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Wanted: Mentor/Teacher....

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tfdswift

I am wondering if there are any published authors out there who want to help an aspiring writer get into print...

I know that I need to do research on things like target audience, what sells and who sells it and probably many other things that I don't know about. I was told maybe I should rewrite my manuscript but I truly think I can save my manuscript with the right help and with the right "homework" done for it.

I don't want a pity party or anything like that, I just would like some help to point me in the right directions... Tell me what to look for and what to do until I learn the things I need to know...

I live truly in the middle of nowhere and my resources are limited. There are no big chain bookstores and the local library has zero resources to offer. I may need to rewrite the first few chapters of my manuscript but I am deadlocked on what to change to make it better.

Anyway, if there is a published author out there that would not mind having a sidekick and devoted student hanging around please contact me. I am not wishy-washy and I do believe in myself. I won't kiss your feet:grin but I will do my best to learn as quickly as possible. I don't mind starting at the bottom, but I need someone to show me where up is and the rules for getting there.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post...
 

James D Macdonald

...the local library has zero resources to offer.

Remember Interlibrary Loan.
 

Yeshanu

I'm with Uncle Jim on this one. I once lived in the middle of nowhere, too, and my local library didn't have many books, but my local librarian was a godsend. She was often able to get the books I needed, free of charge, from another library system.

Also, do you live in the middle of nowhere but work in a city? If you work in a city, you may be able to access two public library systems. (I have two library cards myself...:grin )

If neither of these is any help, you can always try online searches of public libraries in your area that you don't have access to, and then tell your librarian where s/he can get the book you need...

As for mentoring, check out the various forums on this board. Read through threads of interest. If you're writing a novel, for instance, start at page one of Uncle Jim's thread, and read write through to the end. Cut and paste into a word processor, and voila! You have your very own how-to-write-a-novel book that is as good as anything you can buy in the store. Better, because it's interactive -- if your question isn't already answered, or you need to know something specific to your book, you can ask and it will most likely be answered.

If you don't write novels, look on the appropriate board. If your question isn't already answered, start a thread and ask it. If you want some of your work critiqued directly, you can use the "Share Your Work" forum.

This whole water cooler was set up as a huge mentoring forum, and many published writers frequent the board. They're generous with their time and opinions. And the best thing is, because it's not private everyone can learn from your questions.

Best of luck,

Ruth
 

mammamaia

i mentor writers of all breeds...

 
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tfdswift

First: What and where is the mentoring forum?

Second: Yes we do have inter library loan but it takes forever and I mean "FOREVER" to get what you ask for. Not to mention I don't know exactly what to ask for.:shrug

Third: What big city? The nearest one is an hour and a half away. Right now my car is in the shop and my mechanic is in the hospital. I don't work outside of the house. I am not whining, just trying to paint the picture of the wall I am up against...:head

Fourth: What do you mean by "start at page one of Uncle Jim's thread"? Who is Uncle Jim? Where is his thread?

Please be patient with me as I am trying to learn but feel like I came into the middle of a movie and don't know the characters or the plot but I am supposed to figure out who did the crime...:eek:
 

James D Macdonald

The mentoring board is here: <a href="http://p197.ezboard.com/fabsolutewritefrm21" target="_new">Mentoring</a>

I'm Uncle Jim; the thread is up on the novels board, <a href="http://p197.ezboard.com/fabsolutewritefrm3.showMessage?topicID=257.topic" target="_new">here</a>.
 

mammamaia

you'll find the mentoring board if you continue to scroll down the list of subject headings below this 'bewares' one... m
 
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