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Frequently Asked Questions
What can I achieve by joining Book Forge?
Book Forge helps writers to:
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- Find focus and drive to develop their story
- Commit long-term to their creative work
- Establish healthy, productive working habits
- Reach The End
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Book Forge is an online programme that helps you achieve your creative goals. It challenges you to create finished works of art through a combination of routine, reminders and reflection. Book Forge provides mentoring to boost your confidence, overcome your writing challenges and inactivity, and celebrate your achievements.
How is Book Forge different from other Facebook Groups for writers?
Many writing communities get bogged down with people who like the idea of writing more than the reality. Our writing community is focused on action and accountability. It is a place where you commit to writing regularly and finishing your projects. It is a place where you celebrate your achievements and learn from your failures.
Mentoring combined with community is a winning combination for making progress, working productively and achieving goals. A mentor can provide personalised guidance, feedback and support to help you overcome challenges and grow your skills. A community can offer a network of peers, collaborators and resources to inspire you, motivate you and help you learn from others. Together, mentoring and community can create a powerful synergy that can boost your confidence, performance and satisfaction in your work.
What can I expect when I join Book Forge?
Book Forge is an online programme to help you commit to producing completed creative works. This challenge-based programme combines routine, reminders and reflection to offer practical help for writers. Designed to encourage productive writing habits, Book Forge offers mentoring to develop confidence in your talent, break through your writing blocks and inactivity, and give you the satisfaction of typing The End.
Having a mentor and a community can make a huge difference as a writer. A mentor can help you identify and keep remembering why it is important to you that you write this book. They can help you plan your route to success, keep you on the straight and narrow, and help you believe in your own ability to reach the end. A community can provide you with support, encouragement, motivation, and accountability. They can also challenge you to try new things, experiment with different genres and formats, and push yourself out of your comfort zone.
How is Book Forge different from writing craft / critique groups?
Book Forge is not a writing skills course. It is a programme of mentoring which helps to build confidence in your writing skills and develop resilience. Importantly, it helps you set boundaries with yourself and others so you can work on your writing without guilt or frustration.
The programme offers support for six months - a realistic timescale for completing your novel. Advice is offered via group mentoring sessions and online resources. You may also extend your membership if you need longer.
What genres or writing styles do Book Forge mentoring specialise in?
Book Forge is for writers who are serious about their craft and their writing career, regardless of genre - whether you want to write romance or thriller, novels or short stories - or experience. We can help you achieve your writing goals.
Who are the Book Forge mentors?
Hazel is a consistent writer who loves to teach; Deanne is a consistent teacher who loves to write. Deanne spent fifteen years teaching before pursuing a whole new career as a story coach. She helps writers learn and master their craft. Hazel took the plunge and turned from hobbyist to full-time writer seven years ago and hasn’t looked back, also working with many other writers at varying stages of their creative journey.
The hardest part about writing is… well, writing – showing up, day after day, and getting words on the page. Hazel and Deanne want to help people like you to do just that.
What support is available to mentees who join Book Forge?
Having a mentor and a community can make a huge difference as a writer. A mentor can help you identify and keep remembering why it is important to you that you write this book. They can help you plan your route to success, keep you on the straight and narrow, and help you believe in your own ability to reach the end. A community can provide you with support, encouragement, motivation, and accountability. They can also challenge you to try new things and push yourself out of your comfort zone.
How much does Book Forge cost?
We offer a six-month commitment package that includes regular sessions with your mentors, access to online resources, and feedback on your progress. You can choose to pay for this package in one of two ways: either a one-time payment of £187, or six monthly instalments of £33 each. This way, you can select the option that suits your budget and preferences.
Once the six-month period is over, you can keep working with us every month, for as long as you want our support.
What is the duration of the mentoring programme?
We offer a six-month commitment for Book Forge - a realistic timeframe to make an impact on your writing progress and clarity. At the end of the six-month period, you will have the opportunity to continue working with us on a rolling monthly basis, for as long as you need our help. By joining Book Forge, you will gain confidence in your abilities, motivation to write consistently, and encouragement from a community of fellow writers.
What if I need additional writing serrvices such as coaching, editing or proofreading?
The main purpose of Book Forge is to provide motivation and support to writers who are working on their projects, not to offer technical assistance or feedback on their work. Our mentoring programme does not include additional writing services such as editing or proofreading.
If you are looking for editing or proofreading services, or any other writing services that are not covered by our mentoring programme, you can source them independently from us on a freelance basis, outside of the mentoring agreement and its fees.
Can Book Forge help me to get published?
We do not offer any guarantees of publication or typesetting services, as these are not the main goals of our programme. Instead, we focus on providing you with support and encouragement throughout the writing process, so that you can achieve your personal and creative objectives. Any discussions regarding publishing options are to be regarded as general provision of information, not as advice about the publishing path you should take.
Our mentoring programme for writers is designed to help you overcome mindset blocks, set boundaries and manage your time to complete your first draft.