When you consider the odds, getting a novel published seems like a long shot. Literary agents receive up to 10,000 query letters a year and reject 98 percent of them. Of the novelists who do get agents, the vast majority are denied by publishers due to flimsy premises, poor structure and bad prose.

But don’t sweat it, because publishing is not a crapshoot; it's about great storytelling. Yours has got to pass muster and when it does, you're 98 percent there. If you're ready to beat the odds, we want you at Novel Boot Camp in the Jungle. This immersive writing retreat will help you hedge your literary bets. Get ready to:
  

• Solidify your premise via deep work on your novel's theme and on your protagonist's formative story and plot arc.
• Draft core structural scenes including the inciting incident, three turning points, and the story's conclusion (yep, you heard that right).
• Experience the evolution in your prose when you know the foundational elements of your story.
• Write thousands of publication-worthy words, inspired by your new clarity and focus.
• Allow Costa Rica's awesome beaches and lush jungle to springboard your creativity.

​Breakfasts, lunches, two chef-prepared dinners and lots more are included in the retreat fee--and there are accommodation and activity options to fit every budget and preference. Details, pricing, schedules, travel information and more are available here.

And get this: For every friend you bring to Novel Boot Camp, we'll kick back five percent of the retreat fee to both of you. How's that for Pura Vida?

Live chat, message or email your questions.

Dates are locked for the next Novel Boot Camp in the Jungle, and it's going to be bigger and better than ever! 10 intermediate to advanced novelists will head to Costa Rica from November 4-10 to drill into their characters, plots, themes and more, and make breakthrough after breakthrough on their works in progress. We've added an entire day and night to the retreat itinerary, which means more content, more writing and more time to explore Nosara, one of the most scenic and inspiring locations in Costa Rica.

This retreat has been lauded as "life changing," "an MFA in a week," "one of the best things I've ever done," "mind blowing," and more. We promise it will be the most impactful writing curriculum you've ever experienced--and an adventure you'll never forget.

We're your hosts, Doug Kurtz and Dan Manzanares, and we can hardly wait to get back down there and do this again! If you have questions about anything, don't hesitate to get in touch and we'll make sure you know exactly what you're getting into. Pura Vida!

Doug and Dan are finalizing dates for the next iteration of Novel Boot Camp in the Jungle, slated for November 2018 in Nosara, Costa Rica. We'll have everything locked down in the next week or so and will make the official announcement asap.

​In the meantime, visit the Novel Boot Camp page for details about what goes on down there. It's awesome, and will change you and your novel forever. For the better. Guaranteed.

How awesome was our March 2-8, 2018 Novel Boot Camp in the Jungle? Check out what the incredible writers who were there had to say:

"The curriculum was spot on in terms of what I needed to advance my novel. Spending that much time diving into the craft and drilling, drilling, drilling was kinda life changing..."

"The trip was one of the best experience of my life. To bond with fellow writers, to learn form and function of characters and plot development that you will never learn in a YouTube tutorial or find in any book was invaluable..."