¿Recently revised and updated, this mainstay of Tom¿s teaching offers you absolutely everything that you will need to see your work in print, no matter what it is that you want to write. Plenty of winning examples given, including query letters and submission packages.¿
Tom Bird has been hard at work proving, refining, and teaching his revolutionary approach to writing for nearly a quarter-century, which is longer than the total collective time Gabriele Rico (Writing the Natural Way - Tarcher Books), Julia Cameron (The Artist’s Way - Tarcher Books), Betty Edwards (Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain - Tarcher Books), and Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones - Shambhala) had put in before they wrote their best-selling books on writing and drawing.
A publicist for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seasons when the team last won a World Series, Tom’s breakthrough insight led directly to the sale of his first book, Willie Stargell (Harper & Row, 1984), which he, at the age of 26, co-authored with recently deceased Hall of Fame, big leaguer Willie Stargell. Tom began presenting writing courses based on his revelation at the University of Pittsburgh in 1984. Immediately, word spread about his unique ability to release students’ inner writer. The demand from those eager to benefit from his powerful techniques and principles has since led him to over 900 teaching appearances at over 90 different colleges and universities.
A prolific writer, as well as teacher, Tom has penned nine additional books since the publication of Willie Stargell, and his byline has appeared in dozens of publications. Subsequent books include KnuckleBALLs (Freundlich Books, 1986), co-authored with big league, Hall of Famer Phil Niekro; Hawk (Zondervan, 1996), written with future Hall of Famer Andre Dawson; POWs of WWII: Forgotten Men Tell Their Stories (Praeger, 1990); Fifty-Two Weeks or Less to the Completion of Your First Book (Sojourn, 1990); and Literary Law (Sojourn, 1986). He has also contributed to such distinguished magazines and newspapers as Parade, USA Today, The American Banker, The Pittsburgh Post Gazette and Sail. Recently, he recreated the experience of his revolutionary workshops in an interactive computer program for writers, The Author’s Den.
Tom’s continued success as a writer has led his work to be featured in USA Today, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Sun-Times and over 100 other publications. His writing has also been featured on most of the top nation’s news and interview programs including the David Letterman Show, The Tonight Show, CBS Morning News, The Today Show, The Charlie Rose Show, CBC, and the 700 Club. A year and a half ago, Tom founded the Ambassador University, a long-distance writing school from which he offers his Intensive Writing Program (IWP), that leads his students to the completion of his or her first two books in record time.
