“Nick’s class totally met my expectations. Enjoyable and learned a whole lot. Excellent class and I would recommend it to anyone writing genre fiction (or general fiction). The in-class exercises were great, and Nick’s lectures and insight and anecdotes about the publishing industry were very helpful.” —Joel Davis

“The course exceeded my expectations – Nick’s knowledge of commercial fiction in general and his specific editorial experience were invaluable. I liked all of the exercises.  I’m not fond of the on-the-spot tests of any kind (probably all those dark years in junior high) but the exercises opened up the class to exploring some ways to generate ideas for stories. And I liked Nick’s teaching style.  Even though there is a “skeleton” that he follows, his ad lib approach with ton’s of anecdotes and sidebars was great. —Doug Jensen

“I actually learned more than I thought I would.  Also, Nick was very patient with me that I didn’t know anything about genre fiction at all. I liked how everyone got a chance to talk about how they felt about other people’s work.  Even the exercises were talked about thoroughly. I feel that I got instruction from someone who is less stuffy than what I am used to in literary fiction and so it felt refreshing and motivating.” —Cecily Anders

“Nick’s class was great. It totally met my expectations. He was very clear and helpful and had a good sense of humor. I particularly appreciated his advice on the publishing industry. – Kimberly Scherer

“I had a bizarrely expansive experience that I had no way of expecting. I came into the class wanting to get a seal of approval from someone who works between genres the way I do. I wanted to be told that my novel could be sent out to agents pretty much as-is, but I was ready to do hard work if this wasn’t the case. I also figured I’d get to pick up some solid tips.

“Instead, I found I was playing chess on a checkerboard, and that I was the kind of writer I aspired to be, rather than the kind I thought I was. In addition, seeing the world of fiction through his jaded eyes stripped a lot of the Vaseline off my glasses. This all set off a whole chain of reactions, and my life is now in glorious turmoil.

“So, while all my expectations were met, that wasn’t what the class was about for me. I would lay odds that if you pinned Mamatas down, he’d have a list of people he’d done that to. Probably has a self-published instructional manual up on Amazon. He’s an old-fashioned rascally rabbit of an instructor, the kind who regards the blowing of minds as a performance art. It is obvious that he does work to learn about his students and apply personal lessons with an impressive aptness” – Sean Craven

“It was an interesting mix of sci fi lovers, chick lit lovers and other stuff so the mixed feedback was good. The lectures on the required elements for writing commercial fiction (i.e. POV, rising action, sentence structure, etc.) were very helpful along with the exercises. Also learned a lot with the Q&A. I really enjoyed the class and Nick’s openness to entertain all the different genres. – Barbara Williams

Jane,

Hi!  Just finished up a commercial fiction class with Nick, and all I can say is that you were completely right to suggest him to me.   I loved the way that he taught the class.  He was funny but serious, and so experienced, that the class was a success from the first minute.  He treated everyone as a serious publishable writer, and treated our stories very seriously as well, but with such a deft hand that it just seemed like great fun.  With his wealth of knowledge about the publishing world, he taught us a whole new way to look at our writing, to take it seriously ourselves.  With my story, he had me laughing at the same time that he was ruthlessly editing it.  I’m really overly serious, but I enjoyed the whole thing.  We learned great tips about getting published, new things about ourselves, and I just hated having to same goodbye to Nick, because he is such a stand-up guy.   You have a total winner there, and if I ever find a way to make more money, I’d take another class of his in a heartbeat.   Hope you are doing well!  I’m sure I’ll be in touch.

Amy Craik