I’m Helen, and I’m setting up BeSpoke as a place where writers in Scotland can share their experiences and concerns with me. A place where writers can speak openly with me in private, and find guidance, signposting, honest information, and crucially the solidarity that comes from connecting with another writer.
But I don’t know exactly how it’s going to work yet. So first, I’d like to give you a little bit of background.
As a writer myself, I’ve often felt like there was nowhere to turn when I was having difficulties. I have felt lost, excluded, and unsure of my next steps. I have experienced unfair treatment and a lack of accessibility. I have felt deeply frustrated with what it means to be working as a writer within the publishing industry.
After speaking honestly on Twitter last year, I opened my DMs and invited writers to contact me if they wanted to. A lot of you did, and that meant a great deal to me. I learned that many writers in Scotland felt the same frustrations I did, and had found there was nowhere for them to share their concerns, their struggles, and their experiences.
The idea of BeSpoke is to create that missing space. A place where writers at all stages can find someone to talk to, knowing that it is a safe place, and it will have no negative impact on their careers. Specifically, a place where they can come and talk to me.
I don’t know if that’s going to be of interest to anyone. It is, after all, just me. So I’m setting up BeSpoke as a three-month trial at first, to see if it’s something that writers in Scotland might find useful.
BeSpoke is part advice, part sharing, part signposting, part mentoring, and part solidarity.
To start with, I am offering two 40-minute one-to-one zoom sessions a month, for the next three months.
That’s February to April inclusive, and six sessions in total.
In that 40-minute session with me, you can talk to me about anything or ask me anything related to the life and career of being a writer. I will listen, and I will be honest and transparent about my own experiences and thoughts in return.
If you would prefer to email rather than zoom, that is equally fine – I can tailor the format of our chat to each of you, and work with you to ensure it is entirely accessible.
During that session, we could (for example) talk about:
~ Feeling damaged as a writer by the publishing industry
~ Where to find opportunities at all stages of your career
~ How to approach difficult conversations with industry professionals
~ Inaccessibility or inequalities
~ Whether to stay or leave an unsatisfactory relationship with an agent or publisher
~ How publishing works e.g. sales figures, money, communication
~ How to approach a funding application
~ How to find and connect with a writing community
BeSpoke is not an editing service so I won’t be offering feedback on anyone’s writing here. I am not going to be critiquing synopses or query letters or novel extracts. I am also not able to provide or refer on to legal or medical advice, and I can’t take on anyone’s fight with a specific organisation.
What BeSpoke will become, I hope, is a place where writers in Scotland can talk about the things that are really bothering them, that they don’t feel they can talk about elsewhere. If you have a question or a problem or need some advice and you don’t know where else to go – you can try me.
I will listen to you and, where asked, I will share my own experiences. I will do my best to direct you to resources that might help. I will hear what you’re saying and try to advise in anyway that I can.
BeSpoke is for all writers in Scotland.
BeSpoke is a private conversation.
BeSpoke is free.
BeSpoke is just me, Helen.
BeSpoke is a place of solidarity, of support, and of connection.
If you would like to have a BeSpoke session with me, simply email BeSpoke.with.Helen@gmail.com and tell me in a few sentences what you’d like to talk about and why.
BeSpoke is open now and will remain open until 31st January in the first instance.
I have no idea how much demand there will be for these sessions (if any!) so please keep in mind this is a trial for now and I’m learning as I go.
If more than six people sign up, I will choose the people who I think I can help the most – which depends only on my own knowledge and experience. I aim to reply to everyone by email within a week of the closing date and either arrange a session or let you know that I am sadly unable to help at the moment.
By emailing me, you are confirming that you’re happy for me to have your email address. I won’t need any other personal details from you, and I will delete your emails when our correspondence is finished.
If BeSpoke proves to be useful and there seems to be a demand, I plan to extend BeSpoke into a permanent one-to-one advice and support hub for all writers in Scotland. I don’t know yet exactly how that will look, but fingers crossed this is just the beginning!
Thanks for reading and I hope to chat with you soon,
Helen x