Make Money From True Stories
Zoom Writing Workshop with Esther Chilton
Make Money From True Stories
Two-session online workshop, 1 - 1.5 hours per session, live teaching, via Zoom.
The length of the sessions varies depending on the session topic and the questions and discussions that arise.
Sessions will be a minimum of one hour.
Only ten places available on this workshop.
Tuesday 4th November and 11th November 2025 at 7.00PM.
Times shown: Greenwich Mean Time
If you are interested in future dates for this workshop please email: [email protected]
Workshop fee: £59.99
(meeting invite will be sent out a couple of days prior to the workshop)
Only ten places available on this workshop.
Tuesday 4th November and 11th November 2025 at 7.00PM.
Times shown: Greenwich Mean Time
If you are interested in future dates for this workshop please email: [email protected]
Workshop fee: £59.99
(meeting invite will be sent out a couple of days prior to the workshop)
Workshop Leader
Esther Chilton
Since joining The Writers Bureau as a student in 1999, and following their advice, Esther hasn’t looked back. As well as winning several writing competitions herself, she was head judge of Writers’ Forum magazine’s monthly short story competition. Over the years, Esther has regularly had articles and short stories published in a variety of newspapers and magazines in the UK and abroad. She has published a range of writing workbooks, children’s books and short story collections.
Esther became a tutor for The Writers Bureau in 2009 and when they closed in July 2026, she knew she wasn’t ready for it to go. Fortunately, they let her continue with the website and new courses so she can support students on their writing journey.
Workshop Outline
Week one: Which magazines accept true stories?
There are magazines that pay for your true-life stories. I don’t mean the sensational, ‘Madman was hiding in my attic’, ‘Machete gang struck as I served tea’ or ‘He made me eat until I was 30 stone’ type stories. There are numerous magazines that will publish your anecdotes, nostalgia tales, stories about pets, holidays, supernatural experiences (even tenuous ones!), job changes, and more.
In this first session, we’ll take a look at some of the opportunities out there. You’ll be given specific markets you can target, together with examples. You’ll also have the opportunity to start working on some pieces to send out.
Week two: The women’s weeklies and making multiple sales. While many of the women’s weeklies do feature over-the-top true-life stories, they also publish health stories, happy tales, triumph over adversity, and so on. Many of them pay well and just because they’re a women’s weekly doesn’t mean they don’t also accept stories from men. We’ll take a look at this market and build on week one’s session, with more publications for you to target. Finally, we’ll focus on how you can make multiple sales from these markets and research others.
The second session will give you more magazines to write for, further opportunities to work on your own pieces and cover how you can start writing for these magazines on a regular basis. We’ll also talk about finding more publications to send your true stories to.
In this first session, we’ll take a look at some of the opportunities out there. You’ll be given specific markets you can target, together with examples. You’ll also have the opportunity to start working on some pieces to send out.
Week two: The women’s weeklies and making multiple sales. While many of the women’s weeklies do feature over-the-top true-life stories, they also publish health stories, happy tales, triumph over adversity, and so on. Many of them pay well and just because they’re a women’s weekly doesn’t mean they don’t also accept stories from men. We’ll take a look at this market and build on week one’s session, with more publications for you to target. Finally, we’ll focus on how you can make multiple sales from these markets and research others.
The second session will give you more magazines to write for, further opportunities to work on your own pieces and cover how you can start writing for these magazines on a regular basis. We’ll also talk about finding more publications to send your true stories to.
By taking part in this workshop you will:
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meet other writers
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have time to ask questions as there are only ten participants per group
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learn how to identify true stories you can sell
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learn how to find paying markets
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find out how to make multiple sale to these markets
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start on a story you could send off
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gain increased self-confidence to take your writing forward on your own.
Tuesday 4th November and 11th November 2025 at 7.00PM.
Workshop fee: £59.99