Integrate writing into your life in sustainable, lasting ways. Direct your passion into focused action & mastery of craft. Become a better writer on your own terms, for life. Know what to change, why to change it, & how. Finish projects or explore new ones with confidence, gentle accountability, & a sense of accomplishment.
Now accepting applications for the 2021-22 season!
Program runs September 2021 – March 2022. Serious applicants should contact me as soon as possible for a pro bono consult. Program fills quickly.
View accomplishments by my students here.
“Your comments were so on target, can I keep you in my corner for life? I’m a little delirious, so please forgive me, but you are an effing remarkable coach.” (Bruce)
“I felt a little funny when I first approached Katey–I’ve already got an MFA, and my day job involves plenty of writing, too. But try as I might, I couldn’t keep the deadlines I set for myself. I wanted someone who would keep me honest and feedback from someone who ‘got it.’ Katey challenges me to forge ahead (while giving me the confidence that I have the skills to do it)–and she’s provided those helpful, looming deadlines to keep me in the chair even on those days when nothing seems to be working, so that I’ll be there for the days when everything is.” (Cameron )
“I wanted to acknowledge the value of your mentorship. First, thank you for encouraging my participation in this endeavor. I struggled and succeeded. Ultimately, I gained invaluable knowledge of my strengths and weaknesses and understanding of the craft underlying both. Most of all, your encouragement has given me the confidence to know–I CAN DO THIS!” (Barb)
“I am going to walk away from this mentorship knowing that I can make time for writing and use it well. You are an inspiration and such a caring, courageous, not-coddling but totally encouraging creativity coach wordsmith wizard and I am so grateful to have you in my corner (and be in yours).” (Gina)
This program is for dedicated writers* and published authors, working toward completion of a manuscript or seeking a “fresh approach” to other work. If you have an existing, strong relationship with writing but know that you learn best with accountability, professional support, and structure–you will thrive in Monthly Mentorship and shave years off the time it takes to publication. *If you don’t have a current project or amassed pages, but can demonstrate passion, skill, and enthusiasm–there’s space for you, too. Contact me to talk about the unique group forming for the 2021-22 season.
Writing is a solo sport when it comes to generating the material, but no one does it alone. Even the “best of the best” have creative partners and professional instructors helping them along. Whether you’re working on one story, a collection of stories or essays, a memoir, or a novel, Monthly Mentorship will take you through a customized process to become a better writer, deepening your engagement with the practice of writing in empowering ways.
Fall in love with revision. Learn how to work with your imagination, name your blind spots, and coach yourself through uncertainty. Think deeply and critically about impact, change, and the human predicament. Gain the endurance necessary to live the writing life with joy and success.
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Monthly Mentorship is a seven-month program (September 2021 – March 2022, with December “off” for optional consults and integration exercises). This celebrated program uses email, phone, sample texts, and live video conferencing to provide:
- Monthly Integration Assignments: The first week of each month, you will receive a deeply pedagogical assignment that helps you apply thinking to language and bring shape and energy to your writing. Through these assignments, you will learn how to get more out of your drafts each time, reaching your final version with more confidence, clarity, and skill. Benefit first-hand, as you identify your own approach to your drafts using Katey’s unique methodology as a springboard. This will be the bulk of your work for this program, in addition to your own writing. Plan on 3-5 hours a month devoted to these assignments, their application, and their solidification. [Optionally, you may trade writing with an assigned partner for critique, and/or work through the Integration Assignments collaboratively.]
- One 1-hour Office Hours Q&A a month: The second week of each month, gather via livestream video for Office Hours. Ask a line-level editing question, a big picture publishing question, reflect on creative blocks or craft challenges, get clarification, dig deep into the Integration Assignment texts, and more. Includes opportunities to share your screen or read from a work-in-progress to explain a problem, seek answers, and reference existing models.
- Three 1-hour Livewriting accountability sessions a month: Join Katey and your fellow Monthly Mentees as you write together, silent but in support, at least three times throughout each month via livestream. You’ll be blown away by the energy that Livewriting brings to the page, not to mention how time flies. Show up, write together, debrief for a few minutes, sign off, and keep at it.
- One 2-hour Master Class a month: The fourth week of the month, gather for a culminating Master Class. Share key insights or quandaries related to your Integration Assignment, work through guided questions with your partner, discuss sample texts, and find out together how to tackle some of the biggest hurdles writers face today.
- Email or quick-call access: Email Katey at any time with a quick question, insight, concern, or request for more information. Prefer phone? Request a quick chat and talk, writer to writer, on the fly.
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HOW IT WORKS:
Mentorship begins with a chance to tell me more about yourself as a writer. Fill out this questionnaire* online, or email it as a Word attachment. Early inquiries strongly encouraged as program fills quickly. I’ll send you a confirmation message, along with an approximate response time. The next season begins in September 2021. *Returning MM writers: message me for a customized questionnaire directed specifically to our continued work together.
If we’re a good fit, mentorship begins with an intro to the other writers and a technology training session with my project manager. She will make sure you understand how to use the free programs that support Monthly Mentorship: Zoom (video streaming), Loom (video learning and conversing), and Facebook (for a private group forum that makes link-sharing and check-ins easy).
Over the course of any given month, we will interact in various ways. Like writing, this experience is fluid.
- Every Master Class and Office Hours session will be recorded, in case you have a schedule conflict (dates/times TBA). These recordings are yours to access forever.
- Integration Assignments will come via Loom videos (also downloadable) that I create and curate just for you, each and every month. These will often be accompanied by attachments or links to assignments, and may refer to pages in several textbooks I’ll ask you to have on hand.
- The Livewriting sessions will not be recorded, but you are free to share about your accountability and progress in other ways, should you be unable to make a session.
- No matter what, you will always be able to contact me by email or phone, for the entirety of the program. You will also have the support of the tight-knit, skilled group, as you progress toward your goals and the completion of this enriching program.
Monthly Mentorship is my most popular and in-demand service for a reason. You will see results. View accomplishments by my students HERE.
And here’s the most important part of “how it works”: It works through your devotion to your writing and your project, through your trust in the methodology that I have tried and tested for a decade, and through your openness to learning from others. It works through the expertise you bring to the group, too, and through your belief that by articulating your own growth and challenges to a small audience of other writers, you are, in fact, becoming a better writer in real time. Show up to this program with your full heart, and I’ll offer you the same kind of heart and precision right back.
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“Katey is a careful and discerning editor, bringing the artist’s sensibility and the editor’s meticulous attention to detail to everything she does. Her insightful editing of several essays and my memoir has helped me identify and reduce abstractions, clarify detail and intensify scenes, and smooth the narrative flow while remaining true to the author’s voice and intentions. I value Katey’s input highly, and recommend her to anyone looking for professional and intensive guidance in his or her writing craft.”
Shannon Huffman Polson, author of North of Hope
Monthly Mentorship Payment Options:
Payment by Check: $3000
$300 deposit due upon acceptance. Balance due by check on October 1.
Payment by Custom Plan: $3000
$300 deposit due upon acceptance. Payment schedule made to suit your needs. Limited spaces for this payment option. Please inquire.
“I wanted to properly express my gratitude for your guidance and instruction. You guided my writing and pushed me to explore the literary boundaries of genre fiction. You took on the challenge of an unfamiliar genre, and your fresh view challenged me. I’ve learned to think critically about language, to consider the impact of setting and landscape. My writing has become richer and better for it. I’m very grateful for your advice and comments, and your considered opinions about the work I’ve put forward. You have such a talent for teaching and mentorship. I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with you.”
Heather Clitheroe, award-winning short story writer
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Why do I need to complete a questionnaire & submit a writing sample?
The number of writers interested in mentorship regularly exceeds the number of spaces available. The questionnaire and writing submission help me assess readiness and fit, so that I can confidently guarantee you a transformative experience should we go on to work with one another. The questionnaire and submission process ensure that you are in the right place and that your work gets the attention it deserves.
Who is this program right for?
Mentorship is designed for the advanced writer, whether or not you have been previously published.
If you’re a novice, or yet to establish a consistent writing practice, or in need of a little more skill development, I encourage you to check out my course Into the Flash HERE.
If you’re not sure which offering might be the best fit, CONTACT me.
When does Monthly Mentorship begin?
The next session of Monthly Mentorship will begin in September 2021 and run through March 2022, with one month off during the holiday season between December and January.
What if I have to miss a videostreaming aspect of the program?
No worries. Each Master Class and Office Hours session will be recorded and sent to you the following day.
I’m not working on a full manuscript. I often write in a number of genres. Can your program still help me reach my goals?
Absolutely. The craft concepts I teach, and the Integration Assignments, will be curated to meet your needs. I’d love to talk more about the variety of writings you are exploring–email me for a phone date!
What if I want you to critique my manuscript when our program ends?
I do provide Manuscript Reviews by appointment and request, but it is separate from this program. Let’s talk.
What if I’m not a big fan of tech or streaming?
Myself and my project manager will be with you every step of the way. I was skeptical at first, too–but I’ve been using video streaming as an educator for over three years and have successfully delivered programs with effective, game-changing content across 5 different time zones and 3 continents. With Zoom and Loom, the “distance” fades away and it feels as though we’re in the same room together–without the hassle and expense of travel.
I’m nervous about not submitting my pages for line-level critique. Will I still grow as a writer if you’re only seeing snippets during office hours, and applying the rest of what you have to offer on my own?
Yes, because my goal is to empower you to become a more discerning reader and editor of your own work. You will get clear about the strengths, as well as the pernicious ticks, in your writing. Over the course of the program, you will be given deep lessons specific to the skills in need of development in your work. Mentorship is designed to improve your craft and to make you a better reader and editor of your own writing, not more dependent on me.
Ready to Leap?
Fill out the questionnaire. Submit your writing. Let’s get started!
Monthly Mentorship begins September 2021
“Your critiquing means the world to me–it’s the difference between publishing and not, I think, and is so crucial to helping me stay invested.”
Sarah Jane Smith, author of No Thanks and Other Stories
Monthly Mentorship Payment Options:
Payment by Check: $3000
$300 deposit paid upon acceptance. Balance due by check on October 1.
Payment by Custom Plan: $3000
$300 deposit due upon acceptance. Payment schedule made to suit your needs. Limited spaces for this payment option. Please inquire.
Final Considerations
I enjoy mentoring writers and find a great deal of personal and professional fulfillment in our work together. While I understand my role as teacher and guide is to draw as much as possible out of you, I also feel that mentoring via distance has the most powerful impact when it is met with a deep desire to commit to the practice of writing–which includes so much more than putting words on the page, or revising what’s already drafted. Not everyone can give themselves over to the writing life full time, but everyone can create the conditions for the writing life within the space of a few focused minutes or hours. I view our work together as a brave, exciting experiment. I look forward to your focused dedication throughout our work together.
Learn more about Katey’s award-winning book, Flashes of War, HERE.
“Katey’s invaluable contribution as an editor was her ability to identify mannerisms, such as the repeated use of certain tenses, that slowed the action in my novel. She pushed me to find a more creative way of expression, and to focus on more precise language. In simple words, she zeroed in on my careless habits and made me a better critic of my own work.”
Laura Brylawski-Miller, author of The Shadow of the Evening
“You’re really helping me close the gap between the ideas I intend to express, and what the reader is actually able to glean from my writing. You’re helping me remove roadblocks that prevent my writing from interfacing–something I can’t see from the inside. Not every reader has your insight that will open the door. You’re awesome!” (Sharon Angel)
“I sincerely appreciate all the energy you devoted to giving feedback on my writing. It was nice to get a sustained practice in place. A lot of what you’ve taught me often echoes through my head.” (Nora Robinson)
“I enjoy your method of teaching and comments. Thank you for making writing wider than I ever thought it could be. The challenges are nerve-racking and marvelous all at the same time.” (Liz Radlicki)
