What’s it like to learn with AWC?

This was my first online course. I was worried at the start I would struggle with the assignments. But everything was explained well.

This was a great starter course. I enjoyed listening to Zanni read out all our stories each week, and hearing how well they had developed over the five weeks.

It has given me the confidence to continue my dream of one day publishing my own children's picture book.

I was just really pleased how enjoyable the overall experience was. I'm keen to start the Masterclass course now that I've had such a great start.

Don't wait! Do it now! Or to quote Molly Meldrum 'Do yourself a favour!'

Thank you so much. I was looking for a new direction and I think I found it! I was worried I would not be able to write, but I found ideas flowed easily.

The tutor was lovely. The feedback was detailed and helpful. I feel much more confident in my abilities and I think I found my new passion!

Just take the leap, you will not regret it! Thanks Zanni!

Zanni is a friendly, knowledgeable and generous tutor. Her feedback method was great. I enjoyed reading everyone's stories along with her and hearing the feedback. She was always positive, honest and respectful.

I enjoyed having a commitment to writing and editing. It was very satisfying, especially honing the work from one week to the next.

It has helped me realise that I can commit to writing something creative from start to finish. Also, that a small daily commitment can bring about big results. That perseverance has payoffs.

I had heard really great things about this course from a number of published authors in podcasts, interviews etc. They mentioned that this was their 'go to' course to learn about all things picture books.

Zanni provided amazing considered and helpful feedback. She's clearly very dedicated and passionate about picture books and is willing to pass on her knowledge in a very helpful way. I really enjoyed listening to Zanni and hearing her feedback about the participants' stories.

The course is exceptional and so is Zanni as an instructor. It was very helpful to learn about the technical aspects of picture book writing, particularly about the structure and pagination.

I always thought it was hard to understand the concept of 'show don't tell' but having completed this course I really have a much better grasp of this!

Don't bother writing a picture book until you have completed this course.

I have been toying with writing a picture book for a few years and decided I would do it now whilst on maternity leave.

I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who is interested in writing picture books. I absolutely loved Zanni Louise. She was thoughtful, kind, and always had very constructive advice. Her feedback was always delivered beautifully so that you could grow and improve.

I love that each week there were assignments as this really helped to apply the techniques. Having Zanni then provide feedback was absolutely powerful. It's this part I missed the most when it was all over!!

Since finishing the course, all I want to do is write, write and write! I have been obsessed!

You must take this course. It will change your life!

The tutor seemed to know what she was talking about and offered realistic feedback based on what is considered favourably by publishers.

I enjoyed getting to practice writing and receive feedback.

I now understand the process of writing picture books better and feel more equipped to go on to publish work.

The course is achievable and offers something fun and different for you to do. You'll definitely gain some new knowledge.

The course was wonderful. I never realised how much I could edit and improve something I already thought was good. I feel like I now have the tools to take on picture book writing with confidence. And I feel I also gained editing skills I could apply in other writing!

Zanni was great. Very supportive and helpful and I could see that she enjoys teaching. Her videos were a great way to receive feedback.

I can’t stop thinking about picture books!

I was in the last couple of months of parental leave and in a Melbourne Covid lockdown. I've always loved writing, and after spending this last year with my two little ones reading and enjoying countless books, I thought it would be wonderful to learn more about writing picture books.

I thought Zanni was a great tutor. The format of sharing live video feedback was a good one as it felt like you were getting her first, fresh impressions of our work, and it was really useful hearing everyone else's feedback. She went the extra mile to answer all our additional questions, and I think she shared some really valuable thoughts and advice.

Getting to instantly apply what was learnt during the week in our stories for each week's assignment was a brilliant way to dive right in. It's easy to umm and ahh when it comes to writing, but the fast pace here meant you just had to crack on with it, which I found worked very well for me. I think there were so many brilliant insights shared by both the online tutor but also in all the audio and handouts. It was a really frank, realistic look at the industry, and (without crushing dreams), I think it sets students up for what are the best formula/tools for success when it comes to the realities of creating a picture book.

I'm feeling inspired... I feel having a published picture book actually feels like it could (maybe!) be possible one day. Obviously with a lot of hard work and refining all these wonderful new skills and all the rest, but even just learning about the industry, about how sales and royalties work, about all the structures and language elements, have made it all feel less daunting and unattainable.

This course is really excellent for anyone with an interest in writing a picture book. It spans the journey from defining what a picture is, to creating your own author platform once you have a published book. It's fast-paced, packed with industry and author insights, and helps you turn the ideas buzzing in your head into a structured story that people will actually care about.

Really enjoyed it, I'm keen to do lots of practice on my own now, and then consider the next course on honing a manuscript.

I have always loved picture books and wanted to write but it never seemed to be the right time. I decided that now it was and I had been thinking about completing this course to get me motivated and give me the skills and confidence to start.

I really loved this course. It was relevant, motivational, informative, interesting, and very practical.

I was very impressed with how quickly Zanni assessed our work and provided helpful and encouraging feedback. I found her points were well-considered and professionally delivered. She gave constructive advice on how to improve our manuscripts which was very helpful.

I think it's just given me some very specific information regarding picture books and simply written stories for children and the importance of showing rather than telling in my stories. It's given me more confidence to write and believe that perhaps I could create something good enough to achieve publication if I work really hard and continue to refine my stories and submit them to publishers when the stories are ready.

This was a great course. I learnt so much about writing picture books and about myself as a writer. Thank you. I am excited to continue to use these skills to write more stories and submit them to publishers.

Zanni was a wonderful tutor, it was a pleasure to see she is committed to helping others achieve their dreams.

It makes you look at things so different, ‘oh there’s a story in that’ and the confidence it brings that it is actually possible to get your book published. I look forward to putting pen to paper now.

I have learnt so much from this course and I am looking forward to where this will take me next on my writing journey.

If anyone is thinking of doing this course I would highly recommend it.

Picture books often seem magical and doing this course is like being given the spell book that tells you all the ingredients you need to create one of these deceptively simple books. From structure and story arc to language and characters, this course has it all. I know that I'll be referring back to the notes often as I construct more stories to send out into the world.

If you're interested in writing or even learning about picture books this is something worth investing in! It's packed full of information and tips and you'll never look at a picture book in the same way again.

There is a lot to learn and writing children's picture books is more complex than I originally thought.

It was great to have a currently published picture book author as a tutor. Her perspective was amazing!

I also liked reading through other people's ideas and stories, it was great to see how other people wrote and to think about what I might do differently with the same piece. The course was a good opportunity to try out a few ideas that had been bubbling around in the brain for quite a while, with mixed results!

The Writing Picture Books course with AWC was fantastic. Professionally presented audio content and useful information in each week's handouts. It was great to see other students developing and improving throughout the course. Zanni gave some specific feedback to help move my writing forward in such a specialised area. If anyone is keen to find out more about writing picture books and an overview of the publishing process, this would be a great course to get started with.

The tutor was knowledgeable, informed and interested. I enjoyed the assignments and feedback sessions.

When posting assignments - I realised that I really DO love writing and writing under pressure. It was a really fun and really productive course.

I really feel motivated to push forward with the pursuit of a career in picture books and/or publishing.

I enjoyed the challenge and the online lessons that I was able to listen to anytime.

The AWC gave me the confidence and support to try something that I've been interested in trying for a long time.

Zanni provided kind, constructive feedback overall and seemed to look for the strengths in every piece.

The content delivery is excellent - the mix of handouts, audio and feedback makes for an enjoyable learning experience.

It has encouraged me to keep writing and makes me feel that getting published is not always easy but it is possible with preparation, practice, networking and by getting to know the industry well.

Thank you to Zanni and the AWC. I was very pleased with the decision to complete this course. It was enjoyable and I feel much more knowledgeable about children's picture books.

It was a good valued introductory course to learning how to put together a children's picture book. The feedback was useful and succinct.

I enjoyed reading children’s books again, haven't done that in many years. Learning about all the little intricacies of this industry.

It's inspired me to write my book, and I'm enrolling in the Masterclass for that assistance.

The Australian Writers' Centre provides courses by people who have been there and done that, and will guide you to achieve your dream.

I have had some books accepted for publication with a small publisher but I know I have a lot to learn. I had ideas for other books and had written a rough draft of another so I decided to use this course to improve my writing and learn more about the writing process.

I really liked the structure of the course and thought 5 weeks was a great introduction into the world of writing picture books. I work well to a deadline so I found the module each week with submission by Sunday 11:59 worked well and fit easily into my schedule.

I really enjoyed the feedback provided by Zanni not just for my submissions but for the other students as well. I found some great information in her reviews and feedback that I have incorporated into my current drafts. The challenge to create new stories and incorporate the feedback. The information in each module gave a great understanding of requirements. I think each component was introduced in a great way without being too overwhelming.

Honestly, I really enjoyed the format of it that I would love to continue with structured writing like this, but I think the course was perfect the way it was. The right length, right amount of information, and great feedback.

I have already incorporated the ideas into my current drafts but it has also given me some insight into why my books have stalled with my publisher. There are some bits of information that I hadn't sent through as I wasn't sure what it was asking and now I know. Definitely less is more with picture books. I had been writing to give clues to the reader and illustrator but I have learned to trust my writing and let the story give the clues.

The course is well structured and you will find great information here. I am actually going to recommend this to a lady I know who would like to enter into children's book illustrating.

I've always loved to write stories for children, but I knew that I needed help to perfect my craft. I'd heard very good reviews for this course so I gave it a try. I didn't enrol earlier because finance has always been an issue for me and I wasn't sure if the course would be worth it as it was only 5 weeks long. But I was wrong!

Zanni was an excellent tutor. You could see that she had the experience and the knowledge of a picture book writer. Her feedback was honest and constructive, but always positive. She wouldn't just tell you that something needed work, but would also provide suggestions on how to fix it. I'm incredibly happy that Zanni was my tutor.

I enjoyed being able to connect with like-minded people, encouraging each other and being inspired by their work. You build a real sense of community, even though you're based online.

I have more confidence, not only in my ability as a writer, but also the confidence to be able to approach publishers. I feel that I have a more solid foundation, which will make it easier to stand behind my books.

The Australian Writers' Centre is not just a teaching resource but a real community. The connections you make with your tutors and others are so valuable. Everyone is positive and encouraging; you come away from each session feeling revived and refreshed. The tutors really know their craft. I've never learned so much in such a short amount of time. 100% worth it!

After googling many authors, groups and courses, I decided to go with AWC after hearing from other authors what a fantastic group it was. I was impressed with the course content that was delivered in such a short time.

Zanni had wonderful feedback that was motivating and knowledgeable.

I enjoyed simply allowing myself to give it a go. I have realized the difficulty in producing a picture book - a lot more complicated than had been thought! I have sparked an interest in following on and gaining a deeper understanding of my own writing. I have a long road ahead!

Impacts:
- Engaging my senses to assist with my writing.
- Contacts that I will use to gain more knowledge and understanding of writing.
- Planning the future to include writing and publishing a picture book
- Learning more about writing!

INDEED go ahead! Choose from the many courses available and get involved in the contact groups and lists of resources made available.

Thank you for sparking my interest even further!