As a writer who lives so far away from the publishing hubs of the world (which also happens to be in a country with a very unfavourable dollar exchange rate, sigh!), I am in awe of how many ways there are to still learn and improve your craft without having to spend huge amounts of money. All you need is a laptop and a good data connection. Proving that it is indeed possible, I was recently named as one of the lucky recipients of the prestigious We Need Diverse Books 2021 Mentorship under the picture book category! So what better way to kick off my #FreeWriterResources series than with a post about all the free mentorship opportunities that any writer the world over can apply for.
Disclaimer: Always be sure to check with the organisers for the most up-to date information.
Author Mentor Match
What it is: ‘Author Mentor Match pairs unagented, aspiring writers with mentors to help them with their manuscripts and guide them through the publishing process. AMM focuses on building lasting relationships. Mentors will help writers revise their manuscript before querying, give advice and tips on agents, and support through the process’.
Who it is for: Unagented MG, YA and (select) Adult writers
Submission window: January each year.
Mentorship period: Flexible
More info: http://authormentormatch.com/
RevPit
What it is: Via this edit-focused mentorship ‘authors will be eligible to receive feedback and developmental edits on their full fiction manuscript from professional editors, ensuring their works are polished and ready for those agent inboxes. Not only will authors be immersed in a supportive community of their peers, they will also have the chance to learn more about how their story fits into the industry and obtain an understanding of why different edits matter and how to continue practicing them in the future’.
Who it is for: Unagented and unpublished MG, YA, and Adult writers (no poetry, picture books, chapter books, short fiction, non-fiction or anything below 25,000 words)
Submission window: April each year
Mentorship period: 8 weeks
More info: https://reviseresub.com/annual-contest/
WriteMentor Summer Programme
What it is: ‘An application-based mentorship that you can apply for if you have a completed PB, CB, MG or YA manuscript that you’d like to develop with the intention of improving craft’.
Who it is for: PB, CB, MG or YA writers
Submission window: April each year
Mentorship period: 4 months
More info: https://write-mentor.com/mentoring-programme
#PBChat Mentorship
What it is: This mentorship hopes to ‘assist picture book creators who are unagented and traditionally unpublished (for picture books) on their journey toward publication by helping develop their craft, stories, and submission materials while arming them with business-related insight and information during the course of a free, three-month mentorship’.
Who it is for: Unagented and traditionally unpublished picture book writers and illustrators.
Submission window: June each year.
Mentorship period: Three months.
More information: http://justincolonbooks.com/
In 2019 I was lucky to be chosen as an ‘honourable mention’ by one of the mentors I had applied to, Hallee Adelman, someone I still maintain a relationship with to this day. So even though I wasn’t a mentee, I gained a valuable connection with an amazing person!
Pitch Wars
What it is: ‘Pitch Wars is a volunteer-run mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each to mentor. Mentors read the entire manuscript and offer suggestions on how to make the manuscript shine for the agent showcase. The mentor also helps edit their mentee’s pitch for the contest and their query letter for submitting to agents. Mentors can participate solo or pair up and co-mentor.’
Who it is for: Unagented and unpublished MG, YA, and Adult writers of fiction (No nonfiction, picture books, chapter books, novellas, or short fiction)
Submission window: September each year.
Mentorship period: Three months.
More info: http://pitchwars.org/
Write Team Mentorship Program
What it is: ‘WTMP is a mentorship program where writers will enter a weighted lottery to participate in #WTPitch, a Twitter pitch event. WTMP’s selected mentors and critiquers will like pitches as an invitation to send their submission package for review.’
Who it is for: Unagented and traditionally unpublished MG, YA, and Adult writers (No graphic novels, nonfiction/memoir, or poetry)
Submission window: November each year.
Mentorship period: Four months.
More info: https://www.writeteammentors.com/
If you are a diverse writer, do check out Part 2 of this post which features a list of mentorships specifically for writers from underrepresented backgrounds.
As always, thank you for reading 🙂
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