2024 Mentorship Is Now Closed. Thanks To All Who Applied!
Are you an unpublished writer? Do you have a manuscript you’re looking to get ready for submission to agents and publishers?
Would you like to partner up with someone who has been there and done that? Someone with multiple books under their belt at a big five publisher? Someone who can help you make your story the best it can possibly be?
That’s me. I’m running a mentorship program, and you should totally send me your stuff.
I’m a former Pitch Wars mentor, and while that program is now closed (nothing to do with my participation—at least, so I’m told), my desire to mentor new writers isn’t.
I’d like to work with YOU to polish your book, sharing my expertise and my storytelling skills, and getting it to a stage where we’re confident agents will love it.
Who The Fuck Is Jackson Ford?
I’m a South African guy (and can speak Zulu to prove it) living in Vancouver, BC, because you can’t snowboard in Johannesburg. I’m a full-time author, with eight books published worldwide at a big-five house—specifically, Orbit Books (under Little, Brown). I’ve been agented since 2014, and my first book—which was also the first novel I ever wrote—came out in 2015.
I work with a terrific bunch of humans there, who support what I write. Which is mostly sweary, actiony, fun, slightly stupid, and with way too many bad jokes. My most successful series is The Frost Files, which includes books with titles like THE GIRL WHO COULD MOVE SH*T WITH HER MIND and RANDOM SH*T FLYING THROUGH THE AIR. Here’s how cool Orbit are: they suggested those titles, not me. The series has been optioned for TV by the folks who made Fringe and Star Trek Discovery.
Before I was an author, I spent a decade as a music and tech journalist, ironing out my own bad writing in places like The Guardian and Wired Magazine. I’m a MASSIVE hip-hop head, an incorrigible and sometimes insufferable foodie, a nerd for high-end audio, a voracious reader, and a collector of terrible jokes.
Jackson Ford also isn’t my real name. My real name may only be spoken by those who have undergone the seven year initiation process, and who have given themselves over to the lust and predations of the dread God Xhuiogiodo, who—
Fine. My real name is Rob Boffard. You’re so boring.
What Do I Get If We Work Together?
First things first. This mentorship is entirely free. No charge, no claim of any kind on any resulting work. I’m doing this because it’s fun.
If your story is chosen, here’s what you’ll get from me:
A full read of your entire draft, followed by an in-depth edit letter from me, highlighting areas to work on.
A follow-up read of the entire draft, to check on progress.
A direct line to me throughout the process (via email or WhatsApp). Bounce ideas off me, work out problems, shoot the shit, bitch about la puta vida that is publishing…I’m all yours.
A full edit of your query letter and story synopsis.
A crisp high-five when you crush this process and produce the story of your goddamn life.
Please note: unlike many other mentorship programs, there’s no agent or publisher showcase at the end of this. I’m here to polish your work, but it’s up to you to send it out to agents. Sorry—I am not famous enough to have multiple agents at my beck and call. I am happy to offer advice about all this, however!
Also: Sadly, I can’t provide feedback to everyone who sends me work. But if you send in your stuff, and we don’t end up working together, it almost certainly has nothing to do with the quality of your book; it just means we weren’t the best fit for each other!
Why Should I Work With You?
With eight books to my name at a major publisher, and two more on the way, I am a veteran of the edit process. I know exactly what a great edit letter looks like, what’s helpful, what isn’t, what rubs writers the wrong way and what sends their brain in exciting new directions. More importantly, I know how take a book from Good to Great. I adore amazing stories, and I want yours to be the best version of itself that it possibly can be.
My last mentee, in early 2024, scored an agent and a book deal shortly after our mentorship concluded.
What’s Your Mentor Style?
It’s your book. Your story. Ultimately, you are in control. I keep that at the front of my mind at all times. My style isn’t to tell you what’s ‘wrong’ with your story; it’s to highlight how it could be even better. My style is to suggest changes without being prescriptive, to tell you what I love as much as what I didn’t, and to point out where I think clarification is needed. This is a collaborative process; I’d go as far as to say that I don’t want a mentor/mentee power dynamic to exist at all. I want to work WITH you, not ABOVE you.
To be clear: this process doesn’t mean I won’t ask hard questions, or make you think deeply about your work. You may not always enjoy the comments you get from me…but I will always back them up with reasoned argument, and I will never force you to make a change because I said so. I’ll try stay away from suggesting solutions to specific problems unless asked, or unless I have a humdinger of an idea that I think you’ll love.
What Are You Looking For?
Here’s what I like. It’s not an exhaustive list, and if you’re unsure, feel free to email me and ask! Email address is below.
Firstly: FINISHED DRAFTS ONLY. By which I mean: a draft, however imperfect and messy, which tells a complete story start to finish.
Second: NOVELS ONLY. Minimum 50,000 words. No short stories, novelettes, novelinis or what have you.
In genre terms:
Adult stories only (Sorry—I like YA, but it’s not my area of expertise)
Science Fiction (With a couple of exceptions - see below)
Fantasy (Bonus points if it’s fantasy with a contemporary setting, but I’m not picky)
Thrillers and Mysteries
If your book fits those genres, then great! I want to find out more. Here are specific things that I LOVE:
• Big ideas. If, at the centre of your story, there is a huge “What if…” question, a “How would it work if…” or a “If there really was a…” thenI am keen as hell to read it. Even better if you flip an established concept on its head in a clever way.
• Narrow focus. I’m way more likely to geek out on a story that focusses on a single starship and its crew, as opposed to one with gigantic, galaxy-wide elements and casts of thousands.
• Strong female protagonists
• A diverse cast with lots of different backgrounds, ages, genders etc.
• Humor (If you like making people laugh, we’d be an excellent fit)
• Epistolary narratives (I ADORE these, and we don’t get enough of them)
• Alternate Histories
• Found Families
• I LOVE stories that blend genres. Crime fantasy like the Gentlemen Bastards, scifi thrillers like Afterland, epistolary scifi like Illuminae
• NSFW (within limits). I have no problem with violence, tasteful smut, kink, and colourful language.
Don’t worry if your story doesn’t contain any of these—they’re just things I particularly enjoy. If you like the cut of my jib, and you think you have a book that fits the genres I cover, then let’s talk!
To give you a reference point, here are some books, movies and TV shows I love:
• Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
• Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kauffman
• The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
• Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
• Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
• Ten Low by Stark Holborn
• The City We Became by NK Jemisin
• Who’s Afraid? By Maria Lewis
• Behind the Throne by KB Wagers
• The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
• The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
• Breaking Bad
• Manifest
• The Wire
• Brooklyn 99
• Kim’s Convenience
• The Mandalorian
• Schiit’s Creek
• Wandavision
• Loki
• Call My Agent
• Black Sea
• Molly’s Game
• Whiplash
• Knives Out
• Cabin in the Woods
• Training Day
• Collateral
• Dredd
• Marvel movies
What DON’T You Want?
• Romance (Your story can absolutely have romance in it, but if you’d class the book as a romance novel, a rom-com, or romantasy, then I’m not the right guy for it)
• Erotica (Ditto)
• Literary fiction and Memoirs
• Horror (I LOVE horror…but I’m better suited to reading/editing other genres. Horror elements are fine, but if you’d class your book as a horror novel, I might not be the best fit)
• Hard scifi / military scifi / space operas (I don’t feel I have the experience to edit these!)
• Time travel
• No YA or MG
• Nothing that features fae, vampires, werewolves, or other mythical creatures as a central plot point. They’re just not my thing.
• Nothing that features explicit and graphic sexual violence on the page.
• No torture porn please! Some blood and guts is fine, but if Hostel and Saw are your touchstones, we wouldn’t be a good fit.
• Nothing from friends (sorry) and nothing previously published. Yes, I include self publishing in that.
I’m In! What’s Next?
Easy. Send me your work!
Please paste the following in the body of a single email. DO NOT ATTACH ANYTHING TO THE EMAIL. PASTE EVERYTHING IN THE BODY. I’m trying to make it easy for me to go through these, so help me help you!
Title, genre, and approximate word count.
A +-100 word summary of your story (Don’t worry about getting this perfect, just give me a general idea of what it’s about)
The first 2000 words of your novel (Doesn’t need to be exact—I don’t want you cutting off mid-sentence or anything. And a reminder: finished drafts only, and novels only please! No short stories)
Your email subject line should be: No Attachments. This lets me know you’ve read these instructions!
Send that email to workwithjacksonford at gmail
That’s it!
When Do I Hear If I Got Picked?
The final date for submissions is Monday, September 30, 2024, at 8pm PST.
I’m aiming to pick a shortlist of 5-6 manuscripts by Monday, October 28, 2024.
If you haven’t gotten an email from me by 8pm PST on that day, then unfortunately, you weren’t selected.
Please don’t let that discourage you! I’m looking for the book I feel I can make the biggest impact on, not just the ‘best’ book. Your story might be outstanding…and I might not be the right person to work on it.
Reminder: if you’re not on the shortlist, I cannot offer feedback on your draft.
Do You Accept NaNoWriMo Novels?
Giving this its own section because I know people will ask.
Yes. I do. Just make sure it’s not below 50,000 words.
Do You Accept AI-Generated Work?
Absolutely the fuck not.
If your story was generated by LLMs like ChatGPT, SudoWrite, or any similar bullshittery, you will be auto-rejected. No, you are not going to fool me. It will ALWAYS be painfully obvious that someone has used AI.
Auto-rejection means: I will delete your email, and not tell you. You will be waiting for weeks and weeks to get…nothing.
Mentor someone who uses LLMs to generate their work? To paraphrase the big homie Bill Bryson, I would sooner have self-administered bowel surgery in the woods with a stick.
I Submitted To You Before But Was Unsuccessful! Can I Submit Again?
Sure. Go for it!
However, unless you’ve made substantial changes to the book, I’m probably not going to go for it. Sorry—I choose the books I can make the biggest impact on. Still, shoot your shot!
Super Important Shit to Know About Me
• My wife Nix and I have two tiny idiot Boston Terriers named Tundra (5) and Gobi (1), who will almost certainly sit in on any calls we have, and make their own editorial suggestions (usually involving the need for MOAR SNACKIEZ PLZ)
• I’m a music obsessive—hip-hop, specifically. I have an office wall covered with CD liner notes. Why yes, I am a dinosaur who still listens to CDs, what of it?
• I’ve been in Canada for nine years. Before that, I lived in London, and I’ve visited over forty countries. Favourites: Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Jamaica, Cuba, Mozambique, Tanzania.
• I’m an enthusiastic-if-only-moderately-talented cook, and I read cookbooks for fun.
• I recently became a full-time author, which is frankly terrifying.
• Pronouns are he/him.
Still Have Questions?
workwithjacksonford at gmail. Get at me.