional publication, including putting together a book proposal.
ENROLL NOW for the early-bird price of $97/month, for however long you wish to take part (we recommend at least six months to take advantage of all the material). This early-bird price will soon go up to $147/month. If you sign up during the early-bird period, you’ll be grandfathered in for $97/month even when the price increases.
One payment of $97/month gets you:
8 modules of core curriculum
Access to our private Skool community
An amazing library of 12+ guest lectures from today’s brightest writers
*Open Enrollment
*All sales are final (no refunds)
Here’s what it would ordinarily cost:
8 X $147 per class = retail price $1176/month
12 X $147 per guest lecture = retail price $1764/month
Total retail monthly price: $3037 (!!!)
A year from now, you'll have wished that you started today....
So let’s get started.
Nina finally believed that she’s a writer:
"If you don’t believe you’re a writer at the start of this course, you will by the end of it. When I think about The Unexpected Shape Academy the word that comes to mind is generosity. Esme and Chloe are incredibly generous with their time, their care, and the effort they put into both the syllabus and making everyone feel welcome and included.
As a non-professional writer attempting the daunting task of creating a non-fiction narrative about climate change, I couldn’t have hoped for a better introduction. This course provides useful insight on both the art and the practice of writing and, thanks to the fantastic guest speakers and panellists, gives an insider’s glimpse into the world of pitching and publishing. If you don’t believe you’re a writer at the start of this course, you will by the end of it.
I can’t recommend this course highly enough–thank you Esme and Chloe for a wonderful experience!"
You're ready to be a writer.
But if you're anything like me, you need help to take your writing from idea to book. You just want someone to tell you what works.
I've been where you are—wanting to tell stories and not knowing what to do with them. Some questions that you might ask include, How can I research? Is this my story to tell? How do I create the structure of my essay or book? If I write about something traumatizing, how do I protect my own mental health? How do I get published, and where? How do people find literary agents, and do I need one?
If you have any of these questions, you’re in the right place.
“Thank you for creating The Unexpected Shape Writing Academy. I’ve been moved and delighted by the diverse group of guest speakers and fellow students. So many of the writing workshops and conferences I’ve attended in the past have been very much from a white person’s perspective, whether that was intended or not. I’m so glad you have created a space that will foster writers to write and publish diverse and interesting stories. “
— VM
I'm Esmé, your new ally in the writing world.
I’m a writer and essayist—the author of the New York Times-bestselling essay collection The Collected Schizophrenias (2019), as well as the novel The Border of Paradise (2016), which was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2016 and one of Electric Literature’s Top 25 Novels of 2016; I was selected by Granta for their once-a-decade Best of Young American Novelists list of 21 authors under 40. I’ve also made appearances on the Today Show, NPR’s Weekend Edition, KCRW, the New York Times, the CBC, Flavorwire, and the New Yorker Online.
But it wasn't always this way.
I started out as a little girl who had an interest in writing—but as the years passed, I realized that I didn't see many writers who looked like me: Taiwanese American, queer and disabled, and had a similar life history. Publishing seemed so out of reach, and I didn't know how to enter the literary world beyond what I could glean from old editions of my local library's Writer's Market. (For a time, I even took on a generic-sounding pseudonym to look like a white writer on the page, because I thought I couldn't get published any other way.)
Now I'm a bestselling author who's appeared a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle and has won awards, gone on international tours, and met readers who've been impacted by my work. And I've taken all of the lessons that I've developed over the years, based on what I've learned about pre-writing, writing, and publishing—specifically for the ambitious unheard and those living with limitations.
This online writing school is the only one of its kind because...
It teaches the framework from pre-writing to publication, while being designed for writers living with chronic illness, disability, or other limitations.
I once invested a large sum to attend a reportedly high-caliber business conference. Once there, I realized that my physical limitations meant that the schedule—a jam-packed, day-long experience—was not created for someone like me. I couldn't lie down. I couldn't say, "Time out. Let me rest and come back later."
But what I did realize was that if ever created a way for marginalized students to learn about personal nonfiction, I would try to make it accessible.
I BUILT THE WRITING ACADEMY I WISH I'D HAD.
You'll go from only a vague idea of what your writing life will look like, to having a full-fledged project and plan, community, and understanding of the literary world.
This program includes everything you need to become the writer you hope to become.
But it isn't magic. The Unexpected Shape Writing Academy can only take you so far. Not only applying what you'll learn, but your own dedication and sweat equity, pointed toward your vision, is the only way to get where you want to go.
If you want this to be the year that you finally commit to:
Determining your best nonfiction topic
Figuring out the ethics of your writing project
Learning about structure and applying that knowledge to your book-in-progress
Being filled with useful information about writing, including writing about what hurts and how to use index cards to organize your thoughts
Creating and sustaining your own writing habits so that you can build a book for publication
Feeling secure in your understanding of how the publishing industry works
ENROLL NOW at $97/month.
Our early bird price won’t last forever. And if you feel like this is your moment, take that step for yourself and move forward into your new writing life.
I can’t wait to see you there.
P.S. If you know someone who might be interested in the Academy, forward this email to them. Or use the button below.