Saturday, October 16th, 2027

Live Seminar Via Zoom from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone: Los Angeles (PDT): 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM / Chicago (CDT): 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM / New York (EDT): 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM / London (BST): 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM / Berlin (CEST): 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

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

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

Led by an industry-leading literary agent at Trident Media Group, Mark Owen Gottlieb.

Instructor Mark Owen Gottlieb is Executive Vice President and a literary agent at Trident Media Group, and is highly-ranked in overall deals and other categories. He is actively building his client list of authors using that same initiative and insight for identifying talented writers. Mark Gottlieb is excited to work directly with authors, helping to manage and grow their careers with all of the unique resources available at book publishing's leading literary agency, Trident Media Group. At Trident Media Group, Mark Gottlieb has represented numerous New York Times bestselling and award-winning authors. He has optioned and sold books to film and TV production companies. He previously ran the agency's audiobook department and worked 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 workshop is for fiction and nonfiction writers at all levels who are querying agents, or about to be, and want to understand what happens on the other side of a pass. It is especially useful for writers whose manuscripts have been collecting rejections and who want to know which of those passes call for patience and which call for revision. All genres and experience levels are welcome.

What to expect:

Every writer collects rejections. Almost no one gets to see what happened on the other side of the pass. In this Zoom writing class, Mark Owen Gottlieb — Executive Vice President and literary agent at Trident Media Group — opens up the agent's side of the desk.

Drawing on thousands of submissions read across his career, he'll walk through the actual mechanics of why manuscripts get declined: the difference between "not for me" and "not ready," the signals that surface early in a submission, and the fixable craft and positioning problems that quietly sink otherwise strong work.

This isn't generic querying advice. It's the reasoning agents use and rarely share — the kind that only comes from years on the receiving end of the slush pile. You'll learn to read a rejection for what it's actually telling you, to distinguish the passes that mean "keep going" from the ones that mean "something needs to change," and to locate what's holding your own manuscript back. Expect concrete craft and publishing strategy you can apply to your submission materials right away.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will leave with a diagnostic they can run on any manuscript that's been collecting passes, and a prioritized list of what to address first in their own work. Students will also learn to interpret the rejections they've already received and to identify the early signals in a submission that lead agents to decline.

COURSE OUTLINE

Session 1: Why Manuscripts Get Declined — The agent's side of the desk; the actual mechanics of a pass; the difference between "not for me" and "not ready"; the signals that surface early in a submission; the fixable craft and positioning problems that quietly sink otherwise strong work.

Session 2: The Autopsy — Running the Diagnostic on Your Own Work — How to read a rejection for what it's actually telling you; distinguishing the passes that mean "keep going" from the ones that mean "something needs to change"; locating what's holding your manuscript back; building a prioritized list of what to address first.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• A diagnostic you can run on any manuscript that's been collecting passes
• A prioritized list of what to address first in your own work
• The ability to tell a "not for me" pass from a "not ready" pass
• Knowledge of the signals that surface early in a submission and lead to a decline
• An understanding of the fixable craft and positioning problems that sink otherwise strong work
• The reasoning agents use and rarely share, from an agent who has read thousands of submissions

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

"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

"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

"You gave me enough writing technique and marketing information to feel like I can get started with confidence. Thank you!" — Former 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, October 16th, 2027
• Class will meet once via Zoom on Saturday, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
• Session 1 will be 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM ET
• 15-minute break between sessions
• Session 2 will be 1:55 PM – 3:00 PM ET
• Seminar is fully ONLINE and meets via Zoom
• Tuition is $99 USD.