The 2008 Mentoring Program
As part of the GCLS mission to support and foster lesbian literature, the Mentoring Program we tried out so successfully at last year’s conference is being offered again this year at the Phoenix conference.

The Mentoring Program is an opportunity for aspiring authors to receive valuable feedback which may help them improve and prepare a manuscript prior to its submission to publishers.

How The Mentoring Program Works
Aspiring writers may submit one manuscript. A pair of volunteer mentors will read the manuscript prior to the Phoenix conference and then meet face-to-face privately with the author to provide feedback about the manuscript. The evaluation and critique is intended as a broad discussion of the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses. The feedback given may include advice about structure, plot, characters, format, technique, presentation, and much more. The mentors will share their insights and suggestions, strive to be encouraging of the writer’s effort, and provide relevant resource suggestions where needed. The session will be a give-and-take format during which the writer will have time to ask questions to clarify and explore the input from the mentors about ways to improve and strengthen the manuscript.

Please understand that the Mentor Program cannot guarantee that the writer’s work will receive an offer of publication. The assistance of the mentors is intended as a way to lend a helping hand to aspiring authors.

For this year’s Mentor Program, Brenda Adcock has graciously agreed to coordinate submissions and assign manuscripts to the mentors in advance of the conference. During the conference, Lori L. Lake will be the on-site coordinator.

Deadline for submission of manuscripts is May 31, 2008. Because everyone involved in the Mentoring Program is a volunteer, there is no charge to the writer for the critique she receives from the mentors.

Volunteering to Be a Mentor
If you're an author, editor, beta reader, or avid fan/reader who is skilled in critiquing and willing to give feedback to an unpublished author, then we want you as a Mentor. If you're an author, editor, beta reader, or avid fan/reader interested in learning the mentoring process with a skilled mentor partner, we want you as a Mentor Trainee. The only requirements are that you must register for and attend the GCLS Conference in Phoenix and notify us of your desire to be part of the Mentoring Program.

Click here to volunteer to be a Mentor or Mentor Trainee.

All volunteer mentors and participating writers must register to attend the GCLS Conference in Phoenix. If you are in financial need, please see the Scholarship page to apply for scholarships.

If you have questions, please email the Mentor Program Coordinator, Brenda Adcock at badcock@hot.rr.com.