Mentoring for Writers

Get professional guidance to become a better writer

Better quality book

Our professional mentor will work with you one-on-one to help you to lift your book to a publishable standard.

Learn from experts

Get professional guidance and become the best writer possible. Your mentor will give you the tools you need to be successful.

Don’t write alone

A mentor will be with you each step of the process. Mentoring is a partnership but you will remain in control.

What is Mentoring?

Mentoring for writers is the process of partnering with an experienced professional writer, editor, and mentor to help lift your book to a publishable standard.

You will work closely with your mentor to make your book the best it can be.

The goal of working with a writing mentor is to develop a long-term professional relationship with someone that has the knowledge and commitment to help you lift your book to the next level.

Not only will your mentor provide you with the skill and guidance needed to be a success, but they will also provide you with the knowledge needed to publish with confidence.

We understand that budgets can be tight for writers, so we have developed an approach to mentoring that is cost-effective, personal, and professional. It will give you the maximum amount of long-term benefit for your investment.

Mentoring Cost

The cost of mentoring is per submission.

This fee covers the complete service and there are no hidden extras.

When you are ready to proceed, you will be sent an invoice with a link to our secure PayPal server. You don't need a PayPal account and you can use any major credit or debit card to make payment.

Complete the form to get started...

Tell us a bit about you and your book...

jax burrows
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"This is the first novel I have had professionally edited and I was nervous of sending in my manuscript, wondering what kind of response I would receive. My fears vanished, however, when I found Bubblecow to be so supportive. I felt that they were on my side. just delight at reading so many positive comments and a great deal of constructive, insightful suggestions. I would highly recommend Bubblecow and have another novel lined up to send them."

Jax Burrows, author of muliple acclaimed novels .

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The Process

Mentoring is carried out in 15,000 word ‘chunks’.

There’s no contract and no commitment beyond each 15,000 word chunk. You only pay for what you submit.

This means that you are never tied into an expensive long-term contract. Unlike other companies, we are not expecting you to commit to paying thousands before you have any inclination as to whether the process is correct for you and your book.

You remain in control at all times, developing a relationship that fits you, your book, and your budget.

This process continues for as long as you require.

The process is as follows:

Step 1 - Submission

To begin the mentoring process you must submit the first 15,000 words of your book.

You must submit the section of your book that will be first edited.

We will assess your submission and get back to you, via email, within twenty-four hours.

If your book is accepted (we accept about 75% of submissions), you can move to the next step. We only accept books that we feel are in a position for us to add significant value. We, also, only accept books that we feel are suitable for our small team of handpicked mentors.

Step 2 - Payment

Once your book is accepted, you will be sent an invoice with payment details. This email invoice will contain a link to our online payment system. You can pay using a card or PayPal. We can bill in whatever currency is best for you.

Step 3 - Planning

You will receive an introductory email from your mentor. This will give you both a chance to start to develop a working relationship. It will also allow you to explain any elements of your book that you feel are important to the writing, editing, and publishing process.

Working with your mentor, you will establish two dates that fit with your writing schedule.

  • The date the editorial feedback will be returned to you.
  • The date of the one-on-one, hour-long, online meeting.

Step 4 - Editing

Once your mentor has read and edited your manuscript, they will return the completed editorial feedback. This will consist of tracked changes and comments within your manuscript, as well as a detailed editor’s report.

This feedback will provide you with a clear road map on what you need to do to improve your book.

Step 5 - Feedback

On the date and time agreed, you will virtually meet with your mentor to discuss your feedback.

This is a collaborative meeting in which the mentor will have key topics they wish to discuss. However, you are free to enter into discussion about any aspect of your book, the writing process or even eventual publication.

Step 6 - Repeat

Once you have received your feedback, and had your meeting with your mentor, then you are set for the next step.

To move forward, you will be given the time you need to implement any lessons you have learned or make changes you feel are important.

To continue the mentoring process, simply submit the next 15,000 words, and the process restarts. If you wish, you can resubmit a previously submitted extract, though this is only recommended if you have made significant alterations.

Your relationship with your mentor has no fixed limits and can extend for as long a period of time as you wish, allowing you to submit as many 15,000 word ‘chunks’ as you need.

You remain in control at all points, and you can fit the process around your writing goals and budget.

Editorial Feedback

The role of the mentor is to help you lift your book to the next level, ensuring it is the best it can be.

Unlike other types of feedback, the type of editing provided by a mentor is more about the mentor’s education, experience, and gut feeling than following a pre-written manual of instructions.

This means that the mentor’s skill is critical. However, to ensure that we approach every book in the same way, our mentors apply several questions to each book that they edit.

Here are a few of the questions (there are more, but they are often genre-specific):

  • Does the structure of the book make sense?
  • Is the presentation logical?
  • Is there a wider story arc that engages the reader and pulls them through the narrative?
  • Has a coherent viewpoint been applied? Is it consistent? Does it make sense for the story?
  • Does the chapter structure make sense? Does the writer understand scene structure?
  • Have narrative techniques been correctly applied?
  • Does each scene contain sufficient description?
  • Is each new character sufficiently described?
  • Is the tense consistent?
  • Is the characterization believable and consistent?
  • Are the characters sufficiently developed?
  • Are there any obvious plot holes?
  • If the novel is set in the past, are there any inconsistencies in the use of objects etc.?
  • Does the book's voice, style, and format match the genre expectations?
  • Is the writer telling, when they should be showing?
  • Are the facts accurate?
  • Does the book's word count meet the genre expectations? If it is too short, how can it be extended? If too long, what approach should be taken?
  • Has the writer correctly formatted paragraphs? Will shorter or longer paragraphs better suit the style or genre of the book?
  • If a prologue is used, does it match the genre and make sense to the wider narrative?
  • Does the book need an introduction?
  • Does the book need additional end material, such as a bibliography or epilogue?
  • Should the writer include information about themselves?
  • If relevant, is the book correctly referenced?
  • If images, tables and diagrams have been used, has the copyright been correctly attributed?
  • If included, are all footnotes or endnotes correctly presented and formatted?

Embedded Comments

When editing your book, your mentor will constantly be applying the questions above and will have a collection of thoughts and suggestions that will improve your manuscript.

We fundamentally believe that our role is to guide and suggest but the control of the final changes should always remain with the writer. After all, you have the clearest vision for your book.

One way that we communicate our thoughts and feelings on your book is by the use of embedded comments.

These 'comments' are part of Word's editing tools and they will appear automatically when you open up the edited manuscript. If not, then it is just a simple matter of changing one of the settings in Word. This is easy to do.

There are no 'rules' as to what we will and will not include, and it changes with each writer and each book. However, we see these comments as a way to start a 'dialogue' with the writer. They are our way of highlighting a small section of the book and suggesting what might be wrong and what you need to do to improve that section.

Editor's Report

In addition to embedded comments, you will also receive an editor’s report. This document will be your mentor’s thoughts on your book.

It is a broad overview of the key issues and will act as a ‘jumping off point’ when you come to consider the changes to apply to your book.

The report will highlight any key issues that have surfaced during the edit. The mentor will explain why they feel that the issue needs addressing, provide examples of where the issue is a problem (often in conjunction with the embedded comments within the manuscript), and then provide at least one solution that can be applied to fix the problem.

One to One Meeting

The manuscript and editor’s report will give you a clear indication of what is wrong with your book and what you need to do to fix any problems. This feedback is supported by an hour-long, one-to-one mentoring session.

This will take place either via video conference (Zoom or Skype) or via telephone.

In the meeting, your mentor will address all of the key feedback, providing detailed explanations as to what they think is wrong and what you can do to fix any issues.

You will also be given the opportunity to raise any questions you may have about your book, the feedback, or the writing process in general.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you accept all books?

No, but we accept most fiction genres and all major nonfiction genres. In fact, we say yes to about 75% of the books that are submitted.

Our goal is to add maximum value to writers. However, for this to happen we have to be the correct editors for your book.

The most common reason we will reject a book is that the book is not far enough down the writing process for a edit to be of maximum value.

For example, if a book is at the ‘first draft’ stage and contains many very simple errors, we will say no. If a book’s formatting and structure are non-existent (e.g. it has no paragraphs) we will also say no. If the book sentence structure is ‘unusual’ (most common when English is not the writer’s first language), we will reject the manuscript with the suggestion that further 'low level’ editorial work is applied before it is ready for a edit.

The second most common reason we say no to a book is that we don’t have the editorial experience for the genre.

We pride ourselves on both having experience in editing and deep genre knowledge. We spend a lot of time talking to writers, publishers and agents and have a good understanding of what the current trends in the marketplace look like.

This means that if your book is not within a genre in which we specialize, we are not the best people for the job.

We DON’T accept:

  • Poetry.
  • Short stories.
  • Cookbooks.
  • Highly technical non-fiction.
  • Children's picture books.

If you are not sure if we will accept your book’s genre, just email and ask.

Can I resubmit 15,000 words that have already been edited?

You are free to resubmit edited work if you feel that it will add additional value. The writer/mentor relationship is often a long-term working arrangement, and it can sometimes be beneficial for one section of a book to be re-edited multiple times.

The key element is that you are in control at all points. It is important that the mentoring process enhances your creativity and you are able to work on the sections of your book that you feel are most important at any given time.

The choice of what section to submit next can be discussed with your mentor.

Can I submit less than 15,000 words?

Each mentoring session is fixed at the same price. If you wish to submit less than 15,000 words, then this is perfectly fine. However, the overall cost remains the same.

Can I email my mentor?

Yes, communication with the mentor is an essential part of the process. However, since you will receive an hour-long one-to-one meeting with each submission, this is the best place to discuss any in-depth issues. .

Can I talk about issues other than writing in my meeting?

You are free to use the hour-long meeting in any way you see fit. It is not uncommon for writers to wish to discuss the publishing landscape or wider writing process. However, please be aware that the mentor will have a list of topics that they wish to discuss in each meeting, and if you wish to talk about other topics, it is best to warn your mentor in advance.