WriteHive Mentorship Program

#HiveMentor

Kimberly Lynn Hanson

Kimberly Lynn Hanson writes nature and myth-inspired atmospheric fantasy with dark twists and tragic romance. She is a WriteHive and RevPit alum and currently on submission with her wonderful agent. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English Creative Writing and started her writing journey writing screenplays before making the switch to novels. When not immersed in other worlds, she enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with her husband and two fur-babies, wandering through misty forests, and dipping her toes in crisp, alpine lakes.

As a previous WriteHive and RevPit mentee, I understand the excitement (and the pressure) involved with participating in a mentorship like this and I am here to support you through that journey. As a project manager, I have an affinity for setting goals and breaking up work into easier chunks to make something that feels impossible become totally manageable. If you are open to that, I can absolutely help set reasonable deadlines and create an action plan for edits and querying.

I am looking for a mentee who is willing to take their manuscript to that next level and get their hands dirty in the revision process. I won’t be asking anyone to do complete rewrites, but revisions can get messy and sometimes you have to break something into pieces before you can put it back together again. And other times, small changes and enhancements can make a huge difference. It all depends on what the manuscript needs. And, of course, I am willing to discuss changes with my mentee because sometimes I don’t have all the answers, but hopefully we can work together to find solutions so you come out of the mentorship confident in your story and ready for the next step.

What I’m offering:

I will start with a read through and edit letter with some in-line comments on your manuscript. From there, you will have time to complete revisions and use me as a sounding board to brainstorm solutions or send me snippets if that helps your process.

I’m also willing to help with polishing your query package and any pitches you want to use for pitch contests (I actually love these).

Finally, I love making mood boards and graphics so I can also help with that if you need, otherwise I can always be a second set of eyes. Either way, I’m ready to be your cheerleader and support you on your writing journey!

I’m primarily looking for YA and Adult fantasy in all forms! I love genre mashups though, so if you have a horror fantasy, romantic fantasy, or a historical fantasy – gimme gimme! Space ships and fantastical lands? Yes! Myth-inspired fantasy? Pretty please. Creatures of the night with sharp claws and pointy teeth? I die for that kind of stuff. You get the idea.

I’ll also consider gothic horror and paranormal horror because to me that feels adjacent to fantasy and I’ve enjoyed many amazing gothics this past year dripping in atmosphere and longing and sadness and oh all the feels!

I do prefer a romantic thread of some kind, but it’s not a deal-breaker. My one requirement is it HAS to have a speculative element of some kind.

Not the best fit for:

  • MG – I love these and I read them, but I’m not a good mentor for them because I don’t write them.
  • Norse mythology – I have two Norse Myth projects I’m working on with my agent right now so I can’t take these on to mentor. It’s just too close to my own work. Sorry.
  • Anything over 120k words. We really have to have manuscripts lean for querying (under 100k) so if cutting words isn’t something you are willing to do, then I’m probably not the best fit.
  • SUPER high fantasy. Gosh, I used to love these, and they got me interested in fantasy as a genre, but I have found over the years that I am not the best at critiquing them. I remain impressed with your lore and your worlds, but hopefully, there is another mentor better suited to help you with them.
Kimberly Lynn Hanson

Kimberly Lynn Hanson

She/Her

Traditional Publishing