I've done the Comprehensive Creative Writing Course with the Writers Bureau and absolutely loved it! The main thing it has done for me was to encourage myself to write regularly and make it a part of... See more
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I was a bit apprehensive about starting a writing course, but I'm so glad I did. My tutor gave me the confidence to embark on writing my memoir. If anyone is considering taking any of the courses, I... See more
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I have a top notch tutor in David Kinchin. He returns marked assignments within 48 hours. I am completing the course at a very slow pace and have to register for another year to complete the course. I... See more
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I certainly would recommend a friend or family to consider courses run by The Writers Bureau. They give you substantial support with all their courses. You can take part in other short courses to lear... See more
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Written by the company
The Writers Bureau was formed in 1989 to help people take their first steps into the world of writing with confidence. Students are shown how to develop their writing style and how to sell their work under the guidance of a personal tutor – a professional writer. Courses are open to all. There are no age limits or educational requirements to enrol. Every course comes on a 15 day trial so you can be confident that it’s the course for you.
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4.4
Excellent
332 reviews
Hasn’t replied to negative reviews
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A lovely community & courses
A lovely community & courses, helpful and informative. Very personalised and gets you where you need to be!
November 5, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Thank you for your review and for being part of our community. All the best with your writing.
The courses are easily accessible and really enjoyable with good quality materials and great flexibility to study when you want to.
I certainly would recommend a friend or family to consider courses run by The Writers Bureau. They give you substantial support with all their courses. You can take part in other short courses to learn more about different genre and ways of writing. The materials are excellent. I am thoroughly enjoying my course and would not hesitate to continue learning with The Writers Bureau. Age is no barrier.
October 2, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Hello, Jacqui. Thank you for your lovely review. We're so pleased that you find us supportive as that is one of our main aims. And, you are right, when it comes to writing age in no barrier. I hope you continue to enjoy being part of the WB community.
I am happy That I have completed a…
I am happy That I have completed a great course (Creative writing course) it is a shame I didn't take advantage of all its resources but I have got a lot of feedback, for that I thank for.
Regards
Delmina
August 31, 2024
Unprompted review
almost five star
this would have been a 5 star review had there not been a change of tutor at the outset (couldn't have been helped) and me having problems getting my writing to you in the correct form - i could easily have given up at that point and would have welcomed some advice - once my new tutor was in place then on we sailed
September 4, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Thank you for taking the time to leave your review Stephen. I'm pleased to read that you persevered and found working with your new tutor a good experience. Good luck with your writing in the future.
Firstly let me say the courses are…
Firstly let me say the courses are excellent..no question..however I was very disappointed not to receive a hard copy of the course materials. Everything is online now..hence the 4*.My fault for not reading it all properly. I’m old fashioned…I like hard copies…also the time has been reduced from 2 to one year. Once I made them aware of this they were more than happy to refund me.
August 18, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Thank you for leaving your review Cat Lady.
Even though we don't send out hard copy material any more students can download the material and print it out should they wish. I know this didn't suit you and since you were in your 15-day trial period there was no problem with returning the fees you had paid.
A very informative and well run training group
This was a very well run group training session where I learned a great deal about marketing my books, several ways I hadn't thought about before and a very clear run through a number of options that worked in different ways to suit different authors' preferences, audiences and income targets. Esther Chilton, our tutor, has a wealth of knowledge and experience that she imparts very professionally and efficiently. I would now like to attend other training events linked to this one.
June 18, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Hi Debbie, thank you for taking the time to leave your review on the Marketing your Self-published Book Zoom workshop with Esther. We're pleased you found it useful. You'll find details of more Zoom workshops on our website: https://www.writersbureaucourse.com/pages/writing-workshops-and-boot-camps We look forward to welcoming you in our Zoom classroom soon.
The comprehensive writing course covers…
The comprehensive writing course covers everything you need to know about writing. I was a complete novice and feel my writing has improved since being on the course. All assignments are reviewed by real writers who give honest and valuable feedback on your work. Many areas are covered, making it excellent value for money.
June 11, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Thank you Nicolas for taking the time to leave your review. We're very please to read that you feel your writing has improved since you started your course.
Esther has used her own successful…
Esther has used her own successful experiences to give excellent advice. She offers options of different avenues open to the self publishing author so you can see what might best suit your desires and comfort level. She gives detailed advice to each participant, by carefully listening to where they are in their writing and publishing process. She has eased my fears about the whole process and I look forward now to the possibilities available to budding authors.
June 4, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Dear Virginia, Thank you for taking the time to review the workshop you attended hosted by tutor Esther Chiltern. She has a wealth of experience and knowledge which she shares so generously with our students. We're so pleased you found the workshop useful and has given you confidence going forward.
Excellent courses and workshops
The Writers Bureau work very hard to ensure that their courses and workshops are packed with practical, value-for-money, very helpful advice and encouragement. I have done several courses with them and belong to an on-going monthly poetry club. They are my Go-To to maintain, develop and inspire my writing.
May 30, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Dear Diana, thank you for you lovely review. it's wonderful to hear we are your Go-To for support with your writing. Thank you for being a member of our writing community.
I had a horrible time
I had a horrible time. The course materials haven't been updated since before the Pliocene Epoch. My first tutor couldn't even figure out how to open anything but text files and had the gall to tell me that the industry had not changed since she was starting out just after the first fish walked onto land. There was no help. No reasonable adjustments for learning needs, and staff giving misinformation in the forums. To my mind, this is a scam and I wish I had never heard of the company. I am still seeking a refund. I was bullied. Misinformed. And told to spend a lot of money on magazine subscriptions. Anything I learned came from looking it up myself. The coursework is just "write an article", "write another one", "and another"... You'd get better advice asking on social media TBH.
May 7, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
I’m sorry you feel you have had a horrible experience with The Writers Bureau, Matthew. We try very hard to create a warm and friendly environment for our students, so we are saddened to read this. The principal aim of The Writers Bureau has always been to help new writers achieve, or at least start to achieve, their writing goals. We provide students with information-packed course materials, the opportunity to learn from a professional writer through set assignments, as well as contact and discussion opportunities with other WB students in our Writers’ Community and Zoom study sessions. Those students who follow the methods we show them are getting published and examples of these successes can be found on our website and social media channels.
You are entitled to share your experience as you see it. But we do question how fair you have been. After thorough investigation into the correspondence between the college and yourself we could find no evidence of bullying or mistreatment. We saw tutors giving you solid help and advice with invitations to ask any questions you may have had.
Nonetheless, we have asked you to provide more information on these allegations as we take this sort of thing very seriously. On receipt, we will gladly investigate further and take appropriate action.
If we had been made aware early on in your course that you needed extra help, we would have gladly worked with you to find suitable ways of supporting your needs. However, your assignments did not suggest that you were struggling at all, so as far as we were aware, there was no need to contact you in this regard. Your tutor even encouraged you to submit the work from your second assignment to the relevant publications. They do not do that unless they feel you have a good chance of acceptance (though they can never guarantee it).
You only started telling us that your special needs were affecting your studies when you demanded a refund of the entirety of your fees, 21 months into your two-year course. Prior to that you hadn’t requested any help to accommodate them. You were then offered the opportunity to swap to another part of the course or send in your own work for assessment.
For some reason your original tutor had an issue with your files. We solved this problem quickly by allocating a tutor who could cope with your files.
The single item of ‘misinformation’ you refer to is regarding AI, which we are curious about. Our tutor’s comments on this subject formed part of a discussion that is currently taking part within the WB community; a discussion to which your views would have been very welcome. You could have added your voice to this debate, but you didn’t.
As regards subscriptions, if you want to have your work published in magazines then you have to analyse them. The cheapest and most practical way to do this is by signing-up to one of the magazine platforms such as Readly or PocketMags, and this is what we advise all our students to do (a subscription to Readly, which gives access to over 7,000 titles, currently costs £7.99 a month). Some libraries offer this service free to members. But whichever of these platforms students choose, we are not affiliated with any of them, nor do we receive any commission.
The first part of our Comprehensive course covers non-fiction writing. You study writing articles for different markets as well as non-fiction books and writing for the Internet. Your assignments give you plenty of practise at this. To learn how to write articles you need to write them.
Naturally, all the material covered by our courses can be found in books, magazines, on YouTube, in blogs and articles all over the Internet. But what our course does is bring all these disparate areas of writing knowledge together into one place as well as giving you the interactive elements of the course as described earlier.
The Writers Bureau Has It All.
The Writers Bureau has a wide range of courses to help you to become the writer you would like to be. The tutors are all expert in their field, and you couldn't be in better hands to learn your craft.
November 3, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Thank you Janet for taking the time to leave a review. We're so pleased you have enjoyed your studies with us and have found they have help you to develop your writing. Good luck with your writing career.
After wasting 400 on a course with no…
After wasting 400 on a course with no tutor support, modules that barely relate to badly written assignments, you are only allowed two attempts at your assignments. Then they have the audacity to ask you to pay £15 to try again! I demand a refund, and will not stop writing bad reviews everywhere I can until you do.
August 3, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
We are disappointed that despite our unwavering attempts to help you successfully complete your course, you have persisted in leaving negative reviews under multiple accounts across our business profiles. We have tried to address the matter privately, but after receiving an abusive response, we feel it is only appropriate to respond to the reviews you have left on various platforms.
Students have a 15-day trial period which begins on the date of enrolment. During this time, students have access to their full course and in the case of the Proofreading Course, all four assignments. The purpose of this trial period is to allow students the opportunity to read through the course content and to decide whether they wish to continue. If a student cancels their course in the trial period, they are issued a full refund of the fees paid on enrolment. As per the terms and conditions of enrolment, which you need to agree to before proceeding to payment, cancellation is not allowed outside of the trial period. We do state in the terms and conditions that the trial period can be extended on request, which you never approached us to do.
You have repeatedly stated that your tutor has ignored emails, returned assignments late and hasn’t attempted to help you. We have copies of all email correspondence so if you are missing any of your tutor’s responses, we would be happy to resend these to you. We are satisfied that your tutor has answered all queries within the set ten working day period and has never ignored your queries.
Even though we can see that your tutor has not done anything wrong, we did agree to your request to change your tutor. We explained that as model answers are used, it was unlikely a new tutor would change the grade awarded by the original tutor. We offered you the opportunity to revise your assignment and to resend it to the original tutor, or to a new one. We would never deny a student the opportunity to change their tutor, no matter the reason.
With regard to the £15 fee you are referring to, this is only charged if a student wishes to repeat an assignment for a third time in order to pass their course. Most organisations only allow students one opportunity to pass an assignment, so we do feel that offering a student two opportunities is generous. Assignments take on average, a couple of hours to mark; it is not unfair to request a marking fee if a student wishes to repeat an assignment for a third time. The £15 fee isn’t mandatory, students can choose to accept the lower Certificate of Completion instead of the Continuing Professional Development Certificate.
As an organisation, we have been transparent from the start and will continue to be, if you allow us the opportunity. We hope that you take the chance to revise your final assignment and hopefully achieve your Continuing Professional Development Certificate.
Writers Bureau Poetry Course
Prompt response from my tutor with useful guidance and suggestions. Excellent support and encouragement.
July 20, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Thank you for your review of our Poetry Course, Hazel. We are glad you are enjoying your course.
Is Your Sole Aim to be Published?
The Writers Bureau course attempts to do exactly what it describes from the outset, i.e. to get the writer published, however in my opinion it was to formulaic, and somewhat stifling in creativity. I was expecting I would be shown how to improve my fictional writing style after years of only ever writing technical reports. It did this to a point but within the confines of a formula.
I received copious amounts of useful and on some occasions blunt feedback from my tutor, which at times may have been justified. However I did not feel the course met my expectations.
The zoom groups in theory appeared to be a good idea, but logistically with participants being at various stages of different courses inevitably there was a lot of repeated information. Perhaps it might have been better with staggered zoom sessions, only inviting participants who were studying the same course at a similar entry time frame.
The course notes were helpful and plentiful with lots of useful guidance. The ‘Key Points’ pages especially useful. I feel sure that if someone joining the course with the sole aim of having work published it would be ideal. But if like me, writing as a pleasurable pastime, definitely less so!
July 18, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Hello Frank, thank you for taking the time to give us your review and feedback.
As you have said, our courses are designed to teach people how to produce writing that has the best chance of being published. We also show students how to find markets for their work and how to approach editors. The assignments are open enough so students can write about the subjects they are interested in and for the markets they choose.
However, we are also flexible to student requirements. For example, you elected to send in your own work for assessment rather than working on the set assignments. So, should a student want to work on their own project we can usually accommodate them.
If you want to be published, then you must play by the rules of the publishing world, and this can appear to be formulaic. We teach students what these rules are to give them the very best chance of being accepted. But as your aim is not to get published then this seems to be where there is a parting of ways of what you want from a course and what we provide.
The Zoom study sessions are for those who want to meet other students, chat about writing and work on their course together. These can be lively sessions with students swapping tips on how to approach assignments and find markets. Having students at different stages of their course in the same session is useful for this very purpose.
We also have the Zoom Writing Lunch/Supper on the third Monday of each month (except August) where a writing prompt is provided. We all write for half an hour then, those who want to, share what they have written. These sessions maybe more suitable for you and you’ll be welcome to come along. Even though you have finished your course assignments you can still attend Zoom sessions and be part of the Writers’ Community until September 2024.
Our Zoom writing workshops, where you are shown specific techniques, maybe more what you are looking for and our autumn workshop programme will be published shortly.
We are also planning a lecture series where professional writers will be talking about their writing journey and process. So, keep an eye out in the Writers’ Community for details.
We hope that you continue to enjoy your writing as a pleasurable pastime.
Fantastic course at a very modest…
Fantastic course at a very modest price. First Class tutors and a friendly and supportive writing community.
July 16, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Thank you for your review, Kay. We appreciate your feedback.
I am undertaking the course on creative…
I am undertaking the course on creative writing and whilst I am only at the beginning stages it has been fantastic. It has [provided me with much needed tips on writing and I am using them to hone my skills.
July 16, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Thank you for your review, Warwick. We hope you continue to enjoy your course.
There is little to no help on the…
There is little to no help on the proofreading and copyediting course. You are given a course which is 8 modules long of reading (which to be fair is informative), but only 4 marked assignments. The assignments have little variation, and don't cover everything included in the course. There is no support from the tutor, they simply exist to mark the work, not to help. The 'mistakes' in the assignments are arbitrary, not relevant to the real world, and so overly specific that you haven't a hope in hell of getting it right. I would say that 80% of the errors that you are supposed to find have nothing to do with grammar or spelling. I am completely irritated with this course, 2 weeks is not long enough to know whether it is going to be good or not, it's a complete scam and I demand a partial refund.
May 31, 2023
Unprompted review
An enjoyable course
After a spell out of work, due to a dehabilitating health condition, I decided to do the Proofreading and Copy Editing Course. This was partly to increase my chances of being able to work from home, and also to prove to myself I can still learn and concentrate.
I started it last September and have now just completed it. I so enjoyed it! It was really well structured with lots of self assessments, as well as the tutor marked assignments. Stephanie, my tutor, was very patient and on hand to clarify any issues. She marked the assignments very thoroughly with detailed feedback.
I am hoping to get some part time freelance work but I am also considering a writing course now!
August 31, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Thank you so much for your review, Christine. We are so pleased that you have enjoyed your course.
You are eligible for a discount on further enrolments, make sure you contact studentservices@writersbureau.com or call on 0161 819 9922 to find out how to save. We would love to welcome you back on a further course.
Typos in a £374 proofreading course!
I paid £374 for a proofreading and copy editing course, with two years to complete it including submission and return of assignments.
When I finally had suitable housing to comfortably undertake the coursework, I found a few typos within ten hours of study. I asked for a refund and was refused.
Please look for courses from the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading or a similar authority, if wanting to do this as a career or side hustle! I was a fool to be guided only by price (if it's expensive it must be good, right?! Ha.) and reviews of this school's writing courses. SPEND YOUR MONEY MORE WISELY THAN I DID!!
January 23, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from The Writers Bureau
Students have a 15-day trial period from the date of enrolment to review their course materials and decide whether or not to continue, this is clearly stated in our terms and conditions and in our promotional material. You made your request 19 months into your two-year enrolment, which is why your request was denied.
Proofreading isn't always black and white and sometimes, there are grey areas that come up and are subjective depending on the proofreader and their opinion. We have tried to enter into a discussion with you regarding the errors you say you have found and although you have said you would prefer not to, we are still open to this. Should you wish to complete the four assignments, you have until the 10th June 2023 to do so.
STAY CLEAR OF THE WRITERS BUREAU
Although I love my course, due to illness a house move, and other personal factors I haven’t gotten through it too well, I found the support atrocious, the accusing of ‘coping previous tutor into an email’ which was an email I only clicked onto to reply to, tutor already copied in by student services previous.
Then I asked for an extension, this was refused at the time because of the way they work basically, during a cost of living crisis and struggling on benefits there’s no help, even though initially upon purchasing my course there was a payment plan for £35 per mont at that time.
Then as student services changed me from the fiction to non-fiction section to try help out abit in working through it, I was told to complete an assignment and sent it in I’d be assigned a different tutor for the other section. Knowing the section I changed to and knowing what assignment it was, Megan, as she’s the one switched it and has been dealing with my emails, she actually went through my assignment which is a tutors job. I’ve studied all my life and continue to, with other courses and organisations, currently, and I have NEVER known student services to deal with actual assignment work. I believe, as well as had advice from others, Megan should of done what she said she was going to do and allocate my assignment to a new tutor, and allow the tutor go over my assignment and get back to me- as that’s a tutors job.
I suffer mental and physical health and I must say, this experience has made me quite sick with stress. I’ve also had a fibromyalgia flare due to this also. I would NOT recommend the writers bureau to ANYONE
I’m aware my language wasn’t the nicest in emails towards them in the end, but as explained above, with the situation and mental and physical health, the lack of support and empathy was all round, disgraceful.
Anyone, anywhere else has well-being support or some sort of help.
My mental health has failed.
Just because Megan is an ‘experienced advisor’ as said by Susie, doesn’t mean she’s any better, or more of a human being than anyone else.
I asked both of them to see their policy and they will not send it- this was advice from friends through social media and also a lady who has worked in a college. I’m also studying health and social care with the open university, and all assignments go through tutors. It’s not student services job to go through assignments otherwise tutors would be out of a job! I have said unless I see their policy I’ll be taking legal action as my health etc has deteriorated with stress. As of yet, no policy has been shown… STAY AWAY FROM THE WRITERS BUREAU PEOPLE, they don’t help with ANYTHING, and they think they’re more above you just because they’re ‘experienced advisors’.. so what? We’re all human and all bleed same blood, we’re all struggling in some way.. and they do not support you, offer help or nothing, nothing for wellbeing or anything!!
January 24, 2023
Unprompted review
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