Welcome!

The MWM Mentoring Program is intended to be a unique and effective means for new writers/authors to find success within the highly competitive indie-publishing arena. There are two fundamental components of this program. First, you’ll learn to write what people actually want to read. Then, you’ll learn how to indie-publish your work in such a way more readers will buy your book!

“It would take decades of trial and error to replace the guidance Mark has given me. We all need teachers and mentors to share their knowledge and experience with us. Otherwise, we are reinventing what has already been figured out by those who came before us.” Stuart Church—Science Fiction Author

A little over five years ago, I was blessed with the success of my first novel—Scrapyard Ship. Was it perfect? Hell no! But it did contain all the right elements—was produced in such a way that it sold hundreds of thousands of copies—has received almost a thousand reviews. I’ve written twenty-six subsequent books; most have become bestsellers, in multiple Amazon categories. I make an excellent living—have a dream of a job—with no boss breathing down my neck. I work from home, choose my own hours, and have the unique opportunity to transport my fans to other worlds, to other dimensions and new experiences. I love what I do. That’s why I’ve been helping others learn how to follow in my proverbial footsteps for several years now.

”MWM is an excellent, uncompromising mentor.  I wish I’d followed more of his ‘tough love’ suggestions to create tension on every page and demonstrate SHOW versus tell.  As part of his program, he uses his screenplay skills to help writers drill down to storytelling essentials.  Mark knows most authors fail and their books sink like a stone.  However, if a writer is willing to commit to his program and accept laser feedback and guidance, a readable author is in the making.” Lura Fischer—Fiction and Business Book Author

So, how is this program different from all the others out there?

First of all, only a few select writers will make it into this Free program within any calendar year. (Don’t forget I’m still writing my own books too!). I’ll mentor just a few writers at a time and those authors will be getting my very best. In the end, my goal is to help others succeed. As demand grows I’m contemplating a paid-version of this program, but I’m not quite there yet. You can email me if interested.

“From our first encounter, Mark had just the right words and communication style to convince me I could self-publish. He sticks with fundamentals, is encouraging yet tough, and never coddles me. Like a true professional, he tells me the truth about my covers, writing style, and book descriptions. “Write a good-enough book” is his mantra, very balancing to my perfectionism. Mark’s you-can-do-this attitude made the difference for me when I did not know how to proceed.”  Jean Hoefling—Historical Fiction Author winner the 2019 bronze medal in the Christian fantasy/sci fi category

So, what exactly is the MWM Mentoring Program?

It’s a real-time, let’s get to work—publish a rock-star of a novel in six months time kind of program! You know already that thinking abstractedly, or in hypotheticals, takes you just so far. If you really want to write a best-seller book—are ready to commit to the process—then start writing now! Become an indie-published author within a six-months timeframe. It’s hard work! Involves a commitment to follow daily schedules and the entire process. (More on that follows). Listed below are just a few of the things you’ll be learning, doing, within our mentoring cycle:

1. Periodically, MWM, and his team, will open up the submission floodgates. To be included in the next free MWM Mentoring Program, you’ll need to fill out the online web-form and provide us with a fantastic writing sample (click the application button below). Mark will contact you if there is any interest in moving forward. This program is not for everyone. We’re looking for those writers who already have a good foundation—sound writing skills to begin with.
2. Let’s say you are selected. Cool!  In most instances, MWM will want to work with you on a novel of your choice, preferably not one you’ve already started. There are a whole slew of reasons for that, which we can get into later. Leave it to say, you’ll want to start with a clean slate—build a novel from the ground up. One that will blow your reader’s socks off. Do this, starting with solid writing practices, dillegence, and commitment.
3. Best not to write your book in a bubble. Many facets are involved in a book becoming a best seller. Sure, the book’s theme needs to be top-notch creative, but business aspects are involved as well. Does your intended book have a genre audience? If not, it probably won’t sell well. Who’d want to buy it? There are many aspects to the indie-publishing world you’ll need to be aware of right from the get-go. Like knowing your intended reader audience before you even start writing your prose. All this, and tons more, are part of the MWM Mentoring Program.
4. Speaking of your prose . . . your writing skills need to be top-notch. Honing your writing will be a BIG part of this program. Hey, today’s reader is sophisticated and highly opinionated, expecting an interesting plot, edgy dialogue, lots of conflict, and endless tension. From your first paragraph on, you’ll need to convince readers your book is worth their time investment. So expect much of our program to deal with the creative aspects of each participant’s writing.
5. To take that a step farther, we’ll work together on the developmental aspects of your story; batches of chapters will be under review as you write them. Catching mistakes and editing ho-hum sections in need of tweaking.
6. In addition to each book’s creative and developmental aspects, there are other, more ancillary aspects that also have a big impact on your novel’s success. To wit, the novel’s title, cover design, introductory blurb. A screw-up with any one of these could spell big trouble with sales. Remember, when your prospective reader is scrolling through an endless number of Amazon book-cover thumbnails, your book not only has to stand out, it needs to trigger something mentally in him, or her. Like, Huh, this looks like the type of book I’d love to read! There’s a psychology to this that you’ll want to tap into before you publish.
7. There’s nothing overly difficult in the actual uploading / publishing to Amazon’s KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). But it’s easy to make some simple mistakes—ones that can lessen your impact. Your novel needs to stand apart from the normal competition. An estimated six million e-books, posted to Amazon, all vie to attract a customer’s eyeballs. You really need to bring your A-game to achieve success.
8. There’s much more our program goes into, including the methodology of holding onto those customers who buy your book. Did you know that you are 7 times more likely to make a sale to an existing reader/customer, than you are to a new reader/customer? Therefore, creating a way for them to subscribe to your mailing lists is essential. Imagine ten thousand subscribed readers receiving new notification that your second book just posted. Then imagine a good number of these subscribers rushing to buy your new book the first day it becomes available. Imagine next Amazon taking notice of that demand and ranking your book a No. 1 Best Seller.
9. You will need to provide a website so that your readers can find you; learn more about you; get the skinny on whatever new projects you’re working on. It helps to build up your fan base. Our program will help out with the dos and don’ts for your new site.

These are just some of the things you’ll be learning, in real time, as you write your novel.

Ready to get started? If so, Good! Step one: Click the button and fill out the brief questionnaire provided below, and attach an original chapter for us to read. The sample chapter should be no less than 1200 words. It needs to be super intriguing, have adequate descriptions, also believable dialogue. Basically, send us your best work to date!

Good luck!