Thread by @gwendamned

Ok folks, it has come to my attention that while mentorship programs for trad pub are pretty common & thus folks know what to expect, mentorship programs for self-pub are practically non-existent so... what you get out of it might not be clear. (A 🧵)
#HiveMentor #WriteHive

https://twitter.com/gwendamned/status/1589615864789499904

For example, you might be thinking, "Virginia, if I've decided to self-pub because I want to publish the story I WANT instead of what trad pub thinks will sell, why would I want to let someone else read my book and tell me to change it?" #HiveMentor #WriteHive #selfpub

And there are two answers to that 1. Mentors are here to help your book become the best possible version of itself, not change your story (pro-tip - this is what all good editors do as well) and 2. that's far from all that a self-pub mentor would provide. #HiveMentor #WriteHive

I'm going to narrow down to talking about myself now, since I don't want to speak for my fellow self-pub mentors, but here's what you might expect from me as a mentor, in no particular order:
1. Story development if necessary/wanted
2. TAILORED marketing advice/resources
(cont)

(more of) 2. It's not too hard to find general marketing advice for self-pub. Sometimes you can even find advice specific to your genre/subgenre. But in this case we're talking about someone reading YOUR ACTUAL BOOK - the whole thing - and THEN suggesting markets & resources

And marketing advice specific to your exact book from someone years ahead of you in the self-publishing journey, and who genuinely wants to help, is NOT easy to come by.

3. Recommendations for editors, cover artists, and graphic design work specific to your book and genre

(more of 3) My other day job, besides being an author, is graphic design. Mostly book covers. I LOVE talking about book covers and art/illustrations/and design! I know lots of ways to do things yourself and lots of good places to hire others depending on your needs & budget

Which brings us to 4. Crowdfunding! I have a good amount of experience w/ Kickstarter. I've run two successful ones myself & I've helped a few other authors run theirs successfully too. I am happy to offer my advice around crowdfunding to my mentee - tailored to their book.

And 5-Distribution choices! There are a few options for how and where to distribute your books. That choice is affected by genre/subgenre, your goals, and your preferences. So having someone make suggestions based on having read your book and talking with you is 🔥

Oh, and I meant to mention it back with design stuff, but I also do all of my own formatting work (and formatted all of The Alchemy of Sorrow) and I have loads of tips and tricks for doing it affordably/for free depending on how fancy you need it to be. #writehive #hivementor