Policies and Guidelines
Policies
Credit & Refund
Please refer to our fees below for credit or refund requests before the start date for a class:
| 10 Days or More | 3-9 Days | 2 Days or Less | |
| Credit | 10% Fee | 20% Fee | No Credit |
| Refund | 20% Fee | 30% Fee | No Refund |
The Writing Salon cannot offer refunds, credits, or makeup sessions for classes a student might miss.
In the event of an emergency, we may consider a refund or credit, whether partial or full. We review these requests on a case-by-case basis, and we ask that you notify us as near as possible to the start date for the class.
To withdraw from a class, please email hello@writingsalons.com. Include the following information in your email:
- Your full name
- Email address
- The name of the class and teacher
We don’t manage withdrawals over the phone.
Low Enrollment & Extreme Weather
If we must cancel a class for any reason (e.g., due to low enrollment or extreme weather), we will notify you at least 24 hours prior to the start date of the class. You can choose to transfer your registration to another class, receive a full credit, or take a full refund, whichever option you’d prefer.
Community Guidelines
The Writing Salon’s classroom policies are designed to strengthen our community and create a welcoming space where trust-building and mutual care contribute to everyone’s sense of belonging.
Community Space
A creative writing classroom is a dynamic setting consisting of participants with different backgrounds, learning styles, and writing experiences. You will be exposed to unfamiliar language and wide-ranging viewpoints as part of the creative process and sharing of work.
The Writing Salon wants all students to feel safe to write, express their ideas, and share their work. We also want you to feel united as a cohort of writers. To that end, we encourage you to be open-minded and considerate as you encounter diverse and even divergent approaches to the craft and study of writing. Bring a hopeful, caring attitude and a curiosity to group discussions and to the reading of classmates’ work. At the same time, remain conscious of your own voice, power, and privilege, aiming to ensure that, during class, everyone has a seat at the table.
The Writing Salon does not tolerate offensive language and behavior—whether racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise—that is designed to harm others and disrupt the class. Depending on the circumstances, the instructor may report disruptive incidents to Writing Salon staff and ask individuals to leave class.
Privacy & Confidentiality
Trust, privacy, and respect are central pillars in a creative writing classroom, enabling everyone to experiment more freely as creators and critical thinkers. To secure a trusting bond with classmates and to maintain a unified cohort, please do not disclose, publish or use any classmate’s personal information, ideas, or creative work outside of class without the expressed consent of that individual. At the same time, use care and restraint when sharing a classmate’s personal information, ideas, and creative work within the class itself and, in special circumstances, consider whether permission from that individual may be necessary ahead of time.
Language & Content Notification
In a creative writing class, you will sometimes encounter complicated and challenging topics and themes, both in published work and in the work of fellow classmates. It’s important to take care of each other, particularly when we share creative work and respond to each other’s work, for we all bring our own vulnerabilities and worldviews to the classroom.
We can protect and preserve our bond in a classroom by letting each other know about language and content, when necessary. While everyone has different levels of receptivity to language and content, The Writing Salon has found that a language and content notification is most helpful when using derogatory terms (e.g., racial epithets, homophobic slurs) and/or emotionally challenging content and sensitive topics such as abuse, rape, extreme violence, and suicide. We strongly encourage the use of language and content notifications when sharing creative work.
Language and content notifications should include a clear statement as well as accompanying notes or commentary, whether written or verbal. Additional commentary is often helpful in order for the group to support the writer. Apart from preparing readers for charged language and content, a language and content notification can prompt a valuable discussion that will help the writer with the delicate craft decisions that come up in a piece that is polarizing or emotionally challenging.
