Welcome to #TeamTangledWeb Part 2

In which we discuss our Mentoring Methods & the elements we love most within our chosen genres!

What Can You Expect From a #TeamTangledWeb Mentorship?

Feel free to check out the Pitch Wars guidelines for all the official rules and dates concerning feedback once mentees are chosen, but here are a few more details too!

First things first, expect to do some work!




Nothing strengthens a manuscript better than a thorough revision. If you sub to us with the mind to work, we're already one step closer to making the perfect team. Once chosen, we'd love some kind of face-time (skype, google hangout, etc.) call in the early days, but it's not mandatory. This is so we can chat and get to know you and blather incoherently about how much we love your book! You'll receive your first edit letter before the call, so we can discuss any concerns and brainstorm if needed. At a minimum, we’ll do another pass for sentence-level revisions and line-by-line commentary after the bigger-picture changes are complete. We’ll also work on your pitch, your query, and your synopsis.

But those are MINIMUMS. If the changes require a second big-picture read-through, we’re here for that too. We are absolutely committed to making your manuscript the best it can be!

We love both big-picture AND sentence-level revisions. We’ve both been CPs and betas for years, and our feedback has helped other authors find agents and eventually sell those same books. Since we both write books that contain elements of mystery combined with unexpected twists, we’re well-versed in tightly-plotted manuscripts and understand the importance of pacing, tension, and stakes.

We also both write a damn fine sentence, so we can definitely help with streamlining and refining your prose. So often, agents reference the importance of voice, which is a very hard thing to teach. But sometimes sentence-level changes can clear away the clutter and bring out the voice that’s been buried beneath it.

We believe critique can be honest without being hurtful. We don't give feedback with the intent to make someone cry. Critique can hurtit's hard to see someone pull apart something you've worked so hard onbut we believe pointing out a manuscript's weaknesses also helps bring out its strengths.

We are not plotters. In fact, we both self-identify as capri-pantsers. Or maybe: semi-plotters/touch-our-capri-pants-and-we'll-kill-you-in-our books sorts. It works for us. Whatever works for you, works for you. So we won’t ask you to fill out a detailed outline or beat sheet (they give Andrea hives,) but we will give you some suggested reading for craft books that have made an impact on our writing. And we will review your overall plot, your character arcs, and how your themes pull through your entire narrative.

One More Thing

We believe mentoring is a partnership. We'll be available for DMs, emails, Skype calls. Whatever you need to feel comfortable. And we'll never forget that this is your book. That means every decision is ultimately yours, and we'll never try to force my ideas onto you. We promise to take the entire process seriously--because we know this is your career, and that your manuscript means as much to you as ours do to us. But we also believe you have to laugh when you can. So, we're going to make your amazing manuscript even better, but we also promise we're going to have fun while doing it!


Things That Make Our Hearts Happy!
  • Feminist themes! Any and all. Bring it.
  • Inclusivity! We want diversity in all forms and love #ownvoices books
          Side note on #ownvoiceswe recognize not everyone has the privilege to be vocal about their marginalizations, so we won’t ask if you share your MC’s.
          We’re open to any and all romantic subplots, but serious bonus points for f/f representation.
          If you’ve written a main character with a marginalization you do not share, please make sure you’ve done your homework.
  • Sex positivity
  • Unlikable female characters (this is an Andrea always-and-forever love)
  • Lyrical and literary writing. We love gorgeous prose and beautiful turns of phrase.
  • Unusual formats or structures. I (Andrea) wrote a book with a POV character who isn’t named. If, while writing, you thought to yourself, “I will never pull this off,” I’ll probably love it.
  • Complex friendships, especially between girls.
  • Complex parent/child relationships.
  • Sisters!
  • Enemies to lovers.
  • Romantic subplots: we love some romance, but not too heavy. Slow-burn with lots of surrounding plot is best! No insta-love™️.
  • Twists! Give us all the surprises and unexpected endings! (Or midpoints! Or all points in between!)
  • Immersive settings. Settings that feel like another character. Settings woven so seamlessly into the narrative they color the entire book.
  • We love dark, gritty, and raw... (and murder)
             -Kay told me (Andrea) to delete the murder part but it’s true so I’m leaving it. #MurderCornerForLife


Things That Make Our Hearts Sad
Please DO NOT send us these. No one likes a sad heart.
  • Rape as a plot device or method for character agency (and absolutely no rape of female-identifying character as a way to provide agency or motivation for male-identifying character.)
  • Discrimination or bigotry, or anything that tells a story from the POV of the oppressor.
  • On-page abuse or death of young children
  • Manuscripts that center on abuse, addiction, suicide, or self-harm. You can have these elements in your manuscript, we’d just prefer they not be the main premise.
  • Horror genre or any gratuitous violence
  • Historical. You can take us as far back as the 80s, but nothing beyond that. We’re just not the best fit.
  • Clowns


Still Have Questions?

Feel free to reach out on twitter (@Andrea_Contos and @KayLMcCray) or the Pitch Wars forums!

We have an AMA on the forum HERE

We'll also be participating in the Pitch Wars #askmentor twitter event on August 16th, from 8-10pm!



2018 Young Adult Mentors
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Welcome to #TeamTangledWeb Part 2

In which we discuss our Mentoring Methods & the elements we love most within our chosen genres! What Can You Expect From a #TeamTangle...

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