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Over the years we have heard from thousands of graduates who have started new careers, developed their own businesses, become successful writers, or simply changed their lives after graduating from our Colleges. Read some of their stories below.
"After six years of working in an office,
the advert from the Australian College of Journalism prompted me to follow
my dream. Just a few months later, I now consider myself a freelance sports
writer (who still works a bit to make ends meet) rather than an office
worker who writes as a hobby. And with determination and hard work, you
certainly can too.
I felt the Sports Writing diploma
didn't teach me to write; it taught me to write professionally and then
successfully market the results. It taught me copywriting skills to turn
my sloppy prose into a credible piece of writing. It taught me how to
generate article ideas, research the subject matter and tailor my proposal
for the intended publication. And it taught me how to approach editors
with professional-looking submissions and leave them dying to hear more.
I particularly found the excellent
tips and advice from the professionals very useful, as well as all the
support I received from my personal tutor. In short, this course will
give you all the necessities to think, look and act like an expert writer.
But to be honest, the way the course
assisted me most was to give me confidence and self-belief - the confidence
to portray myself as a professional freelance writer to potential employers.
Whereas before I wouldn't have dared calling the editor of my favourite
magazine, now he's a business contact and even he rings me!
And the result: within three months
of starting the course, I started to tell people I was a freelance sports
writer (a very satisfying feeling). Only six months from starting the
course and I'm even starting to believe it!
My first published feature was in
the national magazine Soccer International and I'm now one of their regular
contributors. As a soccer fanatic, I always wanted to concentrate on writing
about the sport I love and although the course encourages you to think
broadly, there is still backing for becoming a specialist.
My second feature was published by
a New Zealand soccer magazine, for which I was paid $250 for a 1000-word
story. With constant subject research and imaginative ideas, I see no
reason why I can't become a regular contributor for overseas publications
too. I certainly plan to. To date,
I have been published in three countries and made contact with editors
in Canada, Singapore and the UK among others. I now work just two days
a week on my 'regular' job to enable me to dedicate enough time to keep
following my dream. Only now, for me, it's a reality.
Work hard and best of luck!"
"I have a Bachelor of Creative Arts
and I majored in creative writing, so I was confident that I knew how
to write. I had left a full time job to have a baby and now that I was
a 'stay at home Mum' I really wanted to find a way of turning my writing
skills into profit. This was where the Advanced Freelance Journalism course
through the Australian College of Journalism became my new best friend.
The tutorials were easy to follow, and being able to work at my own pace,
I could study in between caring for the baby. It was also great not having
the pressure of worrying about due dates for assignments, and if things
got too hectic with the baby, I could just take a break from study and
come back to it later. Perhaps the most useful information I learnt was
the best way to approach publications and what to do to increase my chances
of selling articles. As a result a magazine has accepted an article and
another has been published online with the Sydney Morning Herald. Without
this course I never would have had the confidence. For me the course helped
develop a whole range of different writing skills and it has put me on
the path towards working from home doing something I love."
"Seeking a fresh start, juggling parenting and part-time work, the opportunity to enter into correspondence education in editing and proofreading was a major boost, both as an individual and in the capacity to earn an income from home. And the exhilaration and challenge of having a script before me to mark has only come about because it was made possible through the Australian College of Journalism - and for this I am deeply thankful."
"Three years ago I decided to change
my life. It was time to do something new, to dust off my daydreams and
see what could be made of them. Writing
- being a journalist was a secret ambition for many years, I'd read the
contributing writers lists in the front of glossy magazines and newspapers
and wonder enviously how they did it, could I do it?Could I write articles
that people would want to read and magazine editors would incredibly want
to buy? Like most people I could write tolerably well when I needed to
- but unlike so many people today, I actually enjoyed doing it!A pleasure
in writing, a desire to write and of course those daydreams, were all
the qualifications I needed to enrol in the ACJ Freelance Journalism Correspondence
Course.
The desire to write is one thing -
actually writing is quite a different matter. It requires that most elusive
of qualities, discipline. The discipline to actually do it and not just
dream about it! But from my very first course assignment the benefits
of the structure of the course became evident, and doubts about disciplining
myself to produce the required assignments disappeared. I really enjoyed
the challenge of creating my own deadlines for submitting work and deciding
on my own work pace. I felt I was actually studying and working as a freelance
journalist would from the very start, producing work and editing it in
solitude for my course tutor's assessment, just as if he was an editor
of a magazine!
The relative anonymity of a distant correspondence course was an unfounded
concern - I quickly realised it was one of the most valuable attributes
of the writing course. As a freelance journalist and writer, one rarely
meets the editors who accept or reject your work; you rarely get a second
chance to present an article or story idea so your words must speak precisely
for themselves and for you, their creator.
As in the real writers world, the course tutor assessed my work with the
critical, commercial eye of an editor. I soon realised that only my best
work would get a favourable comment and as a result of learning to edit
my work to the College's high standards, the articles I write now rarely
require publishers editing.
I loved the variety of 'real' assignments and to this day still refer
to the course notes and tutorial information to help me with my current
work. The course encouraged me to work hard and to rewrite or improve
my assignment articles as suggested. As a result I even managed to have
one of my 'improved' assignment articles published and paid for during
the course, at great benefit to my writing confidence of course! The information
and assignments on contacting and writing or emailing magazines and editors
was also a real life exercise and helped me find my own comfortable way
of developing a rapport with those rare and elusive editors. By the end
of the course I'd managed to have several articles published!
Since completing the course two and a half years ago, I've successfully
included my life long love of travel and a past career in the fashion
industry in my new life as a freelance journalist and travel writer. My
work has been published in National and overseas magazines and newspapers.
Freelance journalism has given me the opportunity and freedom to indulge
the other passions in my life, which are the source of much of my writing
inspiration. Travel and my frequent visits to India are a favourite source
of writing ideas, and an interest in fashion and lifestyle topics result
in regular article commissions. I really felt that I had made the transition
to professional freelance journalism and writing when recently invited
to visit Southern India as guest of the government tourist office to write
about travel destinations!
Studying and completing the ACJ freelance correspondence course is one
of the best life decision I ever made. It gave me the confidence to write,
it taught me how to be a professional freelance writer, and most importantly
helped make my dream a reality!"
"After completing the Children’s
Writing Course my writing career took off. The course gave me confidence
in my own abilities as well as adding the needed polish to my work. The
feedback from my tutor Marg McAlister was invaluable.
My first article published by Comet magazine was an article I wrote for
one of the assignments and my junior novel Uncle Alien started its life
as assignment twelve. When an amazing chain of events lead me to being
offered the position as Children’s Editor for Banana Books, I immediately
turned to ACJ and enrolled in their Proofreading and Editing Course to
provide me with the much needed grounding in the field I was about to
plough into."
A primary school teacher for over
twenty years, Sue presently divides her time between teaching Reading
Recovery, writing stories for young people and working as Children's Editor
for Banana Books. Sue's first book, Mistie's Magic, was published in 2000
by The Book Company Publishing.
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Sue now has over forty books published or accepted for publication, both for the education and trade markets as well as numerous published articles in children's magazines. Her most recent books include Uncle Alien a novel for 8-12 year olds and Please got to Sleep a picture book for 3-6 year olds, both published by Banana Books. Her hard cover picture book Taming Butterflies, illustrated by Mini Goss, was released in March 2002. Since then Sue has had numerous books published." |
"I graduated from ACJ about six months
ago and I'm absolutely thrilled. My tutor, Simon Townsend, was excellent.
I've had several articles published already, in both Australian and New
Zealand publications.I really want to thank ACJ - the course was exceptional."
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Shontara has already released her first publication The Angel Within and is looking to release her second publicationThe Apostles. |
Here is how success began for Jill:
"Write for children? No sweat!
To me that meant tossing off a cutesy story and then thumbijing through
the yellow pages to find the name of someone (anyone!) who published children's
books.
On dear! If it hadn't been for the Professional Children's Writer's course,
I'd still be sending off picture book manuscripts (single spaced in blue
ink) to publishers specialising in technical manuals and wondering why
I was being rejected!
There is so-o much to learn about
writing for children. The delight of the Professional Children's Writing
Course is that it presents the information in a structured format and
an accessible, chatty style. What else would one expect from successful
author, Marg McAlister - who just happened to be my tutor for the course!
The course transformed me from an
enthusiastic wannabe to a published writer in eight months. It taught
me how to give my manuscript a professional look (I had to ditch the blue
ink and the cartoons on the envelope!), and how to find the right publisher
for my story.
Above all it taught me about the craft
of writing. Point of view, internal monologue, pacing, voice, chapter
hooks ... I'd never heard of them! The course learning materials not only
explained what these essential elements meant, they provided plenty of
examples and anecdotes to reinforce the message.
Today I am writing full-time for the
children's educational market. Before I had even finished the course,
I was holding my own published books in my hand. What a buzz! My tally
so far is forty-five readers, 6 Big Books, four poems, a short story and
a non-fiction article. All this in the twelve months since I began the
course.
My tutor's support and enthusiasm
kept my passion alive. With each new success, I still hear her friendly
voice in my ear saying, 'Go girl!'."
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Since commencing the course, until now, Jill has been inundated with offers to write for the children's educational market. Jill's success in children's educational writing, her background in teaching, numerous qualifications and broad industry experience, coupled with her outstanding performance as a student, eventually brought her to the attention of her tutors and the College. Jill is now a practicing tutor with the Australian College of Journalism. |
"After raising five children over the
past twenty years, I decided to pursue my lifelong passion to be a successful
writer. The courses on offer at the Australian College of Journalism appealed
to me because I could work from home at my own pace. I enrolled in the
Freelance Journalism course and while I was waiting for my first tutorial
to arrive, I typed up a story I'd wanted to write for some time. I sent
that story back to my tutor Carolyn Beaumont along with my first assignment.
Carolyn was so impressed with what I'd done that she encouraged me to
send my story off for publication. I sent it to The Age and the editor
bought it straight away for $400.00. You'll just have to imagine how I
felt because no words can describe it.
I continued with the course and not long after, I sent off another story
to The Age. Yep, sold that one as well - another $400.00. Well by this
time I was thinking my luck must have run out. But I was wrong. When it
came time to do the assignment on celebrity writing, I was groaning. I
had no interest in that genre of writing and was wondering how to approach
it. When I sent off my idea to Carolyn to interview writers and ask them
one question - What's the most important lesson you've learnt as a writer
- she sent me back her approval for it. Well that assignment became a
2000 word feature and ended up on the front page of The Saturday Age Extra.
I was paid $1000.00 for that one which meant I well and truly covered
my course fees.
I graduated from the course and now have my Diploma of Freelance Journalism
as well as a Freelance contract with The Age. With the help of ACJ I've
been able to gain entrance into the Professional Writing and Editing course
at RMIT. This course is highly regarded in the industry and is extremely
difficult to get into. I intend to continue working as a Freelance Journalist
as well as continue with my writing studies. I'm so grateful to my tutor
and ACJ for helping me to gain the knowledge, expertise and confidence
to fulfil my dream."
Following
is an extract of a letter to the College as emailed to the Principal:
“Should I? Shouldn’t
I? For months I had debated the wisdom of enrolling with the Australian
College of Journalism. After all, I already felt overloaded with my natural
therapy studies, my interests in painting, and a part-time job. But my
dream of writing, that had nagged at me since childhood, refused to shrug
its shoulders, admit defeat and slink away. I had proof of the quality
of courses that the college was offering. My partner had previously enrolled
in the Journalism course, and had promptly found full-time work shortly
after finishing it. But in my mind, he really could write. Surely, my
daydreams were just that?
Should I? Shouldn’t I? Then of course, there was the money issue.
I could always put the money towards some curtains, or a new jumper, or
another fifty books to add to my already overloaded house of books. Except
the courses weren’t that expensive, and my partner was already earning
a lot more than he had previously invested in the courses, and gee, now
they were offering a cut price special and ... How many shoes and jumpers
can one person own?
I’ll never forget the excitement of receiving my first course lessons.
Finally something that I could study at home that was enjoyable and challenging.
At first it was frightening, exposing myself in print for my tutor to
read. WHAT IF SHE THOUGHT I WAS THE WORLD’S WORST WRITER??? But I
very soon relaxed when I received her warm, insightful, encouraging feedback
letters. Suddenly going to the post box became a highlight of my fortnight.
I was enjoying the course so much that I began sending the lessons back
slowly, so that I could savour them longer.
My tutor, Marg McAlister, assumed almost mythic proportions in my mind.
Her skills at tutoring, at editing my work and giving me direction and
inspiration were beyond what I could ever have envisaged prior to enrolling
under her. She also took the time to include in the lessons information
on writing and writers that only fuelled the fire within me. I still give
thanks every day for her wisdom, her guidance and her being a catalyst
that helped to make my childhood dreams come true.
I’m now about to send my final lesson to Marg, and I feel quite emotional
about it. Silly really, when I will definitely re-enrol in another course
down the track with her. So lesson 12 is about to be sent, and I have
already achieved much, much more than I could ever have dreamt of from
saying yes to the “should I” question.
Halfway through my course, I was runner up for the Scarlet Stiletto award
for my short story, ‘Bait’. Then another short story that I
wrote, ‘Wings’, was accepted for publication for the Partners
in Crime 2000 Anthology. And I have just signed a three-book deal with
Simon & Schuster for my fantasy trilogy, The Circle of Nine Series.
Book One, Circle of Nine will be out this November 2001. Bride of the
Stone will follow in 2002, and then A Fire in the Shell will be published
in 2003. It is purely thanks to the Australian College of Journalism and
Marg McAlister that I reached the standard so quickly to allow me to be
published in the very competitive arena of fiction publishing in Australia.
A wonderful agent, Selwa Anthony now represents me, and I am in the process
of having my website designed for me. I have made new friends who are
also writers, or who share my writing interests.
Since enrolling in the course, I have become incredibly disciplined with
my writing, thanks to the motivational side of the courses. I now write
every day, in between pinching myself that my dreams have come true.
If I had ignored the whispers of my soul, and not signed up to commit
myself to the course, none of the above would have happened.
If you are like me, and you are thinking should I? Shouldn’t I? I
can only say, YES! Don’t even waste time contemplating! Enrolling
with the College of Journalism was like opening a doorway, and falling
into a wonderful world of imaginings and powerful words.
Words that had the ability to change my life for the better. However,
even if I had not had the incredible fortune to find myself hearing those
magical words over the telephone. ‘They have bought your three books,
congratulations!’ I still would have gained immeasurable ways from
the beautifully structured courses.
If you’re thinking should I? Say yes!”
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Josephine Pennicott is now a successful
author and highly-regarded writer. Josephine achieved a three-book
contract with renowned publishers Simon & Schuster to write
a fantasy-supernatural trilogy. |
"'After completing the Freelance Cartooning
& Illustrating Course, I was extremely satisfied with the level of
tuition and the amount of knowledge I obtained. At the beginning of the
Course, I was a little skeptical at what could be achieved in just twelve
weeks. I expected to be taught the basic way to draw cartoons and the
theory. But, I was pleasantly surprised.
The Course was an intensely practical insight into the business of cartooning
and illustration - better than I ever thought possible. The Course was
very well compiled by professionals in the industry who gave me their
first-hand knowledge of what to expect and what to do.
I especially liked the Course because it was well set out with all of
the lessons easy to follow and understand. I also enjoyed each of the
practical assignments and looked forward to receiving my tutor's comments.
My tutor was very friendly and extremely helpful. He provided invaluable
assistance in my work, critically analysing it and suggesting ways of
improving my cartoons and illustrations.
I have always been interested in the field of cartooning but I never really
knew how to seek employment or how to approach prospective clients or
negotiate appropriate fees. However, the Freelance Cartooning & Illustrating
Course has given me all this information and more.
I also found the Media Listings extremely helpful - over three hundred
potential clients interested in cartooning and illustration; from newspapers
and magazines, even to where to sell greeting card ideas and what you
can be expect to be paid.
For any young and aspiring cartoonist or illustrator, I truly recommend
this Course as an excellent place to obtain the appropriate knowledge
to seek employment. I found the Course was designed to get me published
as quickly as possible, but also very rewarding."
Tony Lopes now works full-time as a Freelance
Cartoonist and Illustrator from his home studio in Sydney. Tony has become
so successful he as awarded a Stanley from the Australian Cartoonists'
Association for Best Comic Strip 2001 and 2000, and Best Single Gag for
2002.
"The synopsis was a real challenge
... thank you for helping me throughout this enjoyable course! I am inspired
to continue a career in writing.
Thank you!"
Tara Moss is an internationally renowned
model and now author who honed her writing skills with the Australian
College of Journalism, where she graduated with her Diploma of Professional
Writing (How to Write a Bestseller).
Tara won the Scarlet Stiletto Young
Writer Award for her short story Psycho Magnet and is now the bestselling
author of the novels Fetish and Split. At fourteen Tara
began working as a fashion model but she has since pursued her dream of
becoming a writer by completing the Writing a Bestseller course
with the Australian College of Journalism, which led to Tara becoming
a member of the New South Wales Writers' Association, The Crime Writers'
Association of Australia, and Sisters in Crime.
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Read more about Tara's success on her website: www.taramoss.com.au |