Plugging the Gaps: Consultancy and Mentoring

As the tectonic plates of literary power and patronage shift, cracks appear - or opportunities. In the UK I recently become aware of 2 phenomena

• Literary consultants - "Staple" issue 69/70 has "Publishing" as a theme, dealing in particular with literary consultants and development officers. Publishers' in-house editors rarely have time nowadays to discover and nurture talent. Meanwhile, thanks to Creative Writing courses, more and more authors are producing near-publishable books. How can they be helped? Agents are more publisher-orientated, and in any case won't deal with stories and poems, which is why "literary consultants" (manuscript assessment services) are on the increase. Authors go to them directly, or take advantage of deals with regional arts councils. Depending on the quality of the work they may recommend it to an agent or publisher, suggest a few tweaks, or splatter the first page or 2 with comments and have a long, frank discussion with the author. The services aren't cheap and even if you find a reputable company, you won't know beforehand how useful their comments will be, but even their help with the all-important first few paragraphs may make all the difference.
• Mentoring - Faber and Smiths Knoll are amongst the organisations who are nuturing individual talent. The New Writing Partnership's Escalator scheme also worked that way. Writers value such attention albeit briefly at residential courses and on Masters courses. Being under someone's wing for several months is what most budding writers want, especially if there's guarenteed publiation at the end.

The common factor here is the 1 on 1 contact, something lost during the rise of big business and workshops. Another is the expense. Both consultancy and mentoring don't come cheap. Looked at from the organisation's viewpoint, they're both ways of getting money out of Arts Council England without leaving the comfort zone - no new technical skills required, no wheelerdealing.

Quality control is an issue - benefits might not become evident for years. And focussing attention on a few individuals might provoke shouts of Elitism. Who chooses the lucky candidates? Some people get forwarded to a consultancy via their Regional Arts Council who have a grant for that purpose. A shortlist for the Faber scheme was identified by scouts appointed by ACE.