The WriteHive Mentorship Program is now open and I’m very excited to be mentoring again! Last year I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Hayley Chow’s Ninth Circle about teenage Ro fighting to find her friend after she was taken by a demon, and running into charming Casey who may have answers to all her questions…
Hayley was great to work with and here is what she said about working with me;
“I was lucky enough to have E.J. Dawson as a 2022/23 writehive mentor, and just, *wow.* My YA paranormal horror was still very rough, and although I knew it needed a lot of work, I was pretty directionless on how to fix it. Ejay was an editing miracle worker. Not only did she give me a top-tier edit letter that was incredibly detailed and encouraging, but she also brainstormed and discussed with me how to make changes to improve the problem areas while still maintaining my vision. Her writing craft and storytelling insights took my manuscript from a rough shadow to a fully-fledged adventure that resonated in my bones, and I’m 100% a better writer because of the things I’ve learned from her. Honestly, I cannot recommend her as a writing mentor enough!” – Hayley Chow
What I gave Hayley is exactly what I’m offering you;
- A complete read through of your novel
- A meeting to go over your expectations and my thoughts on what to tackle, and to discuss more on my method but why I also chose your novel to help shoo away any worries
- A manuscript delivered within six months (more like 3 but I say 6 because life can get crazy), with in line comments (and encouragement – Hayley was rewarded with cat vomit comments during her horror scenes – brilliant but ewwww, no thank you), and a developmental letter
- Another meeting to go through my feedback and any concerns
- The opportunity to give it back to me and for me to revise feedback based on your changes – time frame is dependent on my availability but I had Hayley’s back before the new program started
What I ask of mentee’s is something very basic but it requires a lot of work; to make your story the best it can be.
This may mean revising and strengthening character arcs, digging out plot holes, and filling them with substance so the story is strong no matter where you wish to submit it, or self publish it.
I’ll be an advocate of your story, but also you as a writer, to help improve your writing not just for this book, but for the next. See my Author Services feedback page for other reviews of my work, but also if you are still worried on how I can help you – and feel free to contact me with any concerns.
Applications are now open on WriteHive but they will close on the 26th of November so get your stories in now!
E. J. Dawson 