Interview with Diana Nadin of The Writers Bureau

Today I'm pleased to welcome to my blog Mrs Diana Nadin, Director of Student Services for The Writers Bureau, the UK's leading distance-learning college for freelance writers.

As a former tutor and assessor for The Writers Bureau - and author of some sections of their comprehensive creative writing course - I have known Diana for many years, so I was delighted when she agreed to be interviewed for this blog.

I know from the number of times the subject crops up on my forum that there is a lot of interest among members in The Writers Bureau, and plenty of questions people want to ask about it. Without further ado, then, let's start trying to answer some of those questions...

ND: Welcome to my blog, Diana. Could I start by asking whether The Writers Bureau is for UK students only, or can anyone in the world enrol? Do you accept students for whom English is not their first language?

DN: Thanks, Nick - it's good to be here. In answer to your question, at The Writers Bureau we have students from all over the world. Just take a look at our website and click on Student of the Year 2009 and our 20th Anniversary Awards winners. You'll see that, although many of them are from the UK, there are also a good number from overseas.

Many come from places like India, Africa and the Caribbean where English is widely spoken. They write for both English-speaking publications and also those in their own language. However, there are other students from around the world who use the course to learn the skills they need but then write only in their own language.

ND: Who do you think can benefit most by studying with The Writers Bureau? Are there any groups of people who might be better not enrolling, or perhaps taking another course instead?

DN: We have students of all ages and from all walks of life. They are people who want to fit the course around their other commitments, whether these are work, family or social. They are often people who want to earn a good second income from their writing but aren't quite ready to give up their day job! Our courses are very flexible and that is what appeals to most people.

And those who shouldn't consider enrolling? If someone can't cope with constructive criticism or the thought of rejections from publishers and editors then they should think twice before enrolling. In fact, they should think very carefully whether they've got what it takes to be a writer.

ND: How long does it take for a student typically to complete the course? Are there any limits to how long students are allowed to take?

DN: There's no such thing as a 'typical' student. We've had people complete the course in 12 months, but many take a lot longer. One of the best things about all our courses is that you can work at your own pace, rather than having to keep up with others

ND: Here's a question from Mywriterscircle.com member Linda Jones. She wants to know how the tutors who work for The Writers Bureau are recruited, and what are the criteria for them to be given the job?

DN: There are a number of ways that we recruit tutors. These include: recommendation from other tutors; writers who see our adverts or website and contact us to ask about vacancies; and, of course, successful students. The last category is great because they are familiar with the course and how our systems work. Plus, they know what it feels like to be a distance learning student so they can empathise with the writers they are helping. And, because they're successful, they're a great advert for our methods and students find that very reassuring.

One of the main things we look for in all our tutors is that they are being published regularly so that they have current working knowledge of the markets. They also need to understand that criticism which comes over as friendly and helpful in a face-to-face situation may sound harsher in black and white. So, they have to ensure that the advice they offer is constructive and if they point out that something is wrong, be able to show how to improve it. It's all about anticipating problems that a student might face and then providing reassurance.

ND: Speaking of tutors, what happens if you don't get on with the one you are allocated? Can you change to a different tutor?

DN: We do our best to place students with a suitable tutor by asking them to complete a Personal Profile Questionnaire at the start of the course. But if this doesn't work - for whatever reason - we're more than happy to move them to someone with whom they can build up a better rapport.

ND: The Writer's Bureau is well known for offering a money-back guarantee on its courses. As I understand it, this states that if a student hasn't earned back the cost of their course by the end of it, you will refund their money. Several people have asked if this guarantee can possibly be genuine. In particular, could you explain what evidence you require before authorising a refund, and what proportion of students actually claim under the guarantee?

DN: The guarantee certainly is genuine! When a student gets to the end of the course and has not earned the equivalent of their course fee we don't quibble. All we ask is that they provide us with a selection of rejection letters or emails (about half a dozen) to prove that they have actually been approaching editors or publishers with their work. Once we've seen these we usually arrange a refund straight away.

However, we do ask tutors to keep an eye on students as they work their way through the course to ensure that they are following advice and are not rushing through their studies. It's a two-way thing! And, as a number of our students know, it's not getting to the end of the course that's important, because many of them start earning from their writing before this point.

Only a very small percentage of students claim under the guarantee. There are a number of reasons for this. To be absolutely honest with your readers, some students join the course but don't work through all the assignments for whatever reason. Others reach the end and feel that they have had so much enjoyment from the course and support from their tutors that they decide not to take advantage of the guarantee. Those that work at the course generally start earning from their writing. Then it's the small number who are left that receive their refund under the terms of the guarantee!

ND: What one piece of advice would you give to new students to ensure that they get the most from their course with The Writers Bureau?

DN: I think probably the best piece of advice I can give is to be open minded and willing to take on board your tutor's comments. Talking of being open minded, if you want to succeed as a writer you need to be willing to tackle quite a range of different kinds of writing. Many people start with us wanting to concentrate on fiction. They have a go - somewhat reluctantly - at writing articles, and they're hooked!

And can I cheat and squeeze in another piece of advice? Make sure you do your market research thoroughly - and have a definite market in mind when you start writing.

ND: I'd be interested to know what are The Writer's Bureau's future plans. In particular, as we're conducting this interview online, do you have any plans to develop your website and/or to offer more courses online?

DN: We've actually got quite a lot of plans in the pipeline. We're currently having our website re-developed. When it's finished there will be a student area with a forum, a resource area with lots of links to useful writing sites, and students will be able to access their first modules online while waiting for their course material to arrive.

We're also starting up a new ezine edited by students and with content written by students. Calls have already gone out in our free monthly email magazine Ezeewriter for suggestions for a name. An editor has been appointed - but this is not a permanent position and other students will be given the opportunity to volunteer.

As regards courses, we have three new ones in the pipeline. The first is Writing Competitions - the Way to Win. This provides advice on poetry, short story and article writing competitions from Alison Chisholm and Iain Pattison - giving you the opportunity to have some of your competition entries critiqued. There is a Proof Reading Course, written for us by Simon Whaley, and the Complete Copywriter Course, written by you, Nick! So, as you can see, we've got plenty of plans for the next couple of months.

ND: Thanks, Diana. Finally, do you have any advice for current Writers Bureau students who may have any queries, or potential students who are still wondering whether to enrol?

DN: If you're already a student and you've got any queries about your course, then get in touch with one of our Student Advisors by email at studentservices-AT-writersbureau.com - they'll be happy to help you. [NOTE FROM ND: Please change the -AT- in the email address above to the usual @ symbol - I present email addresses this way on my blog to stop them being harvested by spammers.]

If you're still wondering whether to enrol, you can get advice by emailing us at the same address - or why not send for the course so that you can have a good look at it during the 15-day trial period? It's the best way we can think of to help you decide whether one of our courses is right for you!

ND: Many thanks for taking the trouble to answer my questions today in such detail, Diana.

DN: You're very welcome!

Finally, as Diana has let the cat out of the bag, I guess it's OK to reveal that I am currently half-way through writing a course on copywriting for The Writers Bureau. All being well, this will be out later this year. It will be a printed course aimed primarily at UK writers, with a series of assignments to be assessed by personal tutors (not me personally). I hope anyone wanting to learn more about copywriting (and, especially, freelancing in this field) will find it helpful.