Put on your editing hats! Join us for a live presentation and Q&A on all things revising on the RTM YouTube channel (@RoundTableMentor) on March 14 @ 1 p.m. ET. And don't stress if you can't make the live event. The panel will be recorded for future access.
See you then!
Author feature: Holly Riddle. How to tighten up your pacing as an overwriter. Read now on substack.
Holly Riddle. How to tighten up your pacing as an overwriter. "However, when I say, "editors want shorter books," they're not just weeding out the major doorstoppers. More and more genres are trending downward, with a lot of authors (and agents) feeling most comfortable going out on sub with a book that's less than 100,000 words."
We're so excited to share our second blog post! Today's features Holly Riddle's advice on tightening pacing to help get your story to an industry-acceptable word count. Read now on Substack and subscribe for more articles on writing craft and industry insights!
27.02.2026 16:02 — 👍 7 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
Author feature: Taylor Grothe. Is this descriptive or is this purpose? Four case studies of beautiful prose. Read now on substack
Taylor Grothe: Is this descriptive or is this purple? Four case studies of beautiful prose. And while descriptive, breathing prose is a welcome read, a scene heavy with obscuring description is distracting at best, and DNF-worthy at worst. So, this begs the question: how can you craft a beautiful book without falling into some of the more common pitfalls?
RTM's blog is moving to Substack! Our first post is a feature by horror author Taylor Grothe as they deconstruct four examples of good prose and explain just what makes them so effective.
You can read now on Substack as well as subscribe for more articles on writing craft and industry insights!
mentees by age group adult 57% middle grade 11% new adult 3% young adult 29%
mentees by genre contemporary 3% fantasy 54% horror 18% mystery 3% romance 16% sci-fi 3% women's fiction 3%
mentees by race asian 24% black or african american 21% hispanic or latino 5% middle eastern or north african 5% white 47%
percentage of BIPOC mentees BIPOC 53% white 47%
And of course, our 2026 mentees!
RTM strives to ensure at least 50% of both our mentors and selected mentees are People of Color, and we're proud to announce we've reached that goal for yet another year.
applicants by age group adult 56% middle grade 6% new adult 10% young adult 28%
Applicants by genre Contemporary 7% fantasy 51% graphic novel .5% historical 1% horror 10% literary fiction 2% mystery 1% romance 15% sci-fi 6% thriller 2% women’s fiction 1% non-fiction .5% short story .5% upmarket 2.5%
Applicants by race American Indian or Alaska native .7% Asian 20% black or African American 9% Hispanic or Latino .7% middle eastern or North African 3% white 65% other 4% prefer not to say 2%
Applicants by marginalized community Autistic 10% chronically ill 18% chronic pain 12% deaf/hoh .7% disable (other) 2% gender-expansive 2% gender-fluid 4% lgbtq+ 46% mentally ill 21% neurodivergent 34% non-binary 7% other 7% physically disabled 3% prefer not to say 4% queer 26% transgender 5% visually impaired 1%
Take a look at the stats for our 278 applicants!
12.01.2026 14:03 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
With the 2026 mentorship officially kicked off, we thought it would be fun to share some numbers for this year's applicant and mentee groups. See below for the stats! 👀👇
#roundtablementor #writingcommunity #writingmentorship
**Please note that ALL applicants, regardless of being chosen for this year’s mentorship, will be invited to the Discord server. You should have received your email from RTM with the link yesterday, so please check your spam or reach out if not!**
05.01.2026 17:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Please know that not being selected for the mentorship has nothing to do with the quality of work. Our mentors were truly blown away by the talent this year, and we can’t wait to see where all of you and your stories go!
05.01.2026 17:00 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0We want to thank and send a huge congrats to every single applicant who submitted their work to us this year. We know how vulnerable and scary that can be, and applying alone is an accomplishment to be proud of.
05.01.2026 17:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0To our honorable mentions: You will be receiving feedback from the mentor you’re listed under within the coming days, so also look out for that email!
05.01.2026 17:00 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
IT’S HERE! 🎉
Congratulations to the 2026 Round Table Mentor mentees! Our mentors are SO excited to get started and will be personally reaching out to their chosen mentee via email to kick things off, so keep an eye on those inboxes!
**See more details below 👇**
ONE MORE SLEEP! 🤩
We are so excited to announce our 2026 mentees TOMORROW at 12 p.m. EST!!!
Are we vibrating with excitement yet?!
Our mentee announcement goes live in THREE DAYS on January 5 at 12 p.m. EST!!
IT'S ALMOST HERE!!! It's hard to believe, but we are only FIVE days away until our 2026 mentees are announced on our socials on January 5 at 12 p.m. EST!
31.12.2025 14:05 — 👍 10 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1
Our fifth and final day of prompts and also the last day to get those applications in!!!
Our mentors want to know: What do you hope to learn from RTM?
APPLICATIONS CLOSE TODAY AT 12 PM ET!
#RTM #roundtablementor #writingcommunity #mentorship #amwriting #amquerying
Day 4! What is your favorite part of the writing process? Drafting? Revising? Creating playlists or gathering inspo pics?
There are only 2 days left to get your applications in!
#RTM #roundtablementor #writingcommunity #mentorship #amwriting #amquerying #writersoftwitter
Day 3! What are you reading? Are you in the midst of an epic fantasy? A dark, twisty thriller? Did you just finish something that kept you up until the wee hours of the night? Tell us everything!!
There are 3 days left to get your applications in!
#RTM #roundtablementor
Day 2! We cannot wait to see your story aesthetics!! Have some character art you’ve been dying to share? A mood board that captures the captivating vibes? We want to see it all!!
There are 4 days left to get your applications in!
#RTM #roundtablementor #writingcommunity
Hello #RTM Hopefuls!
There are officially FIVE days left to get your applications in! We thought we’d count down the final days with some community prompts!
Prompt 1: We want to get to know you and your MC!
#roundtablementor #writingcommunity #mentorship #amquerying #amwriting
A white and blue poster that says, "MENTEE APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN NOW UNTIL NOV 21!". In the background are book graphics and at the bottom is a line that reads, "To apply, please visit: www.roundtablementor.com/apply."
The time has come🥳Mentee applications are now open until November 21st! Interested parties should head over to www.roundtablementor.com/apply and feel free to DM for any questions!
We can't WAIT to dive into your submissions!!!! ❤️
A white and blue graphic that says, “ASK ME ANYTHING! DROP YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE COMMENTS!” With a graphic of a book beneath it.”
@roundtablementor.bsky.social is holding an AMA on their account, but you can also ask me questions here about the program, what I’m looking for in a mentee, etc.
03.11.2025 18:35 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0we're answering questions about RTM today! swing bybthe RTM account to ask your burning qs or if you have one for me specifically leave it below!
03.11.2025 13:27 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Applications open in a couple of days! Come ask us questions! Mentors will be popping in throughout the day! ✨
And if you have any specific questions for/about me as a mentor, feel free to leave them below! I can't wait to see your submissions!!
Ask me anything about #roundtablementor. If you’re a middle grade author thinking of applying (window opens Nov 6!), I’m here to answer questions 🫶🏼
03.11.2025 15:02 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 1
Today’s the day!
Have a question about the program, application process, or our mentors? Ask it below!
#writingmentorship #roundtablementor #writingcommunity
Attention applicants!
We're hosting an AMA on the RTM socials on 11/3 starting at 8 a.m. EST! We'll be answering questions about the program or anything specific you have for our mentors. (Some will also have AMAs on their personal pages, so keep an eye out!)
See you then!
Center text reads MENTEE PITCH PARTY. In the upper left are the words Round Table Mentor. In the bottom right are the words Starting Now, 8am- 8PM EST, and the URL www.roundtablementor.com
White box with the words: Showcase rules. 8am - 8pm EST, Hosted on Twitter and Bluesky, Up to 3 pitches, Mood boards allowed, Use #roundtablementor hashtag for visibility, Include age group and genre tags, Only RTM mentees may pitch, but everyone is encouraged to boost and like pitches!
White box with the words: Showcase hashtags. Age group tags: PB | MG | YA | NA | A #Con = contemporary #F = fantasy #GN = graphic novel #HI = historical #H = horror #L = literary #M = mystery
White box with the words: Showcase hashtags. Age group tags: PB | MG | YA | NA | A #NF = nonfiction #MEM = memoir #R = romance #SF = sci-fi #SP = screenplay / play #SH = short story collection #T = thriller #UP = upmarket / book club #W = women’s fiction #AG = agented #UN = unagented
AND WE’RE LIVE! Welcome to our #roundtablementor mentee pitch party! From 8am EST until 8pm EST, you can browse the #roundtablementor hashtag across Twitter and Bluesky to see what our mentees have been up to. (Spoiler: They’ve been writing amazing stories 💅)
27.10.2025 12:04 — 👍 26 🔁 16 💬 0 📌 1
A calendar graphic for Round Table Mentor’s Mentee Pitch Party, with Oct 27 circled. The bottom notes that the event is happening tomorrow.
Don’t forget, TOMORROW, 10/27 is our #roundtablementor mentee pitch party! From 8am - 8pm EST, tune in on X and Bluesky to see what our mentees have been working on all year. Let’s celebrate them together!
26.10.2025 16:04 — 👍 16 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 3
