I would just contact the scheme provider again, being very clear with them that she isn't replying again and therefore your getting nothing out of having a place.
You've been polite with her but she is really starting to take the piss now it seems with not getting back to you.
As you've made every reasonable effort to get in touch and have waited a good while for any form of response, I think you would be within your rights to request a different mentor.
This could well be a case of she signed up to be a mentor with good intentions, but has since felt like she doesn't have time to deal with it.
Thanks. I'm worried that I'm being impatient, but I asked Mum about it and she agrees that I've been reasonable and the mentor is wrong to keep me waiting so long.
This morning I sent a brief e-mail asking her to confirm a date. If I don't hear from her by Wednesday morning I'll go back to the provider. I very much doubt they'll offer me another mentor (as someone else would have to read all 200+ pages of the novel before being able to offer feedback), but I will ask for an alternative means of communication. The good thing is that the novel is near its final draft - I can only see me needing one or two more sessions at most with the mentor.
Thanks. I'm worried that I'm being impatient, but I asked Mum about it and she agrees that I've been reasonable and the mentor is wrong to keep me waiting so long.
This morning I sent a brief e-mail asking her to confirm a date. If I don't hear from her by Wednesday morning I'll go back to the provider. I very much doubt they'll offer me another mentor (as someone else would have to read all 200+ pages of the novel before being able to offer feedback), but I will ask for an alternative means of communication. The good thing is that the novel is near its final draft - I can only see me needing one or two more sessions at most with the mentor.
I'm really sorry that mentor's being a pain again. I'm just adding my voice to the majority - you're definitely being reasonable (and a lot more patient than she deserves, I think).
When you contact the provider again, I'd ask if anyone else has experienced these delays, ie is it quite common that it takes a while. Just for info, really - of course, they might whitewash and say "Oh of course not!" whilst typing exactly the same answer to several other frustrated mentorees. Or, they might realise that this particular mentor has had far too many complaints from mentorees, and take her off the list.
Stress the time limit again, and that your email can't have been going into the Junk folder, especially after last time it was discussed.
So sorry, we need a pronoun for when you don't know the gender of a person. I propose SHMEE
OK.
1. Everything YOU write is copyrighted. This is the Law.
2. Sending yourself something in an envelope means nothing. It's an urban myth and one that's done the rounds since I was a kid. It's never protected no one as it's really not proof of ownership.
3. All you have to do is prove you wrote something. In this day and age that's insanely simple to do. I've got original files dating back to the 1980s. They're proof positive I wrote something.
Of course, none of that means anything when a person has a similar idea, but if anyone directly steals your work, you can take action against them!
HOWEVER, that said, I would say to everyone out there: do not worry at ALL about your work being stolen. Chances are its derivative of something else. Really, once you get into the industry there are so many people with so many ideas. No one's going to steal your stuff!
Ditto this - the highlighted bit being particularly pertinent.
OP- I have to say that the mentor and the scheme have been pretty unprofessional towards you. There is a deadline and in all fairness they should work at a reasonable pace, with you, to that deadline. And they haven't.
I would also question, considering the lack of interest the mentor has shown in regard to her role, whether she is the right person to mentor your novel ? And whether advice she has for you has any value now?
I think this is a Welsh language novel ( I may be wrong) , so you inevitability you will have a small pool of advice to draw upon, and from my own experience with some of the folk at Lit Wales, not necessarily of a high standard.
As a some-time CW tutor my advice would be , at this stage, to go with your gut and finish the draft as YOU envision it. The mentor is , in effect holding you back, so just do it, believe in it and make it the BEST DAMNED THING you can make it and TO HELL WITH HER!
A good mentor can give your work wings: a bad one can suck the life from it. So, if you are still passionate about it, DO IT
Ah right, I didn't know it was an urban myth and all that (and sorry for the late response - I missed it before now).
But about your No 1 - surely if I write something then send it off to someone, and they publish it under their name, then I've got no proof I wrote it. How would I prove it? I'm genuinely interested - my son's written a book and has sent it off to a couple of places, but it's not so much that I think they'll nick it (he sent it via email, as they asked), it just interests me.
Well, if you're really worried, keep regular email copies or send them to yourselves in text form. A few backups is all you need. Ultimately, it will be their word against yours in Court and it's never going to get that far.
But it's all a waste of time as, seriously, I've already told you not to worry - no one is ever going to steal your idea. Well, it does happen, but I wouldn't worry about it!
Comments
Thanks. I'm worried that I'm being impatient, but I asked Mum about it and she agrees that I've been reasonable and the mentor is wrong to keep me waiting so long.
This morning I sent a brief e-mail asking her to confirm a date. If I don't hear from her by Wednesday morning I'll go back to the provider. I very much doubt they'll offer me another mentor (as someone else would have to read all 200+ pages of the novel before being able to offer feedback), but I will ask for an alternative means of communication. The good thing is that the novel is near its final draft - I can only see me needing one or two more sessions at most with the mentor.
I'm really sorry that mentor's being a pain again. I'm just adding my voice to the majority - you're definitely being reasonable (and a lot more patient than she deserves, I think).
When you contact the provider again, I'd ask if anyone else has experienced these delays, ie is it quite common that it takes a while. Just for info, really - of course, they might whitewash and say "Oh of course not!" whilst typing exactly the same answer to several other frustrated mentorees. Or, they might realise that this particular mentor has had far too many complaints from mentorees, and take her off the list.
Stress the time limit again, and that your email can't have been going into the Junk folder, especially after last time it was discussed.
Ditto this - the highlighted bit being particularly pertinent.
OP- I have to say that the mentor and the scheme have been pretty unprofessional towards you. There is a deadline and in all fairness they should work at a reasonable pace, with you, to that deadline. And they haven't.
I would also question, considering the lack of interest the mentor has shown in regard to her role, whether she is the right person to mentor your novel ? And whether advice she has for you has any value now?
I think this is a Welsh language novel ( I may be wrong) , so you inevitability you will have a small pool of advice to draw upon, and from my own experience with some of the folk at Lit Wales, not necessarily of a high standard.
As a some-time CW tutor my advice would be , at this stage, to go with your gut and finish the draft as YOU envision it. The mentor is , in effect holding you back, so just do it, believe in it and make it the BEST DAMNED THING you can make it and TO HELL WITH HER!
A good mentor can give your work wings: a bad one can suck the life from it. So, if you are still passionate about it, DO IT
Well, if you're really worried, keep regular email copies or send them to yourselves in text form. A few backups is all you need. Ultimately, it will be their word against yours in Court and it's never going to get that far.
But it's all a waste of time as, seriously, I've already told you not to worry - no one is ever going to steal your idea. Well, it does happen, but I wouldn't worry about it!