Author Mentoring and Editing Services
I’m so excited to offer a multi-layered approach to helping other authors get published! It’s mad out there, trust me. But it’s also huge fun and a warm and welcoming environment. Publishing is one of the loveliest and most supportive industries I’ve ever worked in. But becoming a published author? It can be a total slog and I’m here to help.
I got started on my publishing journey in 2017 when I wrote my first novel. I knew no one in the industry. Luckily for me, my journey to publication was incredibly swift and by 2019 I had an agent and publishing deals for my debut book The Forgotten Village in multiple countries.
By 2022 I had two UK publishers consecutively for two different genres of books and I now write two books a year (historical fiction under the name Lorna Cook and women’s contemporary fiction under the name Elle Cook) and I’ve now actually lost count of how many books I have with various publishers in various countries. This doesn’t happen very often so I realise how lucky I am.
I learnt to write by osmosis. I just read my favourite authors and saw—without thinking about it—how they structured their books, the words they used, the background situations they gave their characters. I didn’t even subscribe to any courses. I just had an idea for a novel, couldn’t find it on amazon and decided that a book with my plot probably didn’t exist. I was actually quite annoyed. Why had no one written this book so I could read it?
What I did have: a baby, some sort of self-imposed maternity leave that I wasn’t quite taking because the work emails just wouldn’t stop coming…And a plot in my head.
What I didn’t have: time to write a book.
For me, writing a book wasn’t something I wanted to do. Writing was for other people, other people with time, other people who knew what they were doing. Reading was my game…I read on planes, sun loungers, on trains commuting to work, in bed when I wasn’t dozing off after a busy day of working and parenting two small children.
But I wrote a book anyway and it became the Kindle No 1 Bestseller The Forgotten Village, selling over 200,000 copies. But at the time of writing it I was just having a go. No pressure. It was a book just for me. Because this plot just wouldn’t leave me alone. And that’s what I’m going to encourage you to do. Have a go. But not only this I’m going to guide you on your journey and I’m going to hold your hand too while you go off and write.
I’m going to be realistic with you about what I think you can and should do in order to get published, and while I’m in the background cheering you on between our sessions you’re going to be realistic with me about what your daily life is like and how much you can fit in. Life happens. I’m not going to give you a dressing down if you’ve not managed to write for a while because the car broke down, the day job is overwhelming, the kids are off school sick and the dishwasher’s spilling water out of the door. I get it. Real life is a beast and writing is meant to be the fun part. So we’re going to make it fun. And between us, we’re going to get your book written. And then we’re going to work towards perfecting it and getting it published. Want to hear more? Drop me a line and let’s discuss what we can do.
The genres I write in, love and adore and can help you with:
Anything involving love and romance, history and mystery. I also read and love crime fiction but full disclosure, I don’t currently write it. Although never say never. If only there were two of me, oh the things I could achieve!
However, as a seasoned reader, I like to think I know what makes a great hook. If in doubt, email me and give me the low down on what you’re writing and I’ll be honest with you as to whether I’m the right person to help.
The things I can’t help with: Horror and Fantasy (although I know a man who can), Young Adult, Sci Fi, Children’s books. The reason I can’t help with these is because I don’t write them and I don’t read them so it wouldn’t be fair of me to guide you in these areas. I do read non-fiction but publishing wise, I know next to nothing about this genre so I can’t help here I’m afraid.
Don’t know if you need mentoring or editing? This section’s for you:
We can tailor-make a cost-effective package based on your needs.
Already written the book and want me to read it and offer editing guidance to get it honed and then give you the tools to put together a kick-ass submission package to grab agent or publisher attention…? We can do that. See Editing below for costs.
Have an idea for a book but keep staring at a blank page and don’t know how to get started? You’re halfway through but you’ve tailed off because you’re not sure what you’re doing at the muddy midway point and you don’t know where your book is going? Hit me up. See Mentoring here for costs.
Still not sure? Contact me.
Mentoring and publishing guidance:
Do you just want a one-off call to talk through the idea for your book, the publishing industry as to how it relates to what you’re writing and my hints and tips for getting published? We can do a one-off call and I’ll offer guidance based on my experience. I have the benefit of having my books stocked in supermarket shelves, I’ve hit the overall top number 1 spot on the Kindle chart, I have a great agent who has helped make all of this possible and I’ve worked alongside five different editors for each of my books as well as having seen two different approaches from two very different publishers in the UK. If you just want to pick my brains as to what I think works and doesn’t…drop me a line and let’s have an hour’s call. £60
Mentoring: Let’s chat!
I mean it, really. We’ll be having regular phone calls or zooms, depending on your preference for an hour at a time. Or we can do a one-off session here and there when you just need a boost or some dedicated encouragement or to pick my brains about the publishing industry and how I think it will effect your likelihood of getting published. We’ll talk about all the things you want to achieve for your novel and I’ll give you guidance and thoughts as to how best to achieve that each call. I’ll read some of your work that you submit in advance and I’ll give you feedback (both on the call and I’ll give you written notes to work from too.) We’ll talk through what struggles you’re having and we’ll work on a realistic plan to get you to the next stage.
What I’m not going to do is give you writing activities unrelated to your novel! No one has time for that!
But what I will do is help you identify why you like certain books and films that you think compare to the book you’re trying to write, talk you down from the precipice if you hate your book and you’re only at page 4, or you hate your book and you’re all the way at page 200. I will be the angel on your shoulder at all stages of your writing journey.
This is £90 and what’s included with this is me reading and editing two chapters of your work each time and offering you notes alongside the call. We’ll fit a lot into these calls to maximise your investment in your writing career.
Editing
This is for those of you who’ve put pen to paper, even if you’ve only written a small portion of your book. Have you hooked me in? Am I desperate to read the next chapter? Do I like your main character? Do I think an agent or editor might feel the same? I’ll offer you written edits and support and we can discuss together options to tweak without damaging the feel of your book. Because this is your book!
Partial manuscript appraisal: Up to 45,000 words (roughly half a finished published book) £250*
Full manuscript appraisal: £500* up to 100,000 words. (Here’s a hint, if your book is currently well over 100,000 words, it’s a bit too long. We can talk through that and some other do’s and don’ts during a one-off mentoring and guidance call if you like!)
Proofreading: up to 100,000 words £300
You’ve finished your book, you don’t need me to edit it but you do want me to look at your submission package for agents/editors and help get you ready to submit your novel. (This involves me reading and editing your back cover blurb, the strap line and your cover letter. Or if you’ve not got that far yet, I’ll work with you from scratch to perfect all of this. I’ll show you the package I put together that secured me offers from mulitple agents.) £150
(*We can work in tranches for both of these manuscript appraisal pacakages so you don’t have to submit the whole book/half a book in one go. You write a decent portion of the book—10,000 words or 25,000 words or more if you like and then you submit. I’ll read and I’ll offer notes and help before you write the next chapter/few chapters. This way you learn ‘on the go’ and that helps you with the next portion of the book.)
That’s it! No hidden costs. I’m so excited to work with you to help you get your book out into the world.