FEEDBACK

Apprenticeships 2008

Jo Reed

The Apprenticeship In Fiction has, for me, been a great experience. The generous advice I have received from my author-mentor over the last year has been invaluable in helping me to develop my writing. In the course of the programme I have gained insights from writers and other industry professionals that I could not have learned elsewhere. As a result I feel I can now approach a career as a writer armed with confidence and a much more professional attitude towards the craft than when I entered the programme a year ago.

The last year has been intensive, but I can now look back knowing that I am much closer to my goal of a career as a professional writer, thanks to everyone at AIF.

Lindsay McKrell

I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work with a professional writer with a good reputation.  It was great to be taken seriously as a writer with something to offer and to meet other writers in a similar position.  I am still in touch on a regular basis with the other apprentices and we have a very supportive network, passing on hints, tips, news and contacts.

Sheila Bugler

One of the reasons I applied for this scheme, in particular, was that it appears to be the only mentoring programme that offers one-to-one mentoring with an established writer in the genre I'm writing in. For me, above all else, this has been invaluable. I feel that Martyn Waites really understood what I was trying to achieve - he 'got' it. I'm not sure I would have got the same response from a non-crime writer.

There is absolutely no way I would have made as much progress as I have this year if it wasn't for his input.

Wendy Storer

Working with Catherine Johnson was the most helpful thing. She was able to see things I couldn’t and taught me a tremendous amount about how to get it right for my market. When I finally ‘got it’ it was like a light bulb coming on and I know I shall never look back. Also, I know this wasn’t especially part of her remit, but she did look at things more than once and that was the MOST helpful thing for me, because you don’t always get something the first time and to have her feedback was invaluable. She made herself available at pretty much all times and I appreciated that very much.