Deep Feedback Workshop, MG and YA

September 16th, 2019 - November 26th, 2019

with Sangeeta Mehta

Group started
Are you preparing to query agents but first want to make sure your novel holds up beyond its opening pages? Have you received extensive feedback at the sentence level but not at the big picture level, or vice versa? This workshop will give you both. You will submit the first 15,000 words—the equivalent of about 60 pages—at the workshop start, along with a synopsis or outline. You will also be invited to a group phone call so you can get to know all group members. Then, in round robin style, you will review each of your peer’s first 15,000 words from different angles. Initially, you will make (and receive from your peers and Sangeeta) “reactive” notes that reflect your initial reaction to the pages. You will then dig deeper and provide “suggestive” edits before tackling “directive” edits, or line edits with margin comments (guidelines for each of these types of notes/edits will be provided). We’ll end the workshop with another group phone call, during which we will discuss how best to address the feedback you’ve received from both your peers and Sangeeta. By the end of the workshop, you will have seen your novel from a fresh perspective and be equipped with new resources to help you take your writing to the next level.

This group will be capped at 4 writers plus Sangeeta to keep the workload manageable and encourage deep participation.

Notes

Who this workshop is for: The workshop is for MG and YA writers working on realistic fiction. Elements of magic or fantasy are fine, but Sangeeta is not the best editor for fantasy. In addition, this workshop is geared towards writers getting their work submission-ready for sometime in 2020, or who are currently querying their work. At a minimum, participants should have completed a full draft of their novel and self edited for grammar and style errors.

Focus:

Group size: 8 writers

Submissions: There will be one submission of 15,000 words. Writers will also submit their novel synopsis or outline.

Fee

Members: $280; Non-members: $315

About Sangeeta Mehta

Sangeeta Mehta has worked in the publishing field since the late 1990s. She has been an acquiring editor at both Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (the children's division of the Hachette Book Group) and Simon Pulse (the teen paperback division of Simon & Schuster). She currently consults on book projects for corporate and independent book publishers and individual authors. She also mentors aspiring teen writers through the Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES. She is a board member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary.

A California native, Sangeeta moved to New York City in 2002, after working for two literary agents and earning a Masters degree in comparative literature from UCLA. She continues to live in the heart of the publishing industry and enjoys taking on clients from all over the world. Visit her website at www.mehtabookeditingnewyork.com.

Schedule:

Sept 16: Workshop begins
Sept 18: Post first 15,000 words of novel
Sept 27: Post synopsis or outline of novel
Sept 27: Reactive comments on the first peer manuscripts due
Oct 1 or Oct 3: First group phone call (exact date and time TBD by group)
Oct 4: Reactive comments on second peer ms due
Oct 11: Reactive comments on third peer ms due
Oct 25: Suggestive critiques on all three peer mss due
Nov 8: Directive feedback on all three peer mss due
Nov 19 or 20: Second group phone call (exact date and time TBD by group)
Nov 22: Workshop ends