Friday, January 22, 2010

SCBWI Mentor Program

I'm so impressed with the energy and creativity of our Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI! They recently came up with a "Mentor" program, aimed at many of us who have been writing for years with no publishing success yet, but with completed manuscripts and some kudos (e.g. contest wins) along the way. The essence of the program is that you get to work with a local author on a completed manuscript for 6 months! I applied and was accepted, and am now being mentored by the wonderful, talented Claudia Mills, author of over 40 childrens books. What an incredible opportunity. We've just begun and I've already completely rewritten the beginning of my novel, and I think it reads so much better. The six months will involve a lot of work, but whether or not I walk away with a publication, I'll learn a ton from Claudia, things I can apply to future work. So thanks, RMC-SCBWI, for this opportunity!