Coral McCormack

During my time with Writing East Midlands, I received invaluable guidance from author Emma Pass. The first thing she did was ask what it was I wanted to focus on. Emma read the novel in its entirety and produced an editorial report, including in-line comments. She highlighted areas that needed work and reread multiple subsequent drafts, as well as our multiple zoom chats. We worked to get the draft submission-ready as my goal has always been traditional publishing.

I needed someone like Emma with no connection to the story to look at it objectively and pull out what I couldn’t see for myself. The mentorship has given me the confidence to approach other programmes, such as a scholarship application with the Faber Academy, and further competitions with my new work. Unfortunately, due to my home situation, I wasn’t always able to attend in-person events which was a shame, but I cannot express just how important having a mentor was for me.