Writing mentor request.

Hiya, and welcome to Absolute Write!

There's nothing in your synopsis topic that would result in removal from the forum. The only things that are ever removed/hidden/locked are those that are disrespectful to other members or violate forum rules, most of which revolve around common courtesy and good sense. If you were worried on the LGBT front, there's actually an entire subforum devoted to all QUILTBAG issues, questions, concerns, support, etc. I've found AW to be a very supportive place for folks of all sexual orientations, and for folks who write about all sexual orientations/issues.

And kudos for writing about a difficult topic. Abuse is a challenge to write and do justice to, as LGBT issues can be.

Phew - that was just my little welcome. On to the actual topic of your post! You asked for a mentor, and what you described as their involvement is something a beta reader also offers. You certainly posted in the right section, and I hope you get a few replies. A couple suggestions -- you offered a synopsis, but can you also offer a small sample of your writing? Maybe 500 words or so? Personally, when I look for someone to beta with, I like to know as much as they can share about their novel (a synopsis, jacket cover/teaser, query letter draft, etc), and I like to see a sample of their work. Interested folks can and will message you to request this, but it might help to post one here.

Just to elaborate further, some of the questions that come to mind for me, when I consider betaing a novel, and specifically when I considered your post, are as follows:

1. How far along is your novel?
2. What kind of communication frequency are you hoping for? Daily, weekly, as it works? By email? Beta reading is usually email, but sometimes mentoring goes to the next level with Skype or phone calls.
3. How much experience do you have writing critiques yourself, or receiving feedback? How receptive are you, and what kind of mentoring/critiquing are you looking for? Some folks are looking for encouragement and gentle guidance, and some folks are looking for brutal truth and specific suggestions, or any mesh of the above.
4. For your novel especially... I guess I want to know how well you're dealing with the topic of abuse, and the topic of sexual orientation. That's really only answered by your story itself, but it would help to know if you had any personal experience with these issues (including family/friends/research/etc). Your post is articulate and seems very receptive, and that's awesome, and tells me your WIP is probably well written, but is it written... I don't know... deeply? Knowledgeably? That's not something you can answer, I know, but I just wanted to share the types of things I wonder, and that perhaps an excerpt could address, or some more information.

You'll also have some folks suggest you spend more time around the AW forums and become a participating community member before asking for beta readers, but you didn't ask for a beta reader - you asked for a mentor, and I really liked the earnestness in your post. The last few things other readers might be asking themselves is whether you are willing to swap and help them critique their work (it's common practice, but not specifically necessary), and whether you're going to stick around the forums and become a part of the community. One you can answer directly, one is just a time thing. I hope "yes".

Thanks for posting, and I hope you can share more with us about your work in progress.