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Writing About Health and Beauty

Health and beauty writing is a growing area in publishing, covering a wide range of topics from chronic illness, mental health, and preventative strategies to beauty routines and new therapies and products. This eight-week course, taught by award-winning journalist Estelle Erasmus [co-author of Beautiful Skin (Adams Media)], offers strategies, tips, and tricks on how to brainstorm the next big topic, pitch to online and print publications, and research and find credible experts to build your story from the ground up. The instructor will directly work with you on pitches, essays and articles, and brainstorm topics. During the course, you will receive recorded video interviews from seven editors who cover health and beauty with insight and advice on submitting, and new interviews are added each semester. These include editors from top publications such as The New York Times, Glamour, AARP The Magazine, and GH. You also will interview and build connections with working experts in the health and beauty field. Whether you are a blogger, a new writer, or a published author looking to update your skills, you will leave this class with one service piece, ready-to-publish personal essay, or hybrid essay/reported piece on health or beauty. Previous participants have published articles and essays generated in class in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Next Avenue, Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Daily News, Wired, GH, and more. Health and beauty editors are in the field searching for writers with good stories. Why not let that writer be you?
This course is delivered in an online, self-paced (asynchronous) format. The instructor interacts with students and facilitates group discussions within NYU’s online learning platform. There are weekly deadlines for lesson and assignment completion. Additionally, the instructor will periodically schedule optional live Zoom meetings that will be recorded. Students will have access to view all recorded sessions.

More details

You'll Walk Away with

  • A ready-to-publish personal essay or reported piece on an in-demand health or beauty topic
  • Strategies for writing, pitching, and selling your articles on the freelance market

Ideal for

  • Writers of all levels
  • Current and aspiring freelance writers and journalists
NO open sections available for this course at the moment. Please check back next semester.