Mentor Ella Stainton

OVERVIEW

There are so many amazing writers out there who are one teeny step away from living out their writing dreams, and I feel like I’ve run the gamut of experience in publishing: desperate for an agent and getting that sub package on point, coping with rejection on multiple novels that were close but “not quite there”, winning contests and working with editors, signing with an agent, securing a contract, writing under a timeline…you name it. I love to help other writers find their footing and get their manuscripts and sub packages from “pretty good” to extraordinary–it gives me more fun stuff to read!

Above all, I love to laugh and happy sigh over a creative construct (sentence, plot, etc). I read across the board but *prefer* something with a setting outside of present-day–though that can be thrown out the window if other elements I love are there! History is my passion, but regardless of the time and place, I’m above all interested in characters who feel deeply real and whose flaws are not holding them back from living. I’d love to mentor a writer who has really figured out how to take something familiar (be it a trope/time period/genre) and put a really fresh spin on it–and I love intersectionality and welcome characters whose life experiences don’t mirror my own. I’m not the best for tech-y SFF or anything that has a really depressing ending. I’m good at figuring out where the book ought to begin, and pacing, as well as deep POV, setting, and oh la la–all the sexy times if they are appropriate for the story. I will absolutely give positive feedback, but I will be very honest about what I think isn’t working, so you don’t want to work with me if you’re just looking for sunshine! However, my honesty has gotten quite a few authors up to the next level, so if you’re really hungry, I might be just the one for you!

• Romance
• Mystery/Thriller
• Historical,
• #ownvoices
• LGBTQIA

Like:
-Always love characters in situations they don’t mean because they have some other purpose (could be marriage of convenience or the like, could be pretending to be someone else, etc)
-Forced proximity is always a treat
-Found families
-Very Good Friends who feel like 3D people
-Characters who defy stereotypes (ie: nice stepmother)
-Retellings (esp off-the-beaten-path stories)

Not so much:
-Overcoming physical abuse/rape (you can ask if you’re not sure)
-Anything harmful to animals
-Secret baby/kids

I WILL PROVIDE:

• Edit Letter (Big Picture developmental feedback)
• Line edit (dropping notes into a Word Document)
• Skype or phone call
• Freestyle in chat

WORKING STYLE

I am up for whatever you are comfortable with re: chat/skype/phone/emails.

I will read your full pretty quickly and get it back with an edit letter and some line edits (I will more likely point out a habitual issue once or twice in the MS and then touch on it in the edit letter). I will be happy to explain further in a live chat of your choosing (if you want one!). I’d like to set a realistic turnaround time that you are comfortable with so I can do a second read (and even a third if it’s needed/wanted/we have time). I’d like to also work on sub package (yes, even the dreaded synopsis) so you are perfectly situated to find your agent. *And yes–you will be able to text or DM when you need to! I’d love to add a new writer to my group!

IDEAL MENTEE
A writer who is ravenously hungry for this dream to come true. I want someone willing to listen to my ideas and trust that I have their best interests at heart. I’m not interested in ripping a book to shreds, but assume there will be cutting and re-writing and I know that can hurt. I don’t expect someone to blindly follow my suggestions when inside their gut says I am wrong, but I also don’t want someone who’s going to argue about everything.

SEND ME:

• Characters handling neurodiversity (or any adversity they can’t change) WITHOUT it being the focus of the story
• Historical fiction set in a new/exciting/fresh locale.
• Romance is always +++ but I don’t need it to be completely happy
• LGBTQ+ is my preference.
• I’d love #ownvoices!
• If your book is contemporary, I’d like some sort of twist–like PNR or mystery.
• I like retellings and settings which are like their own character.
• I LOVE stories which tell “”the other side”” of something I might already be familiar with
• Anti-heroes and flawed characters who don’t always make good choices.
• Characters who feel like they don’t quite fit in without being either smug or super insecure about it

DO NOT SEND ME:

• SFF unless it is sort of background noise
• Bleak alternate universes (or anything terribly gloomy)
• Not the best fit for sports stuff but if everything else aligns, I’m open

FAVES

Books:
PANSIES Alexis Hall (or really, anything by him)
A CHARM OF MAGPIES series KJ Charles (and all the rest!)
UPROOTED Naomi Novick
THE PASSION OF MARY MAGDALENE Elizabeth Cunningham
THE WOLF AT THE DOOR series Charlie Adhara

Movies:
ANONYMOUS
AMADEUS
THE ILLUSIONIST
CASABLANCA
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
BRIDESHEAD REVISTED

I’ve a special fondness for: post-punk (or any sort of “”backlash”” time period), Scotland, the south of France, ghosts, “”parlor table”” occult things like tarot cards and seances, Very Good Dogs, gothic settings, cleverness and witty banter in any form