The Book Incubator™ is a 12-month, selective program to help you write, revise, and pitch your novel or memoir.
We will:
mulling over ideas, four chapters in, or on your fourteenth revision.
We’ll customize your entry plan so you can come in at any point in our cycle below, and we’ll stick with you until you get a book deal:
Who This Program is For
From the founder, Mary Adkins
Mary Adkins
Founder of The Book Incubator™
Program Writing Instructor
3x Novelist with HarperCollins
Hi, I'm Mary! It took me 6+ years of writing and rewriting my first novel before it was good enough to get an agent, so I built the program I wish I'd had. I can't wait to work with you.
Rufi Thorpe
Program Revision Instructor
PEN/Faulkner & Kirkus Prize Finalist
Author of Margo's Got Money Troubles, now an Emmy-winning Apple TV series
Hi, I'm Rufi! After years of teaching creative writing, I kept wanting to build my own program—then I found The Book Incubator™, which was already exactly that. When Mary asked me to teach alongside her, it was a dream come true. I can't wait to get to know you.
Greg Marshall
Program Memoir Instructor
Author of Leg, Lambda Literary Award Finalist & a Washington Post Best Book of 2023
Hi, I'm Greg! I live in Austin with my husband and our son. I'm not one of those people who says "memwah," and I don't think you have to be famous to have a story worth telling. I can't wait to hear yours.
You’ll also partner with an editor to go in-depth on your manuscript, including brainstorming, drafting, and polishing—along with a full-read of your manuscript.
Our roster of editors includes award-winning authors, current and past agents, and former editors from:
Finally, you’ll perfect your book’s pitch with our in-house literary agent.
Teaching not found anywhere else.
The practical lessons we teach for writing a good book are original to us and go far beyond “show, don’t tell.” We offer actual strategies to write a good book—because we know that demystifying the process is not a compromise of the art. The idea that writing is an opaque gift you either have or don't is exactly what keeps most people out of it.
Built to save you time, not take up more of it.
We help you fit writing into your already busy life. You will take what excites you, and discard what gives you cold sweats. You will also not be asked to read other people’s work or watch hundreds of hours of video. You’ll spend your time writing, and learning what makes your own writing better.
Feedback from editors only, not peers.
We know from experience that the traditional writing workshop, where peers swap feedback on each other’s work, is like getting a bunch of aspiring pilots together in a room and having them discuss how they think they should fly a plane. In The Book Incubator™, you’ll only get feedback from the same professionals that publishing authors work with.
Whether you’ve never taken a creative writing class or have an MFA, the former acquisitions editor at Penguin Random House is here to brainstorm your book with the same enthusiasm and insight.
Selective, not hierarchical.
We do choose who joins our community (see application, below), but once you’re in, we’re on your team forever—there’s nothing you don’t have access to, and we don’t hand-pick who gets certain publishing support.
All types of books, welcome.
Unlike traditional MFA programs, we reject a hierarchy of genres and believe that great books can be commercial, literary, and everything in between. Writers in all genres are part of our community (and we’re pretty big fans of plot).
We have so much we want to tell you about the program.
If you’re accepted, we’ll send over details, including:
We share these details after you're accepted so we can give you context and show you how it all fits together. We’ll also offer a call to answer all of your questions. This allows our small team to focus their attention on accepted applicants.
We'll get back to you within 72 hours (yes, a real person reviews these!), and we'll also send you the free template for The Four Notebooks Method™.