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Specialists in training people to
write for publication since 1989

Welcome to Long Ridge Writers Group
Long Ridge Writers Group was founded in 1989 to create a superior home study program for people who want to write fiction and nonfiction that meets or exceeds the standards set by today’s editors.

They have written or edited more than 20,500 stories, books, and articles in virtually every genre of fiction and category of nonfiction. Their successful experience with thousands of editors and publishers is a rich resource for our students.

Learn from an experienced author—at your own pace
Breaking into Print  is structured with maximum flexibility for today’s writers: Students learn at their own pace within their own schedules, and they work in the privacy of their own homes.

The benefits of one-on-one instruction 
This one-on-one pairing of a student with a skillful mentor offers you a quality and intensity of training in writing and marketing your writing to editors and publishers that is unsurpassed by any college or university.

Compare our “class of one” method of teaching with the traditional college or university classroom with one instructor for 20, 30, or even 50 students. Our pairing of a student writer with an accomplished instructor—the classic master-apprentice relationship—gives aspiring authors the finest, most personal training available anywhere.

The advantages of learning fiction and nonfiction together

By alternating your assignments in fiction and nonfiction techniques, Breaking into Print offers you clear insight into the possibilities that both forms hold for you. It helps you to  discover your greatest potential as a writer.

The advantages of learning how to master both fiction and nonfiction writing in the same program, rather than studying each one separately, go far beyond the savings in time and money. This unique method of intertwining instruction also shows clearly how certain techniques of one form of writing can be used to enhance the strength, interest, and readability of the other.

You’ll learn fiction techniques and you’ll borrow certain nonfiction techniques to make your short stories solid and grounded. You’ll learn nonfiction techniques and you’ll learn how to use key fiction techniques to make your articles dramatic and compelling.

As a result, you’ll be ready to handle both story and article assignments long before those who learn to write only fiction or nonfiction.

Discover your writing niche
Your instructor will guide and support you as you explore the writing opportunities in fiction and nonfiction as you discover the writing genre or category that’s right for you. 

You may choose to focus on mystery, science fiction, romance, or any of the 19 genres of fiction; or travel, religion, crafts and hobbies, or any of the 73 categories of nonfiction. Yet, you may prefer to continue your training in fiction/nonfiction combined rather than specializing.

Once you find your writing niche, your instructor will focus on its special editorial requirements and design your program to meet your particular needs and the writing goals you set for yourself.

Measures of success
For many students, publication is the yardstick of success.  For others, it is the exhilaration and recognition they get through being able to communicate in writing more effectively in their business or professional life. 

Whatever your personal or professional writing goals may be, Breaking into Print, together with the steady guidance of your instructor, will give you the basic elements of all good contemporary writing—plus advanced training in fiction, nonfiction, or any genre or category in either of these major forms you choose—plus the marketing skills that will help you to succeed in selling your writing to editors and publishers.

Our promise to you
Whatever your writing goal may be, by the time you finish our program, you will complete two manuscripts suitable to submit to editors.  You’ll also write a character sketch, plans for six stories and articles, and eight complete manuscripts.

GUARANTEE

We are committed to your satisfaction. If you are not satisfied that you’ve become a better writer and learned how to market your writing to editors and publishers by the time you’ve completed our program, you can obtain a full refund.

Our program, Breaking into Print, is recommended for college credits by the Connecticut Board for State Academic Awards and approved by the Connecticut Commissioner of Higher Education.

The wonderful world of
writing for publication

“The process of discovering the writer within you is just that—a process. As you change and grow, your writing will change and grow. And that’s what makes the writing experience so challenging and rewarding.”
—Karen O’Connor, Instructor

Have you ever longed for the independence, the lifestyle, the satisfaction, and the rewards that can come from being a writer?

Is writing your way of  “making a statement,” of giving voice to your special ideas or values? Or is writing your way of giving a gift to the world—and yourself?

Whatever your special reasons for wanting to write and wanting to see your work published, you must start with the aptitude, professional training, and desire it takes to succeed.

Draw ideas from your everyday life
Once you take up writing, you may find that it’s your most natural form of expression. You can begin at any age, and you don’t need to have a college degree.

You don’t need arcane knowledge or extraordinary experiences. You can draw upon your everyday life and interests for the ideas that may inspire successful stories and articles as your instructor will show you.

You can pursue writing anywhere, anytime. Many writers have learned their craft at home—free from the rigidity of a classroom schedule—where writing time can be adjusted around other daily activities.

Your stories and articles speak for themselves
As a writer, your stories and articles speak for themselves. You’ll find men and women of every age from every walk of life who are published authors, and their work is as diverse as life itself!

Apart from the monetary rewards or prestige you may earn as a published author, the creative act of writing also adds a deeply felt sense of fulfillment.

If you have the desire and the aptitude to write, we can offer you a trustworthy mentor to show you how to write for publication and how to find your writing niche, along with a superb program of training to help you learn how to market your writing to editors and publishers.

Freelance writing:
part-time or full-time career?

As a trained freelance writer, you can keep your present job and supplement your income by selling articles and stories to hundreds of possible markets.

If you become successful as a part-time writer, you may want to devote your full time to writing—as a freelancer, or on the staff of a publishing company or any of hundreds of other kinds of companies and organizations.

Your declaration of independence
For a freelance writer, there is no such thing as a dreary daily commute, punching a time clock, enduring office aggravations, layoffs, and pink slips.

Of course, a writer has his or her own challenges: You work by yourself much of the time, and you must be resourceful to succeed. On the other hand, you write in the comfort of your own home.

The benefits of a successful writing career
For a handful of best-selling authors, continuing royalties provide income that most writers only dream about. But even for celebrated authors, financial rewards are only part of the benefits of a successful writing career.

One of the most important reasons for writing is the sheer enjoyment of it! Every time you face a blank sheet of paper, you’re challenged.

“There's no great mystery about learning how to write. It’s a process of hard work and a lot of practice. Nobody is born knowing how to write, and every writer who ever lived had to be taught how to do it.”
—Ernest Volkman, Instructor

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