Is this right for me?

Mentoring is a very fluid, flexible process that is entirely tailored to the needs of yourself and your manuscript. It's perfect for authors who are looking for more guiding or coaching through their writing and editing journey, as well as:

• Writers with a partial manuscript;
• Writers who don't feel confident in making revisions on their own;
• Authors who want to workshop a particular skill or work on developing plot/structure at any level;
• Picture book or young children's authors;
• Authors who would like more one-on-one contact time with their editor.

What will I get?

As mentoring is such a tailored process, the allocation of hours varies from project to project – you can use the time to commission written or verbal feedback, and as outlined above. If you don't have a set goal/plan in mind, would advise that the best and most effective place to start is with a read through of the full (or partial, if it is incomplete) MS, following which your editor will be able to diagnose broader structural issues and devise a plan to tackle these.

More micro-level changes are most often more constructive further down the line, though an editor may suggest workshopping techniques foremost if there are widespread concerns with storytelling – the mentoring process is tailored to your manuscript’s needs, and your mentor will be best placed to advise on an editorial approach.

How does the process work?

If you're interested in this service, please contact the office, and a member of the team will assess your work (this is complimentary) and your project's suitability for some mentoring.

Once you've paid for the assessment, we'll ask you to fill out a short book questionnaire, and will then pitch that alongside your materials to 2-3 editors who would be a good fit, based on their experience in your genre and your manuscript's needs. You'll typically be able to choose from this selection of editors, we'll then put you in touch with your editor directly to get things started.

At the beginning of the process, you are entitled to a 20-minute gratis call with your editor to discuss your goals for the mentoring, following which your editor will devise a plan. Once you have approved this plan, the hours will officially begin. The plan may be liable to change over the course of the hours, and your editor will update a mentoring log to denote a change in the plan if applicable. Please note that reading time of the MS is included in the hours.

At the end of the hours your editor will submit the final log, as well as any materials agreed upon at the beginning (for example, a marked-up manuscript, a re-written synopsis, etc). If at this stage you should wish to purchase additional mentoring time with your editor, you can typically do so in blocks of 3 hours – please contact the office to arrange this. The Cornerstones team will be a point of contact throughout the project, and we'll contact you midway through and at the end of the hours.

How long does it take?

We advise that the mentoring hours need to be used within twelve months, though this is at your editor’s discretion.

We understand that life sometimes gets in the way; if you need to halt or delay the mentoring process due to illness or personal circumstance, we will do our best to accommodate this, though continuation of the hours will be at your editor’s discretion.