After providing 22 Writing With the Stars mentorships, I thought it would be nice to follow up with the recipients, and ask them to share a bit about the experience. First up is AJ Irving, who won a mentorship with Laura Gehl.
From AJ:
First, I would like to say thank you to Tara for the opportunity to participate in the Writing with the Stars mentorship program. Laura Gehl is an absolute gem!
This mentorship has helped me more than I could have ever imagined. I came to Laura with zero submission-ready manuscripts. I now have three ready to go, three that are close, and several much stronger query letters.
Laura helped me put together a stellar submission for the PB Party contest, and my manuscript was selected for the agent/editor round.
I have also never had so many manuscripts out at one time. I’m waiting to hear back from six agents/editors!
I was amazed at how quickly Laura responded to my questions and offered feedback on my work. Everything in the publishing world takes so long. It was refreshing to hear back from an expert the SAME day!
Most of all it was a pleasure to get to know Laura. I am proud to call her my friend. She is an incredibly talented PB writer, but she’s also an incredibly wonderful person. She will be the first person I call when (being positive ?) I am offered a contract.
My kiddos are huge fans of Laura as well.
Dream big! Never give up!
Best,
AJ
A belated congratulations, AJ! Laura sounds awesome, and it’s great to hear your mentorship went so well. Keep us posted on your publishing journey …
AJ – that’s wonderful that your mentorship has been so productive. Most of all, no matter what happens, (and I’m sure good things will be happening!) it’s wonderful that you and Laura have connected on both a mentorship and friendship level. Best of luck with all your subs that out there. Hopefully, some day you’ll be a mentor for some other lucky aspiring writers!
Congratulations, AJ! And thanks for sharing about your mentorship experience here. I’m excited to hear how the process has been going for everyone, and am definitely pulling for you.
How fantastic. If anyone deserves it it’s AJ. Cheering you on!!!!!
Congratulations all around. It sounds like everything you would hope a mentorship to be. Here’s to your continued success!
Thanks for sharing. It’s always fun to learn what happens after the contest winners are crowned.
Thanks so much for posting this update. It’s exciting to hear about AJ’s work with Laura, and I look forward to seeing the first book from this fruitful mentorship hit the shelf. I’m sure there will be many more!! Good luck to AJ and thanks again for sharing!