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Learn How to Monetize Your Creative Interests with an Ascend Specialty Track
Study under field expert creatives and gain the skills, tools, and connections you need to make money doing what you love!
Choose the Ascend Specialty Track That's Right for You
SUMMARY: This program exists to provide sound, current teaching, training, and resources in all aspects of writing as a profession. Student should emerge from this course knowing industry language, professional expectations, and the actionable steps required to establish a writing career. Focus will be on understanding the foundational aspects of career writing, distinguishing personal themes and how to convey them effectively, understanding and choosing appropriate publishing options, becoming competent in industry terminology, discovering options for support and continual learning and networking, exploring platform/marketing options … all of which will rest on the premise of following the calling God, no matter what the profession, including writing.
- Learn what it takes to be a part-time or full-time professional writer (regardless of genre!) through instruction and resources
- Work under, and receive personalized feedback from, a professional writing mentor and publishing coach
- Learn from real-world writing experts, agents, publishers, and award-winning authors
- Learn the nuances of how to identify and write for your audience, the financial side of writing and how to make a living, methods of publication and more!
- Develop skills, tools, and a business plan for your writing career while also polishing aspects of craft
- Apply what you learn by creating a business plan in the form of a written proposal, which will prepare you for either self or traditional publishing
- Gain a foundation in digital marketing
- Work under and receive personalized feedback from, a professional digital marketing mentor and coach
- Learn from real-world marketing and entrepreneurship experts
- Learn how to conduct Market Research, leverage Branding, Messaging, and Positioning
- Develop skills in Copywriting, Social Media, SEO, Paid Advertising, Email Marketing, and Split Testing
- Apply what you learn by building a Strategic Plan based on Data and Market Insights and launching your very own Digital Marketing Business
- Substantially improve your videography skills through practical, hands-on instruction about storytelling, production, and editing.
- Receive customized feedback and instruction from a video professional
- Collaborate with like-minded videographers
- Apply what you learn by completing an internship and a robust set of hands-on videography projects, including professional videos for YouTube and Social Media, event recap videos, and/or documentaries.
- Complete a guaranteed internship with Unbound’s media team or with another organization of your choice
- Learn to make money from your art medium, whatever that may be
- Learn how to seek out resources, develop an achievable plan to improve your craft, and consistently level-up your skills
- Develop a strong theology of art
- Learn how to be a healthy artist: develop emotional resilience, avoid burnout, and create sustainable habits
- Receive customized coaching and feedback from an art professional
- Collaborate with like-minded artists
- Apply what you learn through a hands-on project or internship
Meet Ascend Specialty Track Instructors
Digital Marketing & Entrepreneurship Track with Trey Sheneman
TREY SHENEMAN is founder and CEO of Herald – a growth advisory firm for mission-minded brands. Over the last 15 years, Trey has led growth for several public figure brands like John Maxwell and Dave Ramsey, and national and international products ranging from the professional services arena all the way through to software and e-commerce. He has personally directed nearly $30M in advertising spend during that period and led teams producing nearly of $500M in revenue. He currently lives in Franklin, TN with his wife and two children. His greatest mission to love God, serve others, and help Faith-driven leaders understand how to unlock their God-sized potential.
Film Track with Abraham Chen
ABRAHAM CHEN has lived in the world of videography for over 10 years. He has traveled around the world working on projects from wedding films to YouTube videos to testimonial documentaries. He is an Unbound alumni and sees project-based education in action everyday as a videographer. He finds joy crafting creative ways to convey truth in stories that challenge and inspire.
Abraham is a proud native of New York City now transplanted to Sioux Falls, South Dakota with his wife Abigail. He is currently the senior videographer at 44i while also heading Resilient Art Productions. When he is not running a camera or editing, Abe is having fun catching up with friends around the world, analyzing films, sketching, or diving into anything sci-fi.
Art & Design Track with Sarah Shaw
SARAH SHAW is a graphic designer, fine artist, and entrepreneur with a passion for making ideas beautiful. Per her high school art teacher’s advice, “You can teach yourself art, but you won’t be able to teach yourself business,” she chose to pursue a business degree instead of a traditional art path, while developing her creative skillsets on the side. In 2019 she graduated with her B.S. in Organizational Leadership from Thomas Edison State University, and in 2022 she completed her M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Liberty University. Her professional experience spans from individual design contract work and salaried positions as a graphic designer and marketer to working as a full-time therapist.
In 2023, she decided to launch her own graphic design company, Inklivity. Her clients have ranged from authors, business lawyers, and holdings companies to non-profits and speakers. When she is not busy working, she enjoys exploring her home city, Richmond, VA, meeting up with friends and family, and binging podcasts.
To hear more of Sarah’s story, check out our interview with her.
To view her company website, Inklivity, click here.
Writing Track with Robynne Miller
ROBYNNE MILLER holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction and Fiction and a B.A. in English Literature. Agented with Books and Such Literary, she is the author of more than ten books and countless articles and essays, including Finding Common Ground: One Octogenarian’s Quest to Help our Nation Heal, The Three Faces of Nellie and her latest project, Tennessee Wildcat: On the Trail of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Mr. Edwards.
When she’s not writing, Robynne directs the Vision Christian Writers Conference at Mt. Hermon, coaches/mentors both beginning and advanced writers, works as a substantive editor, speaks at retreats, workshops, conferences, and events across the country, and teaches the professional writing track she developed for Unbound. She may or may not be slightly addicted to the musty smell of historic archives, where she blissfully rummages through land records, censuses, and newspapers, etc., hunting for previously unearthed tidbits of information.
She also enjoys adventuring with her amazing British husband and beautiful brood of adopted and biological children as well as leading worship, which she’s done for years in both the UK and the US.
Robynne has a passion for helping writers bring their stories and messages into the world, no matter where they are on their writing journeys.
But most of all, Robynne is utterly and unapologetically in love with the Savior who created, saved, and called her.
