Mentorship/Writing Coach

Do you need some professional one-on-one support to help you develop your writing quickly and easily? Perhaps you have a particular project, story or book that could benefit from the hands-on objective guidance of an experienced writing coach? Or maybe you simply need someone to keep you on track? Mentorship could be the answer! Whether you’re just starting out or already have a dozen manuscripts, mentorship can help you pinpoint exactly where you might be going wrong and what to do to improve, and it can ensure you meet any goals or deadlines on time. It can also be a lot of fun!

As a creative writing presenter, published author, freelance editor, book creator, and the leader of a serious critique group, I have decades of experience in developing manuscripts and helping writers achieve their goals, all in a positive and encouraging atmosphere. I also teach creative writing to adults, children and high-school students, and have an honours degree in English from the University of Birmingham. I have a lot of industry and technical knowledge to share! I also thoroughly enjoy working with writers to help them turn their ideas into stories or books, and bring their work to a publishable and competitive standard. In fact, I’ve been doing exactly that since I established my first writers’ group in 1991!

Is Mentoring For You?

Mentorship is all about having someone beside you as you attempt to take your writing journey to the next level. My clients love having me as their personal writing coach – just read my testimonials!

• Would you like someone to keep you on track while you’re writing?
• Perhaps you have a great idea, but don’t know how to get it on the page?
• Maybe you’ve drafted a work-in-progress, now need professional support from an experienced author to ensure it’s the best it can be?
• Have you read about my workshops or seminars but missed the opportunity to attend?
• Do you need to improve your technique or restructure a project to draw in more readers? I can pinpoint your weaknesses and strengths.
• You might have led an interesting life and want to chronicle it in a life story for future generations to treasure?

If that sounds like you, then please get in touch! It all starts with that simple step…

How Does Mentorship Work?

I mentor writers with all kinds of projects, from fiction to memoir and non-fiction. We start straight away with a mentoring session to discuss your project, review words already written, come up with a plan of action and schedule. What happens next varies from project to project, but can include:

Rockface (for those starting out): After we talk about your writing goals, you write or re-write an agreed section, then we meet up again to go through it and discuss. We repeat that process for the next agreed section, and so on, for as many sections as needed until you find your rhythm and know what you’re doing. As an author myself, I know how to develop story ideas from concept through to finished manuscript, can predict complications, and use my experience to help you achieve your personal writing goals. All along we talk about structure (and adjust it as needed), as well as the publishing industry and how to make your work marketable. I can help keep you on track and motivated.

Cut & Polish (for those with written drafts): After we establish where you are in your writing journey, we review sections of your manuscript together and discuss changes in real time. This develops your personal editorial skills, addresses structural and copyediting issues, and assesses your initial creation process – all while maintaining your unique narrative voice. I see my role as your ‘translator’, listening to your intended meaning and ensuring readers receive that. We also look at formatting ready for submission and/or publication, and whatever else needs to be done to produce a polished result. As a freelance editor and book creator, I can also share practical industry considerations and solutions to get your manuscript to the next step.

Windowfront (for those with polished drafts): Once your rewriting is complete, I can help you decide where and how to get your work published, from creating submission materials (synopsis, blurb, cover letter, query letter, elevator pitch, etc) and submitting to publishers, to considering self-publishing options (cover, layout, ISBNs, printing), author websites and social media platforms. This can vary according to format and platform choice, your intended market, and level of technical skill.

For everyone: At any time you can request help or ask questions, send me work to read, phone to chat through a problem, book a real-time meeting – whatever you need. I simply keep a track of my time and charge accordingly. If you’re interested, we can simply start with an hour and go from there! Contact me to get started.

Other Services:

Editing & Mentorship – If you need help editing your book prior to printing and publishing, please consider using my editing services.

Publishing Assistance – Ready to send your work out into the world? I can help with publishing options, layout designs, as well as promotional items.

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