If you’re here, you probably know that I’m a Pitch Wars mentor. If not, and you don’t know what Pitch Wars is, go ahead and visit the hashtag on twitter, because you’re missing out. I’m Co-Mentoring with Dan Koboldt, and you can read all about the types of submissions we’re looking for on his website, here. I wanted to add some stuff here, for those who want to know more about me. There’s tons of stuff online about Dan, but I’m fairly new to social media. So here’s a head start.

I have a history with Pitch Wars. In 2014, I finished a book. I promptly started querying agents. At around the same time, I discovered this contest called Pitch Wars and its founder, Brenda Drake. I joined twitter, and Brenda was my first follower. Really. You can look it up. Anyway, I told the whole story a while back over at Dan’s site, here.

In case you don’t want to check out the link, here’s the condensed version: I met my first CPs, learned how to write, wrote another book, entered Pitch Wars again, got in, got mentored by Dan, and got an awesome agent.

So I have all the traditional reasons for wanting to mentor. Giving back, paying it forward, sharing the love. At least, that’s what I’d put on the book jacket. And it’s true, but it’s not the real reason I’m doing it. The real, secret reason is this:

I like it.

Not exactly a stunning plot twist, I know.

I like critiquing manuscripts, and working through plot with people. I’ve pretty much always got a CP job working for someone, and if I don’t, I’m looking for one. So when Dan asked me to mentor with him, I accepted immediately.

I’ve probably critiqued 20 manuscripts in the last year, and I’ve worked with people at all levels.

Some of them are published books you can read, like this. Or this. Some will be published soon, like Dan Koboldt’s sequel, THE ISLAND DECEPTION, which comes out in February, 2017.

Some others went on to get agents. Some are still looking. I’m not taking credit for any of it. I’ve had the chance to work with some really brilliant people, and I really enjoyed it.

Now I want to work with someone new. I look at Pitch Wars as a chance to find a new author with a book that has a spark, and then take it and help fan it into a flame. Okay, that sounds way too corny. Pretend I said something cool.

I think most of those people would tell you that I gave them valuable feedback. But feel free to ask around. You’re not going to hurt my feelings. If you want to hit me up on twitter, I’ll even put you in contact with them. It’s only fair. As a mentor, I’m asking you to trust me with your manuscript. That’s a hard thing to do. The least I can do is provide references.

But that’s it. I love working on books. I love working on my own, and I love working on other people’s, and I’ll love working on yours.

The romance mentors told me that to get people to go to my blog posts, I need to post pictures of shirtless guys. So here you go.

Did I do it right?