Lit!Commons: Builder S1

This pathway, led by Rachel Werner, is focused on building your life in writing as a professional. Live sessions will cover business skills, marketing approaches, and shared support.

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Your Teaching Artist

Lit!Commons Subscribers Gain Access to All 10 Teaching Artists. The Builder path is led by Rachel Werner.

The Builder Rachel Werner

Rachel Werner is the author of the picture books FLOODS (Capstone 2022), MOVING AND GROOVING TO FILLMORE'S BEAT (Capstone 2023), and THE GLAM WORLD TOUR (Capstone 2024) as well as the nonfiction middle grade title GLOW & GROW: A BROWN GIRL'S POSITIVE BODY GUIDE (Free Spirit 2025) and the nonfiction YA title BEAUTY EMANCIPATION (Macmillian 2026). She is on faculty for Hugo House in Seattle, Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, and the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, where she leads curricula to educate writers and content producers in marketing their work. A regular book reviewer for Shelf Awareness, she has contributed print, photography, and video content to We Are Teachers, Highlights Foundation, The Spruce Eats, TheKitchn, and MotherUntitled. She is the founder of The Little Book Project WI, a community arts initiative committed to pursuing social justice through narrative.

The Builder Path

This curriculum will build over time. You get access to it all!

1. Welcome from Rachel Werner
2. What to Expect from The Builder
3. Shared Values and Rules
1. You Are a "Creative Entrepreneur"
2. A Writer's Work Day
3. Defining Your Niche
1. Assessing (and Shrinking) Your Workload
2. Pro Writing Opportunities Index
3. Profess To Manifest
1. Strengthening Your Summation Skills
2. Book Synopsis Example: Fiction
3. Poetry Chapbook & Collection Summaries
4. Drafting for Feedback
1. "Pitch Prep" For Nonfiction Books
2. NF Book Proposal Atlas
3. Workshopping Your Proposal
1. Be Your Own Admin
2. "KonMari" Your Writer's Life
1. DIY Bookkeeping
2. Count Those Coins!
1. Slow Roll Into Social Media
2. Digital Marketing "Lexicon"
3. Pop Quiz: Digital Marketing Lingo
1. How To Get Your First (or 16th) Book Deal with author Jeanette Hurt
1. Trust Your Worth
2. The Art of Negotiating
3. Pop Quiz: Get Paid & Negotiate!
1. Building (& SELLING) an Author Brand with author Laura Anne Bird
1. "Ask An Acquisitions Editor" Bonus Content
2. Sample Query Letter + Agent Feedback
1. Lit Fest Hacks with WI Book Festival director Jane Rotonda
1. Weathering The "Rejection" Waves
2. The "Where to Pitch" CNF List
1. Anthology Q&A with editor Margot Case
1. Writer Bio Basics
2. Sample Bios
3. Writer Bio Feedback
1. Freelance "Side Hustle" with writer Hywania Thompson
1. So You Want To Be a Freelance Writer?
2. Freelance Writing "Quick Start" Guide
1. Pitch Like a Pro (Pt. I) with editor Linda Falkenstein
1. Freelance Pitch Examples
2. Ready to Draft a Pitch?
1. Pitch Like a Pro (Pt. II) with editor Marissa DeGroot
1. What's Holding You Back?
2. Creative Inventory Worksheet
1. Pitch Your Editing Skills with editor Melissa Larsen
1. Personal Branding 101
1. Personal Branding 102
1. The Value of Our Stories w/poet Araceli Esparza

About this path

Weekly On-Demand Lessons
Live Follow-up Sessions
Shared Community