1:1 Mentoring

As well as the workshops and retreats, Andy and Yvonne offer one-to-one mentoring and editing services to help you achieve your writing potential. Whether you’re looking to kickstart your project, improve the manuscript you’re already working on, or get a finished draft in the best possible shape to send to your publisher, we can assist you on the creative journey.

We offer editorial advice on memoir, narrative non-fiction, personal essays and writing that might be described as an academic/trade hybrid. From getting started and staying motivated to editing the final manuscript, we’ll guide you on any aspect of the creative writing process. Our mentoring programmes are described below, but we are flexible so, whatever your needs, do get in touch and we can discuss how we can best help. The prices quoted are for guidance only – we tailor make our service to you, and will fit with your budget if we can, so drop us an email and we’ll take it from there! 

Getting started.

If you’d like advice on writing in a more personal style (for example, if you have only previously written academic works) or you want to write from your life experience, we can help. This might typically involve:

* An hour-long video call with some homework to do, and then a second (and perhaps third) video call a few weeks later to check on your progress and make follow-up suggestions.

* Or we can help you focus your search on the right agents and agencies for you, and assist you in understanding the process of writing a submission, covering letter and preparing your pitch.

* We can also offer tailored tuition on the craft of good writing and we may suggest books and other readings that we think would inspire you or help you improve your writing. The cost of each video call is £50. If you’d like an additional written report on your submission, the cost of the report is typically around £120.

Getting going.

If you wish to submit a two-page outline of your project, and up to 30,000 words, we will send you a detailed report within three weeks (subject to our availability – in exceptional circumstances, if we can’t turn it around within that timeframe, we will tell you upfront). In addition to providing feedback on your writing, we will set tasks to keep you motivated and help you with any obstacles or blockages you’re experiencing along the way. The cost of this mentoring programme is £500. If you’d like a follow-up video call, there is an additional charge of £60.

Getting finished.

You can submit the full manuscript and we will give you an honest appraisal and offer editorial advice, usually chapter by chapter, plus an overview, in a written report or video call, whichever suits you best. The charge for a manuscript appraisal of up to 100,000 words is £600. For a highly detailed line edit of the whole manuscript and an online meeting to discuss, we charge £1,200.

Guiding you through.

We can also provide one-to-one mentoring across a 6, 12 or 24-month period, aimed at helping you realise your full potential as a creative writer.

* The 6-month programme can be an intensive coaching service during which we will help you to put down and shape a significant body of writing, or a more relaxed programme of tuition and writing to fit in with your busy schedule. Alternatively, we can spend the time Getting Started and Getting Going as described above. The cost is £500 to include three 60-minute online meetings and a written report at the end of the programme.

* Over 12 months or more, we can provide valuable advice on approaching agents and publishers, and give you carefully tailored guidance as you write your book. We would start with a video call to discuss your project and help you set personal goals and deadlines, and then have periodic ‘milestone meetings’ online to make sure you’re on track. You can submit up to 7,500 words before each meeting for us to read and comment on. This service is entirely flexible and to be decided by you and your mentor, depending on your particular requirements and the time you have available.

* Over 24 months, we would typically have 12 meetings with feedback on work-in-progress as you go, plus a detailed written report. The cost is £2,500.