Tailored Mentoring Package

Need counsel about the publishing journey? How to find an agent? What’s preventing your book from wowing an editor? Or do you need help with a pesky query? Choose this option to hone in on your specific publishing needs.

Cost: $75.00 per hour for D’Ann or Leslie, $150 per hour for Mary.

Once you’ve successfully ventured through the initial consultation and we’ve agreed to work together, Mary will send you a contract. Please return the signed contract to maryedemuth [at] sbcglobal [dot] net. You may “sign” it by typing your name in blue on the document and emailing it back to me. Also send me an email indicating your availability for a phone conversation. Talking briefly will help us both determine the scope and hours of our mentoring time.

Once we determine number of hours we’ll be meeting, please pay $75.00 (or $150.00) times the number of hours directly to my PayPal account http://www.paypal.com, using email maryedemuth [at] sbcglobal [dot] net.

For instance, if we’ve determined we’ll be working together for two mentoring sessions plus two hours of document critique, times $75.00 by four, totaling $300.00.

Some things to keep in mind:

• We use Microsoft Word. Your documents will come back to you marked up using Track Changes. If you’d prefer a hard copy critique, please mail it to us, providing a self-addressed, postage-paid return envelope. In both instances, we include a several-page letter detailing and elaborating on the critique.
• Editing is subjective. Our editing of your work is based on our experience in the publishing industry, years of mentoring writers, and our own growth in the craft. You do not have to agree with everything we say, but please understand we are critiquing with an eye toward improving your writing. Also understand, this is not a collaborative project. We will point out weaknesses and offer suggestions, but we will not write your book for you.
• We can’t help ourselves—we critique with many hats. Some editing services offer substantive, developmental, and line edits as separate products. We typically offer all three types of editing when we’re critiquing a piece, giving you a full-package critique for one price point. We will spend more time up front in the manuscript, pointing out grammar and usage problems, but we will not point them out for the rest of the manuscript. Your responsibility will be to learn from our initial responses and correct them throughout the manuscript. (For instance, if we point out you’re using weak verbs, we will point that out and offer suggestions. But it will be up to you to do a Search on Was and beef up your verbs for the rest of the manuscript.)
• Our suggestions do not guarantee publication. Also, please don’t ask us to introduce you to our agents or to other agents in the industry. Occasionally, we’ll champion a project we love, but that will be by our initiation only.
• Your privacy and intellectual property are paramount. We will not share or utilize your ideas or words. You retain the copyright to your work. Every mentor has her strengths. This means we come to your manuscript and career with our own perspectives. We look forward to reading your work and dialoging and dreaming with you about your career possibilities.

Warmly, Mary, D'Ann, and Leslie