DIY MFA Mentoring Program
DIY MFA mentoring is an advanced, intensive, one-on-one experience. I pour my heart and soul into the work I do with individual writers and for this reason, I only work with a small number of private clients each year. If you are reading this, you could be one of those select few.
It’s such a joy to see a writer go from a rough idea or early stages of a project’s draft and get it to a place where they are ready to submit it. There is a certain depth of learning that happens when you work one-on-one that is impossible to achieve in a classroom or even small group setting. This is why my one-on-one clients have gone on to reach amazing goals, like:
- Landing a two-book deal with a major publisher
- Signing with their dream literary agent
- Getting nominated and winning awards for their work
- Having their fiction published in prestigious magazines
- Being commissioned to write the narrative portion for a jazz tribute concert
- Indie published a series of novels
- Revising a book and getting it submission-ready
I don’t usually advertise widely that I do this type of mentoring work because I can only take on a small number of writers at a time. That said, if working one-on-one with me is something that interests you, please fill out the form linked below and my team and I will be in touch if it looks like a good fit.
Interested in the Mentoring Program? Click below to apply!
The Mentor
Hi! I’m Gabriela Pereira—author, speaker, and entrepreneur. I want to challenge the status quo of higher education.
Specializing in a self-guided approach to learning, I am the instigator and founder of DIY MFA, the do-it-yourself alternative to a graduate degree in writing. I’ve made it my mission to educate writers at various stages of their careers and empower them to take an entrepreneurial path to learning and professional growth.
But one thing you may not know about me is that I also work one-on-one with writers. I love helping writers get their books from concept to completion and nothing brings me more joy than seeing a writer I’ve mentored reach phenomenal goals in their career.
I’ve been doing this work for over two decades. In addition to teaching at DIY MFA, I’ve also written articles on the craft and business of writing for Writer’s Digest and The Writer. I and DIY MFA have also been featured by Forbes, Entrepreneur, Bustle, The Write Life, and BookRiot. My book DIY MFA: Write with Focus, Read with Purpose, Build Your Community (Writer’s Digest Books) has been called “a real writer’s classroom in a single book.”
When I started working with Gabriela, I thought I was done with plotting out my story, but at the first one-hour session we deconstructed and rebuilt the story. The next sessions helped fine-tune the new structure. During the last session, she gave me the tools and inspiration I needed to keep on going. I am going to miss having her by my side as I finish the story.
Over the span of six sessions, I learned how to read my story in a different way, going down plot lines that I would never have thought of myself. I learned which “darlings” to kill and which to resurrect. (And it was not who I thought it would be)
When I was struggling, she asked the right questions. We forged a strong partnership as we traveled down the path of discovery. Gabriela’s intuition and insightfulness is amazing. She pulled elements out of my story that neither of us knew were there. After every session I was inspired and eager to continue working on my story.
Gabriela helped me solidify a multiple story-line that was beyond my grasp. I would never have gone down the avenues that I did without her guidance and gentle nudging.
Brenda Rech
Working one-on-one with Gabriela in the six-month mentorship program was exactly what I’d needed to finish my manuscript. I knew the manuscript had major problems but wasn’t sure exactly where to start: many scenes felt “off”, and the plot wasn’t quite working right.
I trusted the process of working with Gabriela on one scene per month rather than a complete read-through and markup on her part, and I’m so glad I did. The deep-deep-deep dives into one scene a month drew back the curtain on my writing, and with her guidance, I finally saw the nuts and bolts of what I was doing well and where I could improve.
Between meetings, I took those lessons learned and applied them to my entire manuscript—basically doing a massive overhaul of it—and my work is now infinitely stronger. My manuscript will be on submission to acquiring editors soon, and I’m confident I am sending my very best work to them.
J.J. Graham
FAQ
Got questions about mentoring? I’ve got answers.
What’s your philosophy and approach to mentoring?
The goal of mentoring is to help you become a better writer. To that end, the work we do in mentoring will be more process-oriented than project-oriented. The idea is that when you become a better writer, the quality of your project automatically improves as a happy bonus.
When I work with writers, I see myself as a mirror, reflecting back to you what I see in your work, so you can make informed artistic choices. At DIY MFA, we talk a lot about moving from instinct to intention. That concept is at the core of mentoring. My goal is to show you what you are already doing on the page so that you can then make intentional decisions about what to change and what to keep.
I firmly believe in helping writers become self-sufficient. I am not simply going to spoon-feed you answers or make red-line edits on your writing and call it a day. My goal is to teach you how to identify problem spots in your own writing so that when you have completed the mentoring program, you’ll be able to continue this work on your own. This means that the work we do together will focus more on strategy and process than on fixing grammar or making line-edits.
How does mentoring work?
I generally work with writers for 3, 6, or 12 months, depending on where they are with their writing and what goals they want to achieve. We begin with an intensive two-hour session where we do a deep dive into your book so that I can fully understand your project. After that, we have monthly follow-up sessions where you submit writing for me to review and we talk about your progress on your writing project.
Writers who are early in the drafting process tend to do best with longer term mentoring (12 months), while medium term (6 months) is usually best for people already deep in the drafting stage or working on revisions. Short term mentoring (3 months) is especially for writers who are at the tail end of the writing or revision process and want to zero in on their story structure.
The mentoring is very much tailored to the individual writer, and the sessions are laser-focused on exactly what that writer needs. For some, this might mean my assigning “homework” with exercises for the writer to try at home. For others, it might be an intensive review of their entire book’s outline so we can map out the story structure. Every writer is different, so no two mentoring sessions will ever be the same.
Who is this for?
Mentoring is for writers at any stage in the writing or revision process. Depending on where you are in the process, I might recommend one package over the others, but there is something for every writer in the mentoring program. Because the sessions are tailored to the specific writer, I will adapt my mentoring to the needs of that writer so that every writer gets exactly what they need from the process.
While many of the writers who have participated in the mentoring program were working on novels, I have also worked with many writers on short-form work (like stories and essays) as well as non-fiction like prescriptive (how-to) books or memoirs.
What packages do you offer?
There are three basic packages in the mentoring program, each specifically designed for writers with different needs. Depending on where you are in the writing process, one package will likely be a better fit than the others.
- Draft to Done Package (12 months) — you are at any stage of the writing or revision process and you want a strategic partner alongside you on the journey, every step of the way.
- Focus and Finish Package (6 months) — you have (nearly) completed a first draft of your manuscript or are in the revision process and need a guide to help you through it.
- Solidify Your Story Structure Package (3 months) — you are deep into drafting or revising your story, you have a full outline on hand, and you’ve written the key scenes in your story (pivot points, climax, etc.).
Mentoring is not for writers who just want me to redline their manuscript or tell them how to “fix” their book. This is hard work that requires making thoughtful, intentional choices about your writing. My job is to help facilitate those choices, but ultimately, you are the one making the decisions. Mentoring is also not for writers who have a hard time with follow-through. You have to be ready to work hard, because I will challenge you to bring your A-game.
Will you read my book and tell me what’s wrong with it?
In a word: No. I am not an editor. My superpower is training writers to achieve excellent in their craft, not in editing their manuscripts. I don’t just mark up pages, I help writers become better at editing themselves. This way, when you do partner with an editor, you’ll be able to bring your best to that working relationship.
One of my secret strengths is as a diagnostician. I can look at a short piece of your writing (sometimes no more than a page) and I can identify with laser-like precision what problems are rippling out into the rest of your manuscript. To that end, I don’t read entire manuscripts beginning to end, but rather read samples that you select strategically, so we can focus on how different craft elements are playing out in those passages.
What if I have a question not covered here?
Just send us an email at support@DIYMFA.com. Easy-peasy!
Interested in working with me? Apply by clicking below.
Testimonials
Hear from past and current mentoring participants!
Working one-on-one with Gabriela in her mentorship program was the smartest decision I made on my writing journey. Her knowledge, insight, and support have helped me grow tremendously as a writer and storyteller. She is the kind of mentor everyone hopes to find. This has truly been the best investment I have made in myself and my writing career!
Rhonda J. Moniz
I read DIY MFA at the recommendation of an established author who thought it was one of the best resources for a new writer without formal training. The book was extremely useful in helping me understand the mechanics and business of writing.
There are so many services available to help writers, it’s difficult to know where to direct limited resources. I chose Gabriela’s mentor program because she was willing to help with my specific needs rather than forcing me into a generic template. She established where I was as a writer and directed her mentoring towards the needs of my manuscript and my general growth as a writer. As a first-time author, Gabriela helped build confidence in my work, addressing technical aspects of writing that improved my manuscript.
I appreciate Gabriela’s organized, professional, and detail-oriented approach to mentoring and feedback. I finished the mentorship program ready to query my first manuscript and with a clear vision for how I can continue to improve my writing. I highly recommend both DIY MFA and Gabriela’s mentor program.
Carolyn Dwyer
Working with Gabriela is a personalized intensive in resilience and confidence and finding the story-telling voice you’ve been looking for. She will challenge your understanding and stretch your learning in ways you never imagined. And she is a supportive sage if things crash down around you. Accepting her guidance isn’t always easy, but it is worth it.
Paula Wellsly
The accountability of working with Gabriela was integral to helping me reframe what makes a sustainable writing practice. I have become comfortable sharing work that is rough around the edges and am not beating myself up anymore for not reaching some unattainable progress I believed I should be meeting.
Gabriela’s feedback on both the global and line level are always spot-on and actionable. And finally, her reassurance that I’m on the right track has been invaluable for me. My confidence has grown by leaps and bounds this year, and I’m ready to take the next step in my writing journey by getting my work out into the world.
Jacqueline Van Hoewyk
For those interested in the DIY MFA program, I can’t recommend it enough for those who are willing to put in the work. Do you need a Master’s degree in writing? Probably not in this economy! But can you benefit from the knowledge? Absolutely!
I hold an MFA in Web & Interactive Design, and I found the quality of instruction in DIY MFA to be on par in terms of both depth and rigor. It demands real time and self-discipline, but the payoff is worth it.
I took the next step and worked one-on-one with Gabriela, and that experience truly elevated my writing. She immediately spotted issues in my outline and helped me brainstorm solutions that fit my story. I’d taken my story as far as I could on my own, and her expert insight helped me achieve a creative breakthrough far faster than I would have muddled through alone.
Marlena Cannon
I made more progress on my manuscript in three months than I had in three years. I progressed from overwhelmed and unsure where to put my editing energies to excited about revisions in a way I never knew I could be. Best yet? I’m in love with my manuscript again and at a deeper level. I have a roadmap forward, a better appreciation for how much effort it will take, and the renewed passion to carry me to the end.
D.L. Gioe