Begins Saturday, November 21, 2026

Live Seminar via Zoom from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone: Los Angeles (PT): 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM / Chicago (CT): 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM / New York (ET): 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM / London (GMT): 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM / Berlin (CET): 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

*A recording of this seminar will be made available to enrollees.

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us.

Instructor Bio

Instructor Mark Owen Gottlieb is a highly-ranked literary agent in overall deals and other categories. Using that same initiative and insight for identifying talented writers, he is actively building his own client list of authors. Mark Gottlieb is excited to work directly with authors, helping to manage and grow their careers with all of the unique resources that are available at book publishing's leading literary agency, Trident Media Group. During his time at Trident Media Group, Mark Gottlieb has represented numerous New York Times bestselling authors, as well as award-winning authors, and has optioned and sold books to film and TV production companies. He previously ran the agency's audiobook department in addition to working in foreign rights. Mark Gottlieb is actively seeking submissions in all categories and genres and looking forward to bringing new and established authors to the curious minds of their future readers.

Who is this class for?

This online writing seminar is for fiction and nonfiction writers who want to make smarter strategic decisions about their work without compromising their creative vision. Whether you're navigating genre expectations, weighing structural choices, or trying to understand how agents and editors define "authenticity," this session is for writers at any level who want to bring both artistic ambition and market awareness to their projects.

What to expect:

Market awareness doesn't have to mean creative compromise. In this live Zoom seminar, literary agent Mark Owen Gottlieb tackles the false binary between "art" and "commerce" and shows how successful authors integrate both.

This online writing class examines how market considerations can strengthen—not weaken—narrative choices, and how to make strategic decisions around genre, structure, and positioning while preserving originality and voice. Mark will draw on his experience at Trident Media Group to show where creative integrity and commercial appeal actually align in today's publishing landscape.

Whether you're refining a manuscript for submission or developing a new project, this seminar will give you practical tools for navigating the publishing market on your own terms—without flattening the work that makes your writing distinctive.

What are the writing goals?

In this seminar, students will gain a practical understanding of how to distinguish market awareness from trend-chasing, where creative integrity and commercial appeal actually align, how agents and editors interpret "authenticity" during the acquisitions process, and practical ways to refine a manuscript without flattening its voice or originality.

COURSE OUTLINE

Session: Writing With the Market in Mind—Without Selling Your Soul

• How to distinguish market awareness from trend-chasing
• Where creative integrity and commercial appeal actually align
• How agents and editors interpret "authenticity"
• Practical ways to refine a manuscript without flattening it
• Q&A with literary agent Mark Owen Gottlieb

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• A clear framework for distinguishing productive market awareness from reactive trend-chasing
• Insight into where creative integrity and commercial appeal genuinely overlap in today's publishing landscape
• An understanding of how literary agents and editors evaluate and interpret "authenticity" in submissions
• Practical strategies for refining a manuscript's genre positioning, structure, and voice without compromising originality
• Confidence in making strategic decisions about your work that serve both your artistic vision and your publishing goals

TESTIMONIALS:

"To find someone in the publishing world these days who possesses such style and grace…a throwback. Crown moldings and brass door knocker in a world of prefab housing." — Lesley Kagen, New York Times bestselling author

"He is professional, knowledgeable, and deeply cares about the careers of his clients. …I'm lucky to have Mark in my corner!" — Alan Hlad, USA Today bestselling author

"My writing career never would have advanced as fast or as far without Mark's help." — James Breakwell, bestselling author

"He goes above and beyond his work expectations by cultivating caring relationships with his clients, always expressing empathy and patience. He is kind, supportive and knows what he's doing." — Ruby Karp, author of Earth Hates Me

"Saturday's class opened my eyes to the mistakes of my query submissions, which boil down to two crucial elements: word count & comps. Soliciting a bloated manuscript with no comps outside of a couple of 20+ year-old movie references advertised a novice understanding of the publishing industry, making me a rightful candidate for the rejection pile." — William W., Workshop Student

"Thank you, Mark, for this wonderful workshop!" — Diane G., Workshop Student

"You gave me enough writing technique and marketing information to feel like I can get started with confidence. Thank you!" — Workshop Student

"Thank you for being so diligent, so focused and so professional in your approach to the class. I found the whole experience exceeded my most optimistic expectations." — Workshop Student

"I wanted to thank you for your time this weekend for the Hook and Query writing seminar. It's hard to know from reading articles alone what a query letter or pitch should look like." — Jed H., Workshop Student

"It was my absolute pleasure to meet you virtually on Saturday! Thank you for the wealth of detailed information and on-the-spot, yet carefully crafted critiques you shared with each of us—the experience is treasured, and invaluable." — Mica K., Workshop Student

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $99 USD. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Instructor: Mark Owen Gottlieb
• Begins Saturday, November 21, 2026
• Class will meet once via Zoom on Saturday, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET
• Tuition is $99 USD.