About the Course Creator...
Marg
McAlister
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For
the past seventeen years, Marg has run a successful writing business:
Word Dynamics (NSW) Pty Ltd (also trading as Writing
For Success). Her first website for writers, established
eight
years ago, was
www.writing4success.com, followed by
the Writing For Success Newsletter, which
quickly became popular with writers all over the world. This
also had its own site, but in February 2005 this newsletter
morphed into the information-packed
www.Writing4SuccessClub.com which housed over 400 articles
on writing, popular columns and e-books on writing - but with
the advances in technology, Marg decided to make it even better.
She closed the doors temporarily and rebuilt it from scratch,
adding more features (including forums, videos, podcasts and
social networking pages) ready for 2009.
Marg
is the author of five correspondence courses marketed by Cengage in Australia (courses originally written for the
Australian College of Journalism before they became absorbed into
Thomson Education Direct, then Cengage). Those courses are: The Professional Romance Writer's
Course, The Professional Children's Writer's Course, The Professional
Crime and Suspense Writer's Course, Writing Non-Fiction That Sells
and How To Write a Bestseller. She is a Senior Tutor for
a number of students in these courses.
| Marg also uses her writing skills
and background to create e-books and products in a
number of different areas as part of the online
business she runs with her husband Rob. She spent 2
years working part-time as an eLearning consultant
and technical writer for a large multinational
company.
A writer
who wears many hats, Marg has written fiction and non-fiction for
both adults and children. She was on the Committee of Romance Writers
of Australia for four years, and has run workshops at various RWA
National Conferences.
The author of over 50 books for children,
she has written short stories for school magazines, a set of worksheets
for schools as part of a $5 million multimedia project and numerous
short non-fiction pieces for educational publications.
Her work
targets a wide age range and includes picture books, short books
for children with reading difficulties and mysteries for older children.
For 5 years, she was part of the Charles Sturt University
(Mitchell) Enrichment Program, teaching creative
writing to talented children. She has also been a regional judge for the Nestlé Write Around
Australia competition. |
ABOVE:
Marg's
expertise in creating characters led to a request
from Rigby to write a book for children for their
Fast Tracks Series, "Tracking Through Series
Characters". |
As
for advice on plotting and technique... Kathryn Fox, the
Australian writer whose sales in the UK finally knocked The
Da Vinci Code off its perch, has this to say about Marg's
contribution to her writing: "Without
doubt, Marg McAlister is the best writing teacher and mentor any
writer could hope for. I'd recommend her courses to anyone
wanting to improve their writing."
In addition,
Marg
has been a ghostwriter for business professionals and others on
the international speaking circuit. She has written books and articles
on Customer Service, Public Speaking, Marketing, Real Estate Sales,
Networking and Delivering Dynamic Presentations and many other subjects.
With networking expert Robyn Henderson, Marg has co-authored a book
on networking and self-promotion: Be Seen, Get Known, Move Ahead.
Marg
has also been a staff member of the Writer’s Retreat
Workshop in Kentucky, USA. This workshop, established by Gary Provost,
has been designated by USA Weekend as the writing program “vacation
that can change your life”.
In 2010, Marg and
her husband Rob will be touring Australia by caravan: writing
articles, keeping a blog and presenting a monthly DVD for a
popular magazine - proof that writing truly is a portable
profession!
You
can contact Marg at marg@ writing4success.com
