Business Turn Words into Cash: Five Side Gigs for Writers with Terri Main

I was ecstatic when I saw this course advertised, and was happy that this tutor was going to be teaching it because she is usually very thorough. However, I don't think she covered all of the content that was expressed in the course outline. Plus, I didn't learn anything new and felt a bit disappointed, as a result. It wouldn't stop me from doing her other courses, but I'll not go into them with extremely high expectations.

I was able to apply what I was reading in class directly to my work in progress. Although I have a wonderful critique partner, I sometimes need another pair of eyes on my work. Terri's class gave me that extra. Thank you

Terri's lessons on configuration of the layout of a cover and color were great.
Because I wasn't able to access KDP that part of the class wasn't helpful. Information on finding pictures would have been helpful.

I was looking for an advanced course in cover design and this was a beginner course. That may be my fault for not reading the course description more carefully. For what it was, the course was very well done, the lessons were excellently explained. For someone with no experience, this would be an excellent introduction. It was a good overview and refresher course for me.

Terri removed the mystery from self-publishing via Kindlebook. Before the class I felt I could never manage to use the kindlebook software myself. Now, I feel confident that i can. Knowing I can self publish via kindlebook spurs me on to finish my WIP.

I took the time to work through ALL the lessons of this "Mini-Intensive" before leaving my instructor review - and the upfront thing to say is:

Terri did NOT deliver a "Mini-Intensive" - she delivered a FULL course of 11 lessons in basic marketing.
Author - centered marketing btw.

This in itself is enough to be grateful for, but there is even more to come ...

At first glance, the included information seems to be basic (and eventually well-known), so you might be inclined to skip reading carefully - my advice: don't do that.

I often found some real nuggets strewn in between - witnesses of Terri's huge pool of experience that really helped me to understand some generic concepts much better than before.
e.g. Terri's approach on how to write a blurb and what to include is not only simple but also clear as glass and very easy to grasp.

Astonishing, since I've not only read several "how to write sizzling/dazzling/enticing blurbs" books but also took the one or the other course in copy writing.

Self-initiative and the ability to self-motivate will be helpful and probably necessary to work yourself through some seemingly lengths of this course, but don't we authors need those anyway?

I got my investment in time and effort tenfold back!

Thanks, Terri :)

Review of Writing Magazine Articles That Sell with Terri Main. I’ve hesitated to write a review of this class because I don’t have much positive to say. The class was scheduled to run 4/5-4/25, not a lot of time to produce a salable magazine article from scratch, but doable with a well-organized presentation and a responsive instructor. I had high hopes, especially when I read one of the initial postings saying we’d need to do work every day. This sounded like an intensive class – just what I was looking for. Unfortunately, that was not the case. My chief complaint is the lack of Ms. Main’s attention to the class. Lectures and assignments were sporadically posted, often after the date the related assignment was supposed to be due (the last 4 were posted on 4/24, the day before the class was scheduled to end and then after a second inquiry about her absence). Even at the beginning, she often went days without responding to student posts and then with sparse, generic comments that offered nothing in the way of constructive criticism or guidance. I was concerned enough by 4/10 to reach out to the moderator and ask if there was a problem. While all lessons were eventually posted and a compilation of them provided by the moderator after the class had ended, overall this class was a huge disappointment.

I learned a lot from this class on how to design eye-catching book covers. I appreciated learning about the free creative tools available to authors who want to go the self-publishing route. My favorite new tool is GIMP, which is a lot like Photoshop. The ebook text book contained much information on the elements of a good book cover. I found it very useful, especially the videos that gave step-by-step instructions. I would recommend this class to anyone interested in creating their own book covers.

Terri did a good job providing information that I personally needed and responding to my questions with examples and suggestions that finally clarified a problem I'd been struggling with. Very, very helpful. The only reason that I didn't give her 5 stars was because there was more of a lag in responses than I had expected with so few students asking for comments. However, I got exactly what I needed and in a timely enough fashion that I was able to get all my assignments in on time and be satisfied that they might actually work for a premise and story arc ;)

I highly recommend this class. It covered how to develop a concept and plan/plot it and how to prepare the manuscript and design the cover. I really enjoyed this class and It gave me a sense of confidence to see how easy it can be if one is organized. The instructor offers feedback if the student uploads the homework. The lessons and assignments get the book started and on the right track. Due to family and work drama I didn't totally finish the book but I have a decent outline to just flesh out. If you are not a published nonfiction author or seek do publish on your own, don't hesitate to take this course. I applaud the instructor.

It's hard to review the class when it's not over. The one thing I could suggest is giving a better explanation for homework. Not the ass8gnment itself that was clear but did not know where to put the homework. I out it in the comments because I did not know where else to.put it.

Clear and easy-to-understand instructions on how to use the Kindle Creator plug-in for MS-word. No fluff, just straight to the point, along with some humor made this an enjoyable, very informative and useful class. Thank you

The information was valuable, but Terri was unfortunately not very responsive, while there were few actual assignments or practical parts of this one. Maybe for $10 would've been worth it, but not for the price paid unfortunately.

This course got me "over the hump" on one of the hardest aspects of editing my draft. Extremely helpful, and so well run! :)

I would have liked to be able to interact more easily with Terri. Also to see her actually going through the steps, rather than just have a few pages of instructions to print out. I'm using a Mac and I still don't understand some of the instructions, I would like some videos so I could watch her moving through the processes. Thanks for the class.

The information shared was excellent. I really wanted to rate this class a 5. Two reasons I didn't - 1) the lesson number on the files didn't match the lesson number inside the file, which became confusing at times; and 2) Questions were not answered in a timely fashion, possibly not at all. However, the problems with the savvy site could have affected the latter concern. I WILL take more classes with the instructor.

I enjoyed the class very much and it helped me to feel more motivated, and encouraged, to work on my website. I especially appreciate all the handouts and lesson plans that were provided by the instructor.

The information presented in this class was straight-forward and organized. I followed the instructions and created a nice book video.

I chose this class on impulse after reading Terri Main's blog advertising the class. (A member of SavvyAuthors since 2015 and just now realizing that these blogs contain a wealth of information!) She advised that writers, including wannabes, don't have to blow a fortune hiring an editor. We can learn to do our own editing and significantly cut down on our costs of forwarding a book toward publication. Terri's very thorough in her step-by-step process of how to read through your manuscript for proper story structure, setting, characters and POV. She welcomes questions and has endless patience when it comes to assisting those of us who are clueless at times (speaking for myself, of course). Glad that I happened to read her blog and located this class. Ending my Savvy year of courses on a high note! Thanks, Terri!

When I signed up for this course, I had no experience in writing about transgendered characters and had not given any thought to that possibility. But when I saw the course title, I knew it would help me to give depth to my other characters, at the very least. I feared it might be a course taught by someone who decided to take up this genre and after a couple of books, etc., deemed themselves an expert. This course was the mother lode in that Terri Main's background experience was solid: she has transitioned, she's a teacher, and she's a counselor. Three in one! And she opened the course teaching about empathy. I knew I could try then. Her lessons were well crafted and easy to follow (good for the oldster in me). She got me to actually write from the mindset of one undergoing this process. This opened me to so much emotion. I am reading her book "Still Standing", and my heart is both weeping and rejoicing at the same time. Terri was patient with my questions and kind when delivering her critiques. I now have two characters in mind for future writing. What saddened me about the course was the lack of input from other classmates. I realize people are busy, etc., but this denied Terri the opportunity for offering extra tips. I'm glad she is here at Savvy. I'm in another class of hers. But this one will be the one by which I remember her. Thanks, Terri. And Savvy, too.