One more opportunity for your MS that I'm bringing to your attention before starting my annual, December Review-a-Day Countdown to the Holidays middle grade book review bonanza. I won't be posting writing news at all in December, and this mentorship program opens Jan. 1, so if you're interested, mark your calendar now.
My latest WIP is a women's murder mystery. I finished the rough draft and now I'm researching free mentoring opportunities for it, just like I've done for my YA and MG manuscripts. This is one that's interesting, the Spring 2021 Writer to Writer Mentorship Program.
In all the previous writing mentor contests I've posted about, none include creative non-fiction, poetry, screenwriting or adult fiction in lots of different genres.
This one does. So if you write any of those genres, this is for you! Plunk this opportunity on your calendar for early January, as the submission window is open Jan. 1-12, 2021.
I don't think it's quite as well-known as a Pitch Wars, for example, but the concept is the same: a writer of your genre picks your MS and you work with them. You learn, you grow, you revise based on feedback and your MS and writing gets better.
Mentee information to "Request a Mentor" is posted at this link. The application contains 11 questions and you submit 10 pages of your MS via Submittable. I wrote asking for the submission window dates, and the director of membership services, Kathy Ridenhour, graciously provided a PDF of the questions / application form you'll need to submit, so you (and I!) can work on the questions before the submission window opens.
W2W says it receives "between 300 and 400 mentee applications a season and 50–60 mentor applications. We are usually able to match 25-30 pairs."
Not bad odds, and if you write one of those genres where it's harder to find mentorship opportunities -- creative non-fiction, poetry, screenwriting or adult fiction --this may be perfect for you! It's FREE to mentees.
If you decide to apply, let me know. I'd love to hear about your experience, and I'll root for you! Good luck!
