I started doing manuscript assessments – helping people improve their writing to get published – shortly after my arrival here in New Zealand.
The 10 years of storytelling tutoring with dearest tutor James McSill (www.mcsill.com) have indeed given me the skills – or should I say revealed them in me – for looking at creative writing from a lazy reader’s point of view.
A lazy reader’s point of view? Yes! Because readers get bored easily. They are not committed to us writers, and unless it’s our mother that’s reading what we write – not so large an audience, I’m sure you’ll agree – we’d better get serious about captivating them.
These assessments went so well, and I got such positive feedback from the writers who sought my advice, that I ended up doing jobs for the New Zealand Society of Authors too.
Looking for the strengths and weaknesses in book projects with writing samples that are submitted for appraisal – from the point of view of commercial publications – has been a continuously, thoroughly absorbing as well as rewarding experience.
I am always delighted to receive feedback from the authors who submit their work and to see that my contributions has made a difference for them.
Here’s a piece of feedback that gave me a lot of joy to read:
It’s also an honour to be listed as an assessor together with the experienced, fabulous writers in this country. After all, at least comparatively speaking, I’ve only just arrived in New Zealand.
https://authors.org.nz/nzsa-assessors-list
More recently I have been invited to work in the selection process of young writers for a mentorship Programme. The link below is about this selection process, which was carried out in a partnership with my friend author Tina Shaw.
I invite you to have a look at the links, and if you’re serious about getting your stories out there for the world to read and enjoy the uniqueness of what you have to tell, it’ll be a pleasure to help you, too.
