Write your book.

The Manuscript Intensive is Writers in Progress' flagship year-long program for writers who are serious about completing or substantially revising a book-length manuscript.

Designed for writers with at least fifty draft pages already in progress, this intimate program welcomes novels, memoirs, essay collections, and short story collections. Combining structure, accountability, developmental editorial feedback, and a supportive community of fellow writers, the Intensive is designed to help participants move steadily from early draft toward a finished manuscript.

Limited to just six writers, the program offers a rare opportunity to spend an entire year immersed in one another's work. As the group grows increasingly familiar with each manuscript, feedback becomes richer, more nuanced, and more meaningful. Whether you're wrestling with structure or self-confidence, trying to sustain momentum through the middle of a book or preparing a manuscript for publication, the Intensive provides the deadlines, support, inspiration, and editorial guidance to help your work move forward.

Program Guidelines

Participants should have at least fifty pages of a prose manuscript in progress and be prepared to commit to the full year. Writers agree to meet all manuscript deadlines, read and thoughtfully critique one another's work in advance, and participate fully in the Friday evening/Saturday intensives and discussions.

Program Structure

The year includes seven manuscript deadlines: four Friday evening/Saturday craft and critique intensives, along with three additional email deadlines between intensives.

The intensive weekends meet on Friday evenings (6:00–9:00 p.m.) and Saturdays (9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.) at our beautiful Writers in Progress studio in Florence, Massachusetts, with simultaneous Zoom participation available for writers joining us from farther away. We use hybrid technology throughout the year, making the program equally welcoming to local and long-distance participants. (See below for dates.) Saturday intensives for in-person writers at the Florence studio are brown-bag lunches, with numerous cafés and restaurants within easy walking distance.

Each manuscript submission may include up to 43 double-spaced pages (301 pages over the course of the year). Manuscripts are distributed to all participants two weeks before each intensive to allow time for careful reading and thoughtful critique.

Individual Conferences

In addition to group feedback, each writer receives three private conferences with Dori throughout the year. These meetings provide an opportunity to step back from the pages themselves and consider the manuscript as a whole—its structure, trajectory, challenges, pitfalls and possibilities—as well as any questions of craft, process, productivity, or publishing that arise along the way.

Community and Additional Benefits

The Manuscript Intensive is much more than a workshop. Over the course of the year, writers become an invested creative community, encouraging one another through the inevitable challenges of writing a book.

Participants also receive:

• Weekly access to the Writers in Progress studio for shared writing time.

• A 20% discount on all additional Writers in Progress workshops and retreats during the year.

• A special discount on editing and consulting services with Dori for one full year following the program's completion.

• Discussions on publishing, querying, and the path toward finding an agent or publisher.

• A culminating public reading and celebration (date to be announced).

• New this year: Following each email deadline, we'll meet online for an informal one-hour conversation to reconnect, discuss where everyone is in the writing process, and maintain momentum between intensives.

Why a Small Group?

Unlike larger workshops, the Manuscript Intensive is intentionally limited to just six participants. This allows every manuscript to receive sustained, thoughtful attention from the group, as well as detailed written feedback throughout the year. Rather than responding to isolated excerpts, participants become deeply familiar with one another's books, allowing each round of feedback to build upon the last. The result is a level of continuity, accountability, and editorial depth that is difficult to achieve in traditional workshop settings.

A Proven Process

Over the years, dozens of manuscripts have been completed through the Manuscript Intensive, and many have gone on to publication.

Among them are Dinah Mack's Pirates of Cologne, Dusty Miller's Alice Ott Mystery Series, Ruth Lehrer's Being Fishkill, JoAnne Jones's Headstrong, Steve Bernstein's Stories from the Stoop, Don Lesser’s Crystal Springs, Elena Azzoni's Tizzy, Megan Tady’s Superbloom, and Dori Ostermiller's own novel, Outside the Ordinary World, along with many others.

Tuition: $4,500

Tuition includes:

• More than fifty hours of instruction and manuscript discussion

• Seven rounds of detailed editorial feedback

• Three private conferences with Dori

• Weekly studio writing time and bi-monthly check-ins

• Craft lectures, writing exercises, prompts, and handouts

• Publishing guidance

• Light refreshments during in-person sessions

A $500 deposit is due upon acceptance into the program. Tuition may be paid in installments throughout the year to accommodate individual budgets. Because this is a year-long commitment with extensive individualized feedback, participants are responsible for the full tuition once accepted into the program.

If overnight accommodations are needed for intensive weekends, Dori is happy to recommend nearby lodging.

How to Apply

Write a one page letter to Dori, describing your project, your progress to date, your short and long term goals, and why you believe the Manuscript Intensive Series is a good fit for you.  Email the letter, along with a 10 -15 pages sample of your manuscript, before November 15, 2026 to:

Dori Ostermiller
doriostermiller@writersinprogress.com

When applying, please pay your deposit as well.  If you are accepted, the deposit is non-refundable.  If you are not accepted, the deposit will be refunded in full.