Mentorships

Mentorships are a very effective form of support for poets. They usually offer a certain number of hours with a published poet to give feedback on and strengthen a manuscript before submission to a publisher. Some mentors might guide you on the development of a manuscript.

Australian Society of Authors mentorship applications close July 15. Successful applicants receive 30 hours with a published writer in 2012 in most genre including poetry. Select a mentor from their list or request another.

Mentorships are also available through the NSW Writers Centre if you are in a position to pay the fee (or can source funding for it). They are generally from 10 to 20 hours.

Both websites give clear guidelines, worth reading by the way if you want to know more about what to expect from a mentorship. If you are paying for a mentor yourself you need to know it is standard to pay the full fee up front. If you have found a relevant funding source, explore the possibility of a fee for yourself also – nothing like buying time to focus on your creative work.