AUTHOR MENTORING AND CONSULTANCY Sometimes, as an author, you need a helping hand – and you want more one-to-one guidance than an edit affords. In an edit, the editor carries out revisions to the text based on their knowledge, skill and experience. But what if you want to learn the thinking behind the revisions yourself, so you can improve your writing? That's where author mentoring comes in.

There are all sorts of author mentor and author consultancy schemes available. Mine is simple: you get me, Charlie Wilson, The Book Specialist, as your personal consultant to use (within reason!) as you wish to develop your writing . . .

EXPERIENCE I'm the published author of four books in my own name or pen name, and several others ghostwritten confidentially. I'm an editor with a decade's experience of working with authors and publishers. I'm a businesswoman who sees the commercial side of writing a book, and a creative who appreciates the beauty and mastery of well-crafted language. And, so I'm told, I'm a pretty friendly and supportive person to work with.

Over the years I've supported many authors on their journey from rough draft to polished manuscript and, often, to published book.

MY MENTORING STYLE First and foremost, I'm honest in my feedback. There's no point working with a mentor or consultant if all they do is flatter you and tell you what you want to hear. I offer my opinion diplomatically and with sensitivity, and of course the author is free to reject or follow my advice as they see fit.

I have the following goals when mentoring authors:

• · Develop confidence
• · Explain and teach, rather than take over and do
• · Improve writing ability
• · Promote well-thought-out and carefully structured writing
• · Provide new ideas and inspiration

TYPES OF AUTHOR MENTORING AND CONSULTANCY Between and beyond proofreading, copy-editing, development editing, book critiquing and ghostwriting lies a wealth of book-writing elements with which an author may need input. Here's a by no means exhaustive list of some areas in which author mentoring/consultancy can help:

• Firming up the concept: Got an idea? Not sure whether it's any good? Want some help developing it further? Brainstorm the idea with an author mentor.
• Considering marketability: Got an idea? Not sure whether it'll sell books? Chat it through with an author mentor with experience in the industry to work out whether a market exists for the book before you start writing it.
• Planning the book: The best books are planned meticulously before writing. Work through your plan with me, and avoid some of the common mistakes writers make in structuring and content that are then time-consuming to correct after you've written the book.
  
• Shaping chapter by chapter: Want some support as you go? Rather than write the whole book and then discover you want to rewrite it because it's littered with mistakes, inconsistencies and poor writing style, work carefully through, chapter by chapter, with guidance, and watch your writing develop.
  
• Developing writing style: Most authors have weak points – words they always mis-spell, a tendency to go off on tangents, a propensity for using too many adjectives. The author mentor spots these issues and can work with the author to alleviate them, and can suggest exercises and ways of approaching writing that will strengthen the existing writing style.
  
• Writing the synopsis and covering letter or proposal: Your book may be great, but is your documentation for publishers/agents? I can assess your submission package and make suggestions to improve your chances of garnering interest.

AUTHOR MENTORING TERMS Author mentoring costs from £50 per hour, which can cover a face-to-face meeting, a phone call and/or providing guidance via email.

Face-to-face meetings held near my home in Nottingham incur no extra charge; for mentoring meetings for which I have to travel I expect the author to cover my travel time and costs. If the mentoring is to take place over the phone, the author pays the costs of the call.