Strategic Submissions: Get Set and Get Published! — 6-Week Online Writing Life Workshop with Lyzette Wanzer Starts Wednesday, July 7th, 2027

Strategic Submissions Writing Workshop: Get Published | July 2027 Online

Strategic Submissions Writing Workshop: Get Set and Get Published! with Lyzette Wanzer

Begins Wednesday, July 7, 2027
Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Wednesdays, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone:

• Los Angeles (PDT): 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
• Chicago (CDT): 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
• New York (EDT): 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Now Enrolling!

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

Instructor Lyzette Wanzer is a San Francisco writer, editor, and writing workshop instructor. Her work appears in over thirty literary journals, magazines, books, and newspapers. Her most recent article appears in the Fall 2026 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine. Library Journal named her book, Trauma, Tresses, & Truth: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narratives (Chicago Review Press), a Top 10 Best Social Sciences Book. Her articles have appeared in Essay Daily, The Naked Truth, and the San Francisco University High School Journal. Her research interests include professional development for creative writers, Black feminism, critical race theory, and the lyrical essay form. Lyzette is a contributor to Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth from the Margins (Wayne State University Press) and The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing).

Who is this class for?

This intermediate-level workshop is for writers who want to submit work on a regular basis to literary journals, magazines, writing contests, and funding and residency opportunities. It is open to writers of all genres, whether you have never sent a piece out or want to turn an occasional submission into a steady practice.

What to expect:

In a safe, supportive community, this six-week online writing workshop teaches you how to plan a submissions strategy, create a plan of attack for your work, locate legitimate markets, and present yourself as a professional author. We begin with proper submissions etiquette and protocol, and with the pitfalls that mark a writer as an amateur and land a submission on the "No" pile before an editor has read a word.

Lyzette has sat on both sides of the desk, as a writer with work in over thirty publications and as an application reviewer, so you learn to see your submission the way an editor or panelist sees it. The course covers more than journals and magazines: writing competitions, artists' residencies, fellowship programs, and grants all get their own sessions, along with a clear-eyed look at when a contest's entry fee is worth paying.

Each week pairs homework review with new material and hands-on work. Students who turn in their cover letters and author bios by deadline receive instructor critique before the next class meeting. The final two weeks shift from planning to doing, with three Submissions Bonanzas in which the class sends work out together in real time. Class is limited to 14 students.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will produce a new cover letter, an author bio, and a Research Collection Sheet, and will select a professional submissions tracker to use going forward. Every student submits work to a minimum of six markets during the course; most manage ten. Cover letters and author bios turned in by deadline receive written instructor critique before the following class.

Readings

Readings will include "What's So Great About Submitting to Literary Magazines" by Becky Tuch, "What Editors Want" by Lynne Barrett, "How Applying for Writing Grants Can Help You Be a Better Writer" by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, and "Applying for Artistic Grants and Fellowships" by Jeffrey Hass.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1 (July 7): Proper manuscript format / Submission trackers / Cover letters

Week 2 (July 14): Homework review: What's So Great worksheet / Author bios / Set up your literary calendar / Introduction to markets / Research Collection Sheets

Week 3 (July 21): Homework review: Author bios and cover letters / How well do you know how to read the markets? / CFPs and contests / Submissions Strategy Sheet

Week 4 (July 28): Homework review: Submission trackers, fellowships, Artist Communities Alliance / Residency and fellowship markets / Grants

Week 5 (August 4): Homework review: Discuss article readings / Submissions Bonanza #1 / Submissions Bonanza #2

Week 6 (August 11): Homework review: Share additions to Research Collection Sheets / Don't disregard conferences / Submissions Bonanza #3 / What are the two biggest takeaways you've learned? / One last submission / Class evaluations

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Know how to format your work for submission to journals, contests, and residency applications
• Understand the dos and don'ts of cover letters, and leave with a new cover letter and author bio
• Build a Research Collection Sheet and a personal submissions tracker you'll keep using after the course
• Gain a broad set of resources for locating legitimate markets for writers at every level
• Learn how to judge whether a writing competition's entry fee is worth it
• Devise and implement a submissions strategy, and send work to at least six markets before the class ends

TESTIMONIALS:

Gained a ton of tips, resources, and practice!
— Anonymous

Exceeded my expectations. Great critique, amazing resources. Perfect the way it is. It was a true delight.
— C. Banks

This was a very well-structured class that helped me understand the complexity of submissions and publications. It helped me understand and begin the submission process.
— A. Rana

I submitted to many markets, and more than I expected, and know what to do and not to do in my cover letters. I feel it's helped my writing career not in publication yet, but now I call myself a writer. Big change!
— J. Southworth

Lyzette is organized, thorough, and highly knowledgeable. She delivers on the promise in workshops! I am encouraged to move forward.
— P. Randall

In most respects, exceeded my expectations. It was very helpful to have all the revision cycles (with in-depth feedback from Lyzette) and all the resources for submitting given to us. Very well-structured course.
— Anonymous

It introduced me to more ways to share my work, grants, conferences. It also encouraged me to get organized and see what kinds of submission trackers are out there. Lyzette is encouraging, knowledgeable, and engaging. Great class.
— A. Carbonell

It delivered the nuts and bolts of researching markets, formatting manuscripts and cover letters, submitting, tracking submissions, etc. I appreciate Lyzette's directness and no-nonsense demeanor.
— Anonymous

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $445 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: Lyzette Wanzer
• Begins Wednesday, July 7, 2027
• Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Wednesdays, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET
• Tuition is $445 USD.
• Class is limited to 14 students.