Writing mentor

femur61

I used a writing mentor. I was charged in excess of €2,500 (the person wanted me to self publish, which I later learnt was a friend of theirs). Is this a normal price for a mentor, I feel a bit cheated or would this be a normal price? Is this area unregulated or is completely my fault?

Any enlightenment.

Dave!

Dear god. I don't know what the going rate is, but that sounds like alot! What was involved in the 'mentorship' and how long did it last?

Antilles

I've never heard of a paid writing mentor before but if you've paid almost three grand and all you've got at the end is some recommendation to self publish then you got ripped off.

EileenG

I don't know what you got for your money, but I have mentored people for free, and all got contracts or made money afterwards.

Who was your mentor?

smcgiff

femur61 wrote: »

I used a writing mentor. I was charged in excess of €2,500 (the person wanted me to self publish, which I later learnt was a friend of theirs). Is this a normal price for a mentor, I feel a bit cheated or would this be a normal price? Is this area unregulated or is completely my fault?

Any enlightenment.

It is completely unregulated.

What qualifications/publications did this mentor provide you?

€2,500 wouldn't be too much if your mentor was, say, Stephen King or the likes of Kathy Kelly

No mentor should promise you publication ( not saying they did).

femur61

|I feel awfully stupid now, and my pocket a lot lighter. I did email him but he totally defended himself and yes he is a writer of somewhat. I got his name from a writers site but I feel totally scammed now.

Thanks for all the replies

smcgiff

femur61 wrote: »

|I feel awfully stupid now, and my pocket a lot lighter. I did email him but he totally defended himself and yes he is a writer of somewhat. I got his name from a writers site but I feel totally scammed now.

Thanks for all the replies

You wouldn't be the first person in the world that backed themselves by paying for a chance at fulfilling their dream. No shame there.

And... keep writing

Dave!

Might be worth talking to whatever the consumer watchdog is, in case there was some deception and you could get some money back.

Other than that, put it down to experience, don't beat yourself up over it, and keep writing. Sign up for a course with e.g. The Big Smoke Writing Factory and the tutor will give you plenty of mentorship if you have questions to ask.

pickarooney

What exactly the mentor do? How many hours did he spend on helping you?

snakey1989

femur61 wrote: »

I used a writing mentor. I was charged in excess of €2,500 (the person wanted me to self publish, which I later learnt was a friend of theirs). Is this a normal price for a mentor, I feel a bit cheated or would this be a normal price? Is this area unregulated or is completely my fault?

Any enlightenment.

Hey.

Now, I've been writing five years and I have never heard of a "Writing Mentor" before.

I've been mentoring myself in that I read non stop and I'm constantly writing, constantly flexing my creativity muscle. Its beginning to work wonders now.

As for self publishing, dude, look up self publishing guides online and they're free.

Join some comunities online and ask for advice if you're unsure. You can call me a tight pr*ck but I would fork out that much money when I can easily look it up online.