I wanted to love the Novelry. But I was underwhelmed by the pedagogy and the instructional design - lessons seldom even have a learning objective, let alone a clear deliverable beyond “write some words.” The Big Idea course in particular needs work. As it stands, you’ll get further, faster by just reading a book on craft like “Save the Cat” and getting started. It definitely feels like you’re just paying for the not-even-promised eyes of an agent at the end.
The platform is not distracting, every presentation is professional, the coaches are published authors across several genre, and the course helps to build solid story concepts in ways I had not considered before. It has the most welcoming, positive and active online community—one that even this introvert finds easy to participate in. Hands down the best investment I’ve ever made in my dream to become a published author. I only wish I had found The Novelry sooner!
I've learnt so much whilst being a member and enjoyed the courses (The Big Edit and The Ninety-Day Novel) I have taken. The community itself is welcoming, and the coaches are professional with a collective wealth of experience. I would highly recommend it, whether you are just starting on your writing journey or in the midst of querying.
If you are a writer who wants to take steps toward becoming a professional, you can't go wrong with taking a course from The Novelry. The entire staff of mentors are made up of best selling authors and editors from major publishing houses. And you can connect with other writers who are taking courses through the live networking that The Novelry offers. It has been an amazing experience so far.
When I signed up for the Novelry I thought that paying £3,500 for three of their courses was very expensive but thought I would have access to these courses for life. But no they are only available for one year after that you have to keep paying. I was totally in love with the lessons until The big edit. This course is very repetitive and I didn’t think very clear. If you do want to sign up then do the 90 day novel course only. It helped me get a first draft done but after that I just felt as if I was being milked. There are many free resources out there - just be careful as this is a very expensive one year course that does keep rehashing the same material over and over.
The one on one attention and nurturing community and endless resources are superb. My writing craft and ambitions have come a very long way since joining Novelry. I love the one on one zoom call with my writing coaches and after a feedback session. The reports are thorough, frank and encouraging. This is an excellent, professional organization that's dedicated to developing their writers to industry standards and success. Thank you to Louise Dean and the Novelry team for all you do.
So far this has been an incredible experience with top people in the literary world offering their valuable time to mentor others. Have completed the Big Idea and am now moving on to the Big Write
The Noverly makes the process of writing a novel accessible. The lessons are straightforward, practical, and full of positive encouragement. The community is supportive and organized. It is worth the investment to go from idea to editing with the support that is provided at each step along the way. Would highly recommend if you want to make a serious go at becoming a published author.
A Perfect Trifecta of Lessons, Mentorship, and Community!
What The Novelry does well is combine the value of coursework, mentorship, and community into one package. I went in thinking I'd lean heavily on the lessons to help me work through my novel, but it was the community and my coach that really helped me reach those two final words: "The End." Without the encouragement and wise words from the others within the community, I would have struggled to finish the first draft of my novel. I'd highly recommend The Novelry to anyone who can afford the investment in their writing, because it is a really special community of writers supporting each other.
Choosing to work with The Novelry was absolutely the best decision I made. Learning the craft from the inside out has been such an important process. There’s a high quality of teaching within the lessons that far exceeded my expectations. On top of that, there are live workshops, a supportive community and professional support throughout that makes me want to get up and write every day.
I purchased a Feedback session with review of up to 5,000 words, and it was truly a fantastic and incredibly helpful experience. Simran Sandhu is a brilliant editor with a keen eye for realistic emotional development who easily balance details with the bigger picture and provides some of the clearest, most actionable feedback I’ve ever received as a writer. Everyone at the Novelry is supportive and professional, and I can’t recommend them highly enough. I will definitely be back, and I’m so grateful for this incredible organization.
Like working with a trusted friend in the business.
Somerset Maugham once quipped, “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” So, in an often confusing process of moving from initial idea through to a submission-ready manuscript, The Novelry has proved a godsend. Not only have I completed my first draft, but my editor provided insight, wisdom, and encouragement above all (Thanks, Francine!). If you are someone who is contemplating this journey, but is intimidated by the process -- or doesn't know exactly where to begin -- you won't be in any better hands than this course. You start slowly, mastering the rudiments of fiction, and then pick up the pace as you become more confident in what you're doing. Well-taught units on structure, character development, and more help you answer the zillion questions that afflict the would-be author. One thing it's not? Formulaic. Instead, The Novelry provides the framework and best practices to help you write the book you want. It's a decision I'm very glad to have made. I look forward to completing the journey.
The Novelry, a high quality and very supportive experience.
The quality and breadth of lessons, the range of workshop topics, the availability of staff and the helpfulness of the coaching at The Novelry all exceeded my expectations and made for a valuable writing experience. The team has put together an outstanding learning experience for writers at all levels. The platform, staff and coaches are welcoming and provide a comfortable and supportive environment.
I am giving an honest review but I will not leave my real name because of the immense amount of pressure they put on people not to leave honest reviews. There is also an entire lesson advising against leaving negative reviews. The content is buffet-style and completely overwhelming. They use phrases like “take what you need and ignore the rest” instead of acknowledging that one could do the same on the entire internet. However, this is a paid course, so a degree of structure and organization is expected. Also, the community is chaotic and impossible to get any value from. The sheer amount of tabs in the community site would make anyone's head spin. Further. the extra webinars are all standalone, so nothing builds on anything else. It's pure disorder. Speaking of disorder, you go through tons of lessons and modules and try to apply things to your story, meanwhile when you get on a session with a coach, they basically say they disagree with all the modules and lessons and you should do it a different way. As a writer who values feedback you try to do it the way they want to, but you can't always get an appointment with the same coach so you end up getting even more conflicting advice. I got to a point where they were pushing my book to become so cheesy and formulaic that I had to cut my losses at some point and pitch editors independently from their organization. And I was successful! Overall, the novelry is way too disorganized and fragmented for me to recommend to anyone.
I’ve just finished The Big Idea portion and have really enjoyed it. The lessons are interesting and build upon each other. The structure of this section has been nicely set up as well. I really look forward with continuing in The Big Write.
