Get Your Writing Career
On Track In Just 90 Days!

This exciting, proven writing program is, to quote one published writer, "...a wonderful success, as every writer - including me - craves for professional feedback more than anything in the world."

The CB Program is hugely popular. We've had many publishing successes (in all sorts of fields!) both online and offline. Members of our tightly-knit writers network have shown huge leaps forward in their ability and motivation. But you know, the one thing that everyone seems to love most is that they STAY in the Career Booster Program network for long after the 3-month sign-on period is over.

The only way you can gain admission to the Career Booster network is by doing the program (or by private invitation - and we've issued ONLY TWO of those in the past four years!)

It’s a couple of years since I completed the CB Program and I’m thrilled to say that the publication credits have continued to roll in. My first chapter book ‘Seriously Snappy’ was submitted to Marg as part of the CB Program in 2002 and was subsequently accepted by Otford Press. It was published along with its companion ‘Seriously Creepy’ in 2003. Since then I’ve published twelve early story books, five Big Books and a series of six picture books. In 2006, five mid-grade novels will be published with more to follow in 2007. It’s been a busy, exciting and productive time and the inspiration and support I received initially through  the CB group was a great motivator.

JILL MCDOUGALL , South Australia (Career Booster Network Member and published author)

"This is the most wonderful network to be part of. Thank you all so much for your encouragement, help and motivating email."

Peter Taylor, Queensland

"The Career Booster Program is a fantastic opportunity for any writer who wants to find out what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong, or who simply needs direction, and motivation. "I took part in The Career Booster Program in 2002 and gained all of the above and more. For 3 months I received comprehensive feedback and advice from Marg, as well as support and friendship from the Career Booster network – every member of whom I count among my friends to this day. "During my 3 month assessment period, I had 8 children’s stories (5 of which went on to be accepted by 3 different publishers), 2 articles and 2 synopses assessed. In my opinion I well and truly got value for my investment. I highly recommend Marg McAlister’s Career Booster Program.

Jenny Mounfield, Queensland.

This comes through again and again… a huge part of the value of the program is the support and help that comes through our growing network of talented writers.

A quick summary

Each CB program consists of approximately 90 days of generous feedback (up to 3 scenes or chapters a week - that's up to 36 critiques over ninety days!) plus incidental questions for Career Booster Program participants, as well as lifetime membership of the CB Network online and access to the members-only section of our private Career Booster website. In this 'private' section, you'll find tips and information from members, feedback from conferences and workshops, free downloads and 'how to' information about a whole range of subjects of interest to writers. In addition, Career Booster graduates have the opportunity to promote their products, services and websites on this website. (Just take a look at the links at left!)

During the program, YOU decide the kind of feedback you want - anything from help with plotting to scene construction to character development. (And of course, writing a synopsis and marketing your work!)

 This program is so intensive that we offer only ONE Career Booster program per year. However, in 2008 most of our efforts are focused on building the refurbished Writing4Success Club website. If the CB program is offered in 2008, it will be in the second half of the year. Otherwise, it will reopen in March 2008.

IN DETAIL... What IS the CAREER BOOSTER PROGRAM?

It's a successful mentoring/writing program for writers who are no longer beginners, and who are eager to fine-tune and SELL their work! You sign up for an intensive program of development, feedback and ongoing networking that really gets your career moving. Over the past four years, our network has become extremely strong and supportive.

Be part of the Career Booster Program and get these terrific benefits:

• Expert feedback on your work - up to 36 submissions, over 90 days.
  
• Help where it's needed - fiction or non-fiction - YOU CHOOSE: plotting, characterisation, scene structure, pacing, copyright, query letters and synopses, partials and outlines, marketing strategies for your work and more! Don't waste time on the things you're good at - concentrate on the areas where you need help.
  
• A program that concentrates exclusively on YOUR writing. No set assignments (this is not a correspondence course). During your three-month membership, you get information and feedback on what you want, when you want: with three submissions permitted every week, you'll see a dramatic upswing in your writing ability. (See Program Guidelines for an outline of services covered by this guarantee). Turnaround time is speedy via email!
  
• Membership of the Writing For Success Network. Liaise with other writers who are at the same advanced level of writing. Swap news of new lines and brilliant opportunities. Work together to support each other… laugh together... solve problems… and most of all find out how to sell!

What if you've finished a whole book and need an opinion?

Congratulations! To start with, when the program starts, just email the first chapter (single spaced) and a 2-page outline of the plot and you'll get feedback very quickly about the general story direction and your writing style. After you've received your initial feedback, you can send in further sections of your manuscript - which parts are up to you: as long as it fits in with the up-to-3-submissions-a-week guideline. After several years of working with CB Program participants, we've found that targeting one chapter or scene at a time allows a close examination of the writer's work and more focused feedback.

What the Career Booster Program is NOT...

Keep in mind that this is NOT a critique service in the usual sense. (You are getting a lot more than that for your investment, with membership to the CB private site, ongoing membership in the Career Booster network, and promotional opportunities via this website.) Therefore, we do not accept entire novels for critique and/or line-editing. (If we ever offer such a service - which is extremely unlikely - the minimum fee for working intensively with the author on one novel will be $3,000.)

If you have a novel in progress, you will find that the feedback you get in three months with the CB program will give you invaluable insights into all aspects of your novel. This is designed to foster a professional approach in the writers who sign on. You will be encouraged to show real progress with your writing skills - for example: when technical errors are pointed out, or tips on improving your style are passed on, I would expect to see this new-found knowledge reflected in future scenes or chapters. This three month period IS about hard work - and we all know that the reward for hard work is a much better shot at publication!

Make This Your Breakthrough Year!

Countless writers every year go to writers' workshops, enrol in courses, go to seminars, join writers' groups and more... They're constantly improving their skills. They're really making an effort. BUT - they can't manage to get their work published. So near and yet so far!!!! What else can they do?

• They need to lift their writing to that BREAKTHROUGH LEVEL. They need expert feedback on their work, on a concentrated, ongoing basis.
  
• They need the right contacts. You've heard it again and again: it's not what you know, it's who you know. (And it's who your friends know....)
  
• They need support from other talented, hard-working writers who are actively engaged in marketing their work, improving their skills, giving author talks and doing book signings and the hundred and one other things that make up a successful writer's career.

Enter the CAREER BOOSTER PROGRAM!

We know that when you subscribe to the Career Booster Program, you're not there to mess around. You're not a beginner - this program is only for those who have already completed a basic writing course or who can show that they have moved on from the early stages of mastering skills. We're not here to help you with the basic use of English language, your grammar or your spelling - if you're not adept in the use of these basic writer's tools, you're not ready for this program. It's that simple.

Is there anything we don't accept?

• No stage plays
• No screen plays
• No poetry (with the exception of rhyming picture books for young children)
• No academic essays, theses, business documents, reports, family histories etc - we concentrate on commercial fiction and non-fiction.

How long do we take to respond?

• For short email queries, scenes and short stories: one to four days. Sometimes an email query will be answered within the hour, depending on whether it comes in while one of us is at the computer.
  
• For longer submissions - a chapter and a synopsis - up to a week. (But that's the maximum. Usually it's faster.)
  
• We don't schedule work for weekends. If you send something on a Friday, it will be looked at early in the following week.

What if I want to sell my own eBooks on the Internet?

This is the program for you! We've spent months and months researching the opportunities on the Internet for writers. INFO-eBooks are BIG NEWS. Do you have a special area of expertise? (This can be anything from financial advice to breeding greyhounds to selling e-courses in painting!) We can show you how to write, compile and sell your eBooks - and build a website that gets traffic!

What if I want to set up a writer's website?

A number of Career Booster grads have done this. In 2006 we offered a short course on creating your own website, but you'll also find extra advice on doing this inside the member's area of this site.

Extra Benefits for Career Booster Program Members:

• Membership of the Writing For Success CAREER BOOSTER Network.

  We have an established invitation-only discussion group for CB members. You will have access to this as soon as you join the 2007 CB Program. Here you can swap information about new opportunities, about editors at various publishing houses, about how to book up and deliver a successful author visit to schools, etc etc.… The power of networking is intense in a dedicated group like this.

• Ongoing Access to the private area of the Career Booster Website.

  Originally, the program issued a quarterly business ezine and a monthly skills booster ezine. When spam started becoming a big problem online, and we had other information we needed to put in a central place, we decided to build a website especially for the Career Booster Program instead. This has developed into what you see here - a private area with tips and resources, and a public area visible to the world. In the public area, you can promote your products, services and your own website. 

WILL THE CAREER BOOSTER PROGRAM REALLY HELP ME TO BREAK INTO PUBLISHING?

As in everything, a lot depends on how seriously you take the program and how much effort you put in. This program is designed to give you that all-important leg-up, through continual professional feedback on your writing, networking and news of opportunities. It is designed to give you an advantage over those who are struggling to make it in the traditional manner. Of course we can't guarantee publication - but we'll give you invaluable help in getting there!

A Few Words From Writers Who Have Worked With Marg McAlister…

"I believe that Marg is not only a talented writer, but one of those rare artistic human beings who is passionate enough about her craft to ignite the flame of passion in others. If you are fortunate enough to have access to her capabilities, I can only recommend that you take advantage of her years of experience of teaching and writing. Without Marg I would never have achieved my dream of being a published writer."

Josephine Pennicott, author of Circle of Nine

"Marg's tips pointed me in the right direction with my writing. She was one of the first people to provide encouragement and guidance for my writing career. Her support and feedback was invaluable, and I will never forget what a great help she was. I recommend her services to anyone who wants to get serious about their riting." Tara Moss.

TARA MOSS, Author of the serial killer mysteries FETISH and SPLIT (HarperCollins)

The road to becoming a successful writer is often a difficult one to negotiate. Not only do you need to be skilful in the craft of writing, you also need up-to-date information about rapidly changing markets, editors, agents, etc. You need to learn how to develop your writing network and how to appear professional at all times. Marg McAlister has played an integral role in helping me negotiate this road and develop my writing career.      I am now an Editor with Walker Books after starting as an editor with Otford Press.  I have had the task of reading many manuscripts from new and established authors and I have been most impressed with the degree of professionalism that is apparent in all the submissions I have received from Marg's ex-students.     As a writer I crave for professional feedback and an 'edge' in a competitive marketplace. The thought of being able to 'adopt' Marg as a mentor for ninety days, feed off her knowledge of writing and benefit from her network of publishing contacts is almost intoxicating.

SUE WHITING, Editor with Otford Press and author of books for children

THREE MONTHS OF COMMITMENT...

That's what we're asking from you, to show that you're serious about your career. There are a few 'rules'. Like a Health Club, you can't transfer membership to different months. You can't have your three months extended because of holidays or illness - I put aside three months from my year to give my full attention and encouragement to those in the program, but after that I allocate my time to other writing projects. But don't forget - even after your three-month membership is of the program is up, you retain membership of the Writing For Success Network, AND you continue access all information posted to our private website!

You may submit up to 36 separate scenes, chapters, articles or short stories for assessment throughout the program, but no more than three in any one week. As you can see, you will have to be organised and fully committed. You don't HAVE to submit three items a week; this is the upper limit. Just work at your own pace and submit what you need.

OKAY - YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT IT. TRY THIS QUICK QUIZ:

• Am I prepared to invest in my writing career - invest time; invest money; invest PASSION?
  
• Is my writing close to or at publishable standard?
  
• Am I now ready for that all-important leap forward?
  
• Do I REALLY WANT to accelerate my writing career?
  
• Am I prepared to network with others, on the principle that group energy and shared knowledge gives everyone an extra boost?
  
• Am I prepared to COMMIT FOR 90 DAYS?

If you have said 'yes' to the above questions, this program is for you!

Your Financial Investment:

All this will cost you no more than most writing courses - and much less than some! Your investment of $1295 AUD (we pay the GST for you if you are Australian) gets you: pre-course reading (2 separate downloads)... 3 months of support...  feedback on up to 36 separate pieces of work... lifetime membership of the CB network... access to the CB private site and discussion list... and higher discounts on Writing4Success products and e-Courses via the Top Level of Membership in the Writing4Success Club!

(And... did I mention your special "Career Booster Welcome Pack" containing a binder with 20 carefully-selected articles on aspects of writing, your Career Booster Program Questionnaire, Goal Setter, Time Management Tips, Networking Tips and Networking Record? Not to mention some extra goodies that will come as a surprise... This is sent out the week before the program starts.)

Writing For Success makes it even easier for you, by making the Career Booster Program available in three monthly payments on your credit card. Even better - if you decide to pay it all up front as a direct deposit into our bank account, we'll deduct $100 from the standard fee.

YOUR NEXT STEP..

If you haven't already subscribed to the (free) Writing4Success Tipsheet, do so now... that's where you'll hear about the next program. We recommend you give yourself at least a week before the program starts to do any pre-course reading, and so that the Welcome Pack will reach you before the starting date.