Come and Join the White Ink Summer School

I am currently deep into writing my own first memoir/narrative non-fiction book, knee deep in both research and words and I need to deliver it by the autumn. I’m going to be pushing hard over the summer, and today’s post is an invitation for you to join me and for us to write together. But first, some reflections on the mentoring work that I’ve been doing recently.

I’ve been working with a few people over the last few months, all with brilliant works in progress. I actually think that this type of hand-holding is the best way to make progress, someone to be accountable to, someone to help iron out any creases in our work, someone to offer their advice and experience, a teacher who is tailored to what you need most. But the work is not always a breeze. I am honest about where I think progress can be made, what needs to change, where things are not hitting the mark and that’s not always easy to hear. Worst of all (I mean I prefer to think best of all) if what I say resonates, writers are then required to go back to the drawing board, to excavate more, to dig deeper and that is when the real work happens and when we hit on gold. It’s an exciting process.

I know it’s not easy because I have been there. I have been sent back to the drawing board many, many times in my own career, I’m thinking particularly of when I created the proposal for Somebody I Used to Know by Wendy Mitchell which went on to secure six-figure deals in both the UK and US and dozens of translations. My agent sent me back to the drawing board until I could take it no longer, but the proof of the pudding was in the fact it went on to become a bestseller. And I can say that it made me a better writer, and that’s what we’re all here for, right? (Right?!)

But there is one thing I have been noticing among almost all the people I have been mentoring recently, of course imposter syndrome is part of the job, even if you have written several books, you will still sit down at that blank page and wonder whether you can pull it off again, but this is something different.

Many people have attended courses and workshops or read material which has told them or taught them how to put together a book proposal. They may even have shaped it, sketched it out, and yes they have a great idea. But what they haven’t done is written much of it.

I feel in this way that they are putting the cart before the horse.

I have explained to you before that when I started working on the book proposal for the deal I have just got, it started out as an article for this Substack. But when I got to the end of that essay, I sensed I had something more there. I kept going. I didn’t know where I was going, but soon 5,000 words became 10,000 words, and then 15,000 and then 20,000 words. It was only then that I thought, wait, I’ve got a book here, and I had enough material to create a book proposal. But to do that I would need to sketch out the rest of the book, I would need to plot each chapter so that an editor could see the shape of it and the narrative arc it would take. I knew I could do it, I’ve done it many, many times before, but it felt forced as an exercise — even after 20,000 words.

But what I did have after those 20,000 words was confidence that it was a book. I had created the shape of it in the writing, and I could see how it could work, how it could be written, I had tested how it would be paced, and how the story could unfold and I had found the bits that didn’t work and how to solve them through practice.

Now I am someone who has already written and published ten books (some of them Sunday Times Bestsellers), and I still need to do this, I still have to earn the confidence in the writing (and believe me, I’m still earning it with every extra word I now put down). But I’m working with people for whom this is a first book, and they feel like imposters and it is no wonder because they have tried to create a book without writing their way into it.

This morning, I read a piece by

sam baker

who is thrilled that she has written the first draft of a novel she has had in her head for a long time. It’s a huge achievement and I’m so happy for her because now she has brought that idea into existence, however messily she might have done that (or it maybe extremely tidily – I don’t know!), she has earnt confidence that this is a book, she can see the shape of it, and now she has something to work with, some material to sculpt. She has brought it into existence and – as long as it is saved somewhere – it will never not exist again.

But it’s scary, Sam wrote this morning of all the tricks she had to play on herself to keep her arse in the chair. We long for someone to hold our hand through this process, sometimes that can be just a few encouraging words from an agent (Sam and I share the same agent so I know how encouraging she is). Writing is a lonely and unsure old business, but it must be done, to earn confidence, to create something that exists and to see the shape of it.

This is what is missing for some of the people I am mentoring, a getting down in the weeds and doing the work and for all the plans and ideas this is the scary bit because we know it might work in theory but does it work in practice? And all that planning can sometimes be a form of procrastination in itself. I say this because I know this only too well.

What I have told the people I’m working with is to put aside the plan and swap that for the business of writing, test that idea by putting one word in front of another and keep going until you, like me, have a body of 20,000 and you have earnt that confidence.

And today I’m inviting you to do the same but with me holding your hand. In June, July and August, I am going to be running a White Ink Summer School. For these three months you will work with me both in groups and one-to-one to test your idea by getting a significant body of your work on the page.

We will kick off with one-to-one meetings where we will talk through your idea and I will help you spot any holes in your plan. This meeting will focus on testing the concept of your book — does it have enough as a single thread to make a book rather than an essay? Does it need the inclusion of any other elements? Any other braids? What narrative vehicle will you be using to tell this story and will this sustain a book? We will look at all of these things, and make a plan to set you off with confidence.

Each month you will have a one-to-one with me like this, but I will also be holding your hand with regular email check-ins too. This part of our work together is not only to build your confidence in your idea but vitally to give you accountability too — remember, I want you to have a significant body of work by the end of our three months writing together.

Each month there will also be a group meet-up which will be tailored to what you are all working on. For this reason we will work in small groups and you could also think of this as a bit of a surgery too where you can ask questions but also listen to the things that are coming up for others — what are the sticking points? What issues are you having with narrative? Structure? Point of view? Is this concept working out for you? Do you see the need for another element? How might you work this in? How are you working around your other commitments and how might we troubleshoot to make sure you can prioritise this ambition of yours?

Between our one-to-ones and our group work, we will be meeting fortnightly which will keep up the momentum of your work, and I will be there not only as a support and teacher in terms of craft but pushing you along and making you accountable and, if it’s not coming together as planned, untangling what’s not working and coming up with something that will.

Over those three months we’re going to take that picture above of the cart before the horse and we’re going to switch it, so that by the end, you have that significant body of work down, your confidence in the project will have improved and then is the time for thinking about the rest which we may go on to do together — who knows!

So a recap:

How long is the White Ink Summer School?

It will run from June 1st to August 31st

What will it help you achieve?

The focus will be on getting down a significant body of work, my suggestion would be 15,000-20,000 words, or the first quarter/third of your book. You will be testing that burning idea by writing and getting those words down with me as your personal mentor.

How will it be structured?

We will kick off with individual one-to-one meetings to give me an idea of your work in progress and spot any sticking points in your idea. Ahead of this meeting I will ask you to send me some material to give me an idea of what you’re working on. (This will be a maximum of 3,000 words)

We will meet two weeks later for a group meeting online, which will occur in the middle of each month, so three in total.

We will also have a one-to-one meeting at the end of each month which is your time to talk through your project and set you on course for the writing you will get on with inbetween.

In total we will meet seven times in a mixture of one-to-ones and online.

Who is this Summer School for?

This Summer School is primarily for memoir and narrative non-fiction, those of you who have an idea for your book, who may even have plotted out the book you want to write, but need a push to get a significant body of that work down. It is both a mentoring programme that will support you in terms of accountability, but also in terms of my expertise as a writer of many Sunday Times Bestsellers that you have a mentor that you meet with twice-monthly, and on the end of an email if you have questions or get stuck.

How much does it cost?

There are two prices. First, early birds who sign up before the end of April and pay in full pay £499/US$660. If you are an annual paid subscriber to White Ink you get to take 10% off this price.

Those who sign up in May, pay £599/US$800. If you are an annual paid subscriber to White Ink you get to take 10% off this price.

There is also an option for me to read and give written and verbal feedback on what you produce at the end of our three months together, which I will discuss with you during our summer school.

If you would like to join the White Ink Summer School, then drop me a DM or email me: annawharton@substack.com

We will be working in small groups so that everyone benefits from hearing others untangle their work, so places are limited. If you feel White Ink Summer School for you, please do get in touch asap.

I look forward to hearing from you, and also helping you get that book written!