The Industry: Pitching, Promoting and Publishing
| Module title | The Industry: Pitching, Promoting and Publishing |
|---|---|
| Module code | EASM216Z |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Dr Ali Lewis (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 10 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 15 |
|---|
Module description
This online module explores how writers navigate and shape the creative industries, from pitching to publishers and agents, to editing magazines, producing live events, and writing across sectors. You’ll hear from professionals working in areas such as publishing, journalism, and marketing, and consider how different roles and routes can intersect with your own practice. Whether you’re crafting a book proposal, planning a residency, or launching a magazine, you’ll gain insight into the literary landscape today — and develop the confidence, curiosity, and resourcefulness to share your work on your own terms. These skills will also support you in your final manuscript project.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This broad, practical module will introduce you to a wide range of professional practice areas within the creative industries, and act as a springboard for your own independent research and development in one or more specialist domains.
The module aims to:
- Develop your understanding of the contemporary creative industries.
- Introduce you to practical skills for navigating professional writing contexts, such as pitching to agents or editors, crafting proposals, and planning residencies or events.
- Enhance your ability to situate your own work within the literary landscape, connecting your practice to appropriate readerships, platforms, and opportunities.
- Encourage your curiosity and adaptability in engaging with new media and cross-sectoral opportunities, preparing you to share your work confidently and independently.
This module also supports the integration of professional skills with creative development, building a foundation for your final manuscript project and future career in the arts.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Critically articulate, with evidence, the current challenges, opportunities, and debates within the creative industries.
- 2. Independently produce or curate creative work to a professional or near-professional standard, demonstrating your engagement with industry contexts and opportunities.
- 3. Evaluate in detail the relationship between your own creative practice and the contemporary conditions of the creative industries, situating your work within relevant professional and cultural contexts.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Demonstrate advanced interdisciplinary understanding of how writers, readers, publishers, booksellers and other stakeholders interact within the contemporary publishing and creative industries.
- 5. Produce original creative work to a professional or near-professional standard, informed by in-depth knowledge of literary techniques and genre conventions.
- 6. Situate your own creative practice within wider literary, cultural and critical contexts, articulating how your work engages with other writers, traditions and movements.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Conduct industry-specific research and identify opportunities for professional development.
- 8. Produce a professional-quality portfolio of writing work suitable for diverse career pathways across industries.
- 9. Demonstrate an ability to use language to effectively communicate, advocate and promote project work to a range of stakeholders.
Syllabus plan
While the precise content may vary from year to year, the syllabus will typically cover all or some of the following topics:
- Map of the Creative Industries: Explore the diverse opportunities available to professional writers, and consider where your creative work might belong.
- Bids, Pitches and Proposals: Discover how to shape and present your projects persuasively, whether you’re approaching funders, festivals, publishers, or collaborators.
- Agency: Working with and as Agents: Gain insight into the role of agents in the publishing world — and learn what makes a writer or proposal stand out.
- Editing: Practise editing your own and others’ work, and learn how to collaborate effectively with editors to elevate your writing to publication standard.
- Magazines, Publishing and the DIY Ethos: Learn how to launch, curate, or contribute to independent magazines and presses — and explore what the DIY publishing movement can offer your creative career.
- Live Literature: introduce you to the skills you need to curate, promote, and perform in live literary events, from readings and festivals to podcasts and digital platforms.
- The Writer in Residence: Find out how residencies and commissions work — and learn how to shape, pitch, and deliver your own.
The module is delivered entirely online, and can be done in your own time. You will be taught through a mixture of online lectures, feedback and workshop forums, structured writing activities, inspiring reading, and supported independent research during the course of the module’s delivery. All of the taught modules on the MA Creative Writing (Online) programme are standalone and can be taken in any order.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 240 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 60 | Engagement online with taught content |
| Guided independent study | 120 | Research and writing of Professional Project Proposal or Creative Portfolio |
| Guided independent study | 80 | Research and writing of Reflective Commentary or Case Study with Short Commentary |
| Guided independent study | 10 | Guided critical reflection |
| Guided independent study | 30 | Preparation for taught activities and peer feedback |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active participation in module activities | Ongoing | 1-9 | Written comments |
| Outline of assessment choice and plans | 500 words | 1-9 | Written comments |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Project Proposal OR Creative Portfolio. | 75 | 4,000 words OR 160 lines of poetry OR an equivalent amount of mixed poetry and prose agreed in advance with your tutor. | 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up. |
| Reflective Commentary | 25 | 2,500 words | 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up. |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Project Proposal OR Creative Portfolio | Professional Project Proposal OR Creative Portfolio (75%) | 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 | Referral/Deferral Period |
| Reflective Commentary | Reflective Commentary (25%) | 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 | Referral/Deferral Period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
The below indicative learning resources are an initial outline of possible texts, and will be substantially extended and revised subsequent to approval.
As this module is practical in nature, you will be expected to carry out independent reading and research on your own choices of appropriate topics and institutions within the creative industries, as well as to respond to information and insights from a range of guest speakers. In consultation with your tutor, you will construct your own reading list depending on your interests and the assessment pathway you choose. In addition to this, a small number of short texts will be set for each week’s learning. These may include excerpts from some of the following:
- Baverstock, Alison, Bradford, Richard and Gonzalez, Madelena (2020) Contemporary Publishing and the Culture of Books. London: Routledge.
- Murray, Simone (2021) Introduction to Contemporary Print Culture: Books as Media. London: Routledge.
- Philips, Angus and Bhaskar, Michael, eds. (2019) The Oxford Handbook of Publishing, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Wilkins, Kim, Driscoll, Beth and Fletcher, Lisa (2022) Genre Worlds: Popular Fiction and Twenty-First-Century Book Culture. University of Massachusetts Press.
- The Writers’ and Artists’ Year Book, London: Bloomsbury.
- Harper, Graeme (2020) Teaching Creative Writing, London: Bloomsbury.
- Nelson, Robin Practice as Research in the Arts (and Beyond), Palgrave MacMillan
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | Yes |
| Origin date | 07/08/2025 |
