Best online creative writing courses: 10 things to look for before applying 

So, you’re ready to get serious about your creative writing ambitions. Keen to hone your craft. Committed to writing more words, more consistently than you ever have before. Maybe you’re finally feeling brave enough to share your work with others: a nerve-wracking step that (in my experience) is far less scary, and far more helpful, than it’s possible to imagine upfront. 

Assuming the above isn’t too wide of the mark, you’re probably considering a creative writing course. I found myself in just that position five years ago, and I maintain that participating in one made a crucial difference to my motivation and self-belief. I’ve since written four completed books, three of which have been traditionally published. The fourth is due out next year.  

But how do you know which are the best online creative writing courses? 

The short answer is, it’s not easy! Picking the right course is a challenge: there’s a huge array of options out there. One size does not fit all, and it’s important to ensure that, whatever sum you invest, it yields the help and support you need. 

In this blog post, I’m going to share my thoughts on 10 important things to look for, to identify the best online creative writing courses before you make your decision. 

1. Reviews and testimonials

Positive feedback from previous students is a sure sign that a creative writing course is worth considering. Think not only about the number of starred reviews a course gets; read detailed testimonials if they’re available, so you can get a clear sense of individuals’ experiences and what the course has helped them achieve.  

Ask yourself: what does this course promise, and what does it deliver for the people who participate? If those two things match up, you could be onto a winner. If not, it makes sense to look elsewhere.

2. Reputable instructors

When you put yourself – and your beloved novel idea! – into the hands of experts who promise to help you, it’s important to make sure they really are experts. You need to feel confident that the people teaching on your creative writing course are credible. What publishing experience do they have? How many years does it go back? Have they won awards or prizes? Have their previous students found success? 

Just as importantly, you should look at the kind of writing a tutor or mentor works with and assess whether they’re a good fit for you. If you’re a committed fantasy writer, for example, it’s important for you to work with someone who both understands and enjoys your chosen genre. The Jericho Writers Ultimate Novel Writing Course tutors have a wide variety of specialisms, and we aim to match these as closely as possible to the projects of the individuals they work with.  

Another thing to consider is how well you feel you’ll gel with whoever will be teaching your course. Sharing your writing with anyone means making yourself vulnerable, and trust is a key component of the relationship you’ll forge with any creative writing tutor.

3. Flexibility

It’s important to think about how a creative writing course will fit into your life. The best course for you is always the one you will actually participate in.  

No matter what its merits or how much money you’ve put into it, if a course is structured in a way that makes it impossible for you to commit – perhaps because the schedule is rigid and you’re already dealing with work, domestic and family pressures – you won’t reap its full benefits. 

Online creative writing courses offer more flexibility than in-person options, but they don’t all work in the same way. Take a close look at how any course you’re considering works in practice, so you can decide whether you’ll be able to participate on terms that work for you. 

At the same time, don’t be afraid to decide that now is the moment to start carving out space on your calendar for writing. The trick is balancing this determination with a dash of realism. In my experience, both are important ingredients if you intend to bake a whole book. 

4. High quality course content

Don’t be shy about digging through the full syllabus of any creative writing course you’re considering. What, exactly, does it cover? What are the key topics you’ll study? How relevant do you feel they are for you and your project?  

Personally, I’m a fan of the blended approach – one that covers the craft of writing, plus how the publishing industry works. The beauty of an online course like the Ultimate Novel Writing Course is that it offers the best of both worlds: a focus on the nitty-gritty of characterisation and plotting (such as you’d find on a creative writing MA course), plus additional support with understanding how to get your work published.

5. One-to-one mentoring

Working with a mentor can make all the difference to your self-confidence, as well as the quality of your story. While some creative writing courses offer regular one-to-one sessions with a tutor, others don’t – and it’s important to know at the outset how much individual attention you’ll get from whoever is teaching you. 

We offer two versions of the Ultimate Novel Writing Course, and our FULL package includes monthly one-to-one mentoring with your tutor, as well as two one-to-one sessions with a literary agent at the end of the course.  

Students who choose our CORE package get a single session with a literary agent and have the option to book one-to-one mentoring with their course tutor should they wish to upgrade.

6. Detailed, personalised feedback

Actionable feedback on your writing is among the most important things you should look for in a creative writing course, whether you’re studying online or IRL. Good questions to think about include: how much of your novel-in-progress will your tutor read? Note that, in some cases, it won’t be your full manuscript. Will you receive a written report on your work? If so, how much detailed advice will it contain? 

In my view, a tutor who can look at big-picture stuff (such as your character arcs and overall plot structure) as well as how skilfully you craft individual scenes and dialogue, is definitely worth having in your corner.  

Students who opt for the FULL Ultimate Novel Writing Course package get a complete manuscript assessment as part of the course. This means their tutor will read their full novel (up to 100,000 words) and deliver a report of up to 4,000 words on its strengths and development areas, as well as how to perfect it.  

7. Publishing industry insight

This links back to the credibility of your course tutors, but I think it’s important enough to merit a specific mention. The publishing industry is complicated, competitive and constantly changing. Whether your ambition is to self-publish or submit to literary agents and hope for a traditional deal, it’s vital to understand how everything works.  

Look for a creative writing course that will support your understanding of the various ways to publish, as well as their pros and cons. Ideally, find one that’s taught by people who’ve been there and done it – and who still have their fingers on the pulse.

8. Opportunities for discovery

Imagine: you’ve shown up consistently and grafted hard to write your novel. You’ve taken on board your tutor’s feedback and edited your work, fine-tuning it so it’s finally ready to be shared more widely.  

What’s next? Ideally, if your creative writing course has got you this far, it will help you get your work out there, too – probably by helping you put it in front of literary agents. 

Many creative writing courses offer students the opportunity to have their work featured in a collection that’s shared with agencies, but make sure you know precisely what’s on offer before signing up.  

All students on the Ultimate Novel Writing Course are offered the opportunity to submit their work for our anthology, and will also receive feedback from our agency partners on their novels’ commercial potential. CORE students get a single one-to-one session with an agent, while FULL package students get two. 

9. Ongoing support

Writing is joyful, but it also has its difficult, dispiriting and lonely moments. No author is immune, whether they’ve produced one book or twenty, and no matter how much publishing success they may have had.  

That’s why a creative writing course that offers ongoing support – from the provider, and / or from your fellow students – is well worth thinking about. I finished my creative writing course in 2019 but, like many Jericho Writers alumni, I’m still in touch with several of my classmates. It’s a pleasure to be able to review and help promote one another’s books, and half a decade on we’re still celebrating each other’s successes.  

All Ultimate Novel Writing Course students retain access to their course materials for life, so they can revisit key lessons at any time. I also think it’s great that the FULL Ultimate Novel Writing Course package includes two years of Premium Membership to Jericho Writers. The best authors never stop learning, and accessing live masterclasses and video courses is a great way to keep pushing yourself. 

10. Value for money

Finally, you need to consider how much you’re able and willing to spend on your creative writing course before you commit. Prices vary hugely, but so does what providers include – so I’d urge you to think carefully about a course’s long-term benefits and whether it offers value for money, as well as its upfront cost.  

Spending a few hundred pounds on a short course that kick-starts your creativity may well be the best choice for you right now. Conversely, you might be ready to invest a bigger sum, and significantly more time, in developing yourself as an author.  

We’ve designed the Ultimate Novel Writing Course to offer everything we think beginner and intermediate writers need to complete high quality, publishable novels and prepare to seek publishing deals. However, we also offer a host of other writing courses and editorial services – and if you’d like some help with working out what’s right for you, you can book a free consultation with a member of our team. Honesty is one of our core values, so you can rest assured that if we don’t think the Ultimate Novel Writing Course is right for you, we’ll say so. We’ll also suggest a more suitable alternative if we can. 

So there you have it! My quick (ish…) 10 point guide to figuring out which are the best online creative courses out there.  

You can find out more about the Ultimate Novel Writing Course, and download the full course brochure, right here on our website.