MENTOR:
Meredith Schorr (she/her)
CATEGORY:
New Adult, Adult
SUB GENRES:
Contemporary Romance, Rom Com, Fiction with strong romantic elements
BIO:
I have been across the board with my experience in publishing, from querying, to having a book on sub not sell, to selling the next one at auction in a week, to dealing with the ups and downs of my first launch. Outside of writing, I read A LOT. I watch A LOT of television. I'm also a runner. I recently moved out of Manhattan to the smaller city of White Plains and while I’m mostly happy, I struggle with the decision at least twice a week! Finally, I have a day job as a paralegal at a law firm.
MSWL:
Adult or new adult lighthearted, humorous, and fast-paced romantic comedy, romcom/women's fiction mashups, and humorous contemporary romance. I definitely want the “com” even if the stakes are medium-high. Emotional mixed with humor is great too (Think Abby Jimenez and Dylan Newton) Any steam level from closed door to super steamy. (From Sarah Adams to Tessa Bailey) I don't like death/illness on the page, but an off-the-page previous loss/illness is fine. I typically prefer slow burn where the emotional connection comes before the physical but there are definitely exceptions (The Love Wager and Mistakes Were Made are favorites that started with a one-night stand but the plot is not driven by the sex). I'm all about banter and moving the action forward with dialogue. I love friend groups and family dynamics. Small town, big city, and everything in between. Road trips, destination books, workplace romances, lightly speculative (like Witchful Thinking, Nothing but the Truth, The Deja Glitch). Setting doesn't matter. Favorite tropes include second-chance romance, hate to love, friends to lovers, strangers-to-lovers (which isn't a trope, but it should be, fake dating). Not a huge fan of royal romances, billionaires, or reality TV books. Some recent favorites include Hello Stranger, The Comeback Summer, With Love from Cold World, Mrs. Nash's Ashes, The Boyfriend Candidate, The Rom-Com Agenda, Just My Type.
MENTORING STYLE
I'm very hands on. With my previous mentees, I wrote an edit letter as well as marked up the manuscript. I read several versions before assisting my mentee through the revisions, querying process (providing assistance with the query letter/synopsis.) And we had Zooms to discuss the edits. I hope to become friends with my mentee!