Custom Detroit Writing Room Workshops

Does your team need to brush up on their writing skills or enhance their storytelling techniques?

Our writing coaches are here to help you!

We offer custom workshops for businesses, nonprofits, schools and internship programs. Workshops can be over Zoom or in-person. See some of our sample workshops below!

Op-Ed Writing & Pitching

The Detroit Writing Room's Op-Ed Writing & Pitching Workshops helps business owners, nonprofit leaders and other professionals write effective editorials that advance their organization’s goals and target key audiences. DWR founder Stephanie Steinberg and coach Laura Berman will share editorial writing strategies, how to pitch to media outlets and ways to promote your op-ed after publication. Participants will receive sample editorials and a resource guide.

Pitch Perfect: How to Get Your Story Noticed by the National Media

Are you a PR professional, entrepreneur, writer or someone else eager to know what it takes to get your brand or idea noticed by a national media outlet? What subject lines stand out? What story ideas resonate? How long, short, detailed or vague should you pitch be? Should you call, text, or email? How much do connections matter? How do you even get an editor's email to begin with? Learn it all from journalist and New York Writing Room coach Anna Medaris. She’ll offer live critics of pitches you’ve sent or ones you’re hoping will catch a reporter’s attention. This workshop is virtual only, unless you’re based in New York.

AP Style Tips

Review proper grammar and style for press releases, business communications and more with writing coach Krishnan Anantharaman. Krishnan has decades of journalism experience as a Wall Street Journal and Automotive News editor. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn about all the new AP Style rules like the change from “percent” to “%” and review all the guidelines for possessives, numerals and punctuation within quotes. Participants will receive an AP Style take-home quiz to test their knowledge and improve.

Sharing Your Story

This workshop with writing coach Anna Clark focuses on the public part of storytelling. How do you get your story "out there" and adapt your story to different formats and audiences? You’ll learn how best to work with journalists, community members and others. We will break down what it means to build relationships, the modern-day way of handling press releases, "live action" storytelling at events and in-person meetings, and how to use social media to share your story in a way that is compelling, consistent and credible. Whether you’re a company, nonprofit or grassroots organization, you’ll explore how your stories best fit into the broader ecosystem of the news. Participants will go home with a tip-sheet for a range of tools and resources that will aid their work.

Get Hired: Resume & Interview Essentials

Applying to jobs or internships? HR professional and Detroit Writing Room career coach Phil Dean will share everything you need to know to land the job of your dreams. This workshop outlines resume and cover letter essentials, and covers how to successfully present yourself in a job interview — whether it’s virtual or in person. This workshop is geared toward students looking for their first job and is great for schools or summer internship programs that want to offer career development opportunities.

Testimonials

“Working with The Detroit Writing Room was a seamless experience for Planet Detroit. Their expertise in Op-Ed writing helped educate the environmental organizations we work with to articulate their ideas more effectively. A game-changer for our partners, and we hope to work with them again soon!” — Nina Ignaczak, Planet Detroit editor and founder

“Anna is clearly passionate about writing, was very articulate and a good presenter, we enjoyed her and her presentation very much. The workshop focused a lot on how to get our stories out to other people to tell. It was all great information and valuable to our nonprofit partners.” — Lindsay Sheckler, Community Foundation of St. Clair County