#WriteMentor has been set up to give pre-agented writers the chance to work with an agented or published author and help develop their manuscript and their overall craft skills and abilities. There are many mentoring programmes out there, but ours differs in a few ways.
(1) Our mentors will offer a wide range of help, from query packages (synopsis, query letter and 1st 3 chapters) all the way up to developmental edits on your whole manuscript.
(2) Each mentor will offer something different, both in terms of input and styles and we hope our mentors will encompass a wide range of genres, styles and diversity within the publishing industry. For example, we are having four main types of input from mentors (though we are open to other ideas from mentors) –
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Query package (synopsis, query letter, 1st 3 chapters)
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First 10k/20k of manuscript
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Full manuscript developmental edit report (1 read through and report only)
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Full manuscript and redrafts until submission ready
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Other more tailored and specific mentoring
(3) We will hold an agent showcase at the end of the process for those who are selected as mentees and agents will look at the pitches and openings and potentially make requests to those manuscripts that look most exciting to them.
(4) We understand that we can’t mentor everyone, so as a mentoring group, we will produce some more generic writing advice and tips so that everyone can benefit, and not just the mentees.
(5) We particularly want to receive applications from mentees and mentors from around the world, where perhaps there are fewer opportunities for writers or mentorships. Do not self-reject, we want to read work from all parts of the world and backgrounds. However, unless a mentor states that they will accept work in other languages, all work submitted should be in English.
Full timeline
Mentor applications – now open until midnight Friday 20th April 2018.
Mentor bios on site – Friday 27th April 2018.
Mentee application window – Friday 4th May until Friday 11th May 2018.
Mentor reading and decision window – Friday 11th May until Thursday 31st May 2018.
Mentee selection announcement – Friday 1st June 2018.
Mentoring period – Friday 1st June 2018 until Friday 31st August 2018.
Agent showcase – Friday 7th September until Friday 14th September 2018.
