Re: when did mentoring become a business? [serious question
There are people out there who have a knack, a true ability to see what does and does not work in a novel or script or play and work one on one with a writer to bring their work, and their writing to a whole new place - a place they might not be able to get to by themselves.
They are teachers/coaches/consultants/editors all rolled into one.
I have a friend who does it and is amazing at it. She has helped novelists improve their craft and revise their novel so that they not only got agents but a few wound up with huge advances, she's worked with playwrights who got their work produced on Broadway and screenwriters who sold their scripts for hundreds of thousands of dollars once she finished working with them.
Yes she charges for her services. She wants to help writers achieve success - she also wants to eat and pay her mortgage.
It's really no different than working with a golf pro to improve your stroke or a voice or acting coach. And the one-on-one nature of what she does, can be far, far, far more beneficial than a writing workshop that has 8 or 10 people.
Her clients have already taken the classes, got the degrees, learned the craft. What she does is take them to next level.
I am constantly awed by what she does and how well she does it.
