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About RAMP

RWA’s Romance Author Mentorship Program (RAMP), conceived in 2019 after initial consultation with Pitch Wars founder Brenda Drake, was designed specifically for published romance authors who want to give back to the community and unpublished authors who want the guidance and wisdom of an experienced publish author to help the on their path to publishing. Each one, teach one!

With RAMP, no matter what publishing path mentees are interested in pursuing, the program will help them along their journey. Mentees and mentors work closely together for a period of sixteen (16) weeks to polish the mentee’s manuscript. During RAMP Pitch Week, agents and editors review the mentee’s 50-word pitch and if they like it, they send the mentee a request for submission material (query, synopsis, chapters from the manuscript). During Indie Author Weekend, mentees attend the virtual mini conference free. The 2-day conference features professionals in the indie publishing industry, and award winning, best-selling speakers who have a successful indie publishing career.


Building Community

One of our biggest aims with RAMP is to create a robust community for writers to learn from and support each other. Once selected, mentees will be subscribed to a forum where they can share advice, resources and encouragement. After they complete the program, mentees are eligible to join RAMP Alumni forum where they can continue to share advice, resources, good news, and encouragement with others who have gone through RAMP. The RAMP Alumni forum is also a place where former mentees will learn of RAMP events that they are eligible to participate in.

But mentees don’t get to have all the fun! Mentors will have their own forum to share advice and resources during the mentoring process. Each mentor gets a spotlight in the digital RWR, one free registration to an RWA University webinar, mentor ribbon to attach to the RWA Annual Conference badge, and a guaranteed spot in the Swag Room at the RWA Annual Conference.


How does it work? 

After mentors are chosen by the RAMP Coordinator, mentee applicants will be able to view their bios and wish lists and pick five (5) to whom they wish to submit their work. Applicants must complete the application and upload the required submission materials. Each mentor will select one or two mentees to work with on a full manuscript revision, a query letter, a 50-word pitch, a synopsis or a back cover blurb, as well as answer questions about the business of writing and reaching publishing goals.

Once the sixteen (16) week revision period is complete, mentees post their 50-word pitch and contact information on a designated forum for participating agents and editors to review and potentially request more material from those that interest them. Mentees attend the 2-day, virtual Indie Author Weekend– a min conference where they learn about self-publishing from award winning, best-selling indie authors and other professionals.

Our goal is for RAMP mentees to have accurate information about different publishing paths, so all mentees are highly encouraged to participate in both events!




Who can participate? 

The RAMP program is only open to RWA members.

Mentors must be RWA members who are General PAN, PAN-Eligible, PAN-Provisional or PAN-Equivalent.

Mentees can be RWA General or Associate-Writer members, unpublished.

Agents must meet the qualifications to be considered "RWA-Eligible." Editors must work for a publishing company or imprint that meets the qualifications to be considered a "Qualifying Market."

In a Nutshell

RAMP, or the Romance Author Mentorship Program, connects experienced published RWA members with mentees who are unpublished for a 16-weeks period in which they work closely together to revise the mentee’s full manuscript and write a query letter, 50-word pitch, synopsis or back cover blurb. The program culminates in two events, RAMP Pitch Week and free registration to Indie Author Weekend. Mentees are encouraged to participate in both.

How do I participate?

Mentor applications open February 20, 2023.
Mentee submissions open April 3, 2023. 

Follow the links on the sidebar to learn more about how to participate. 

2023 Schedule

February 20: Mentor applications open
March 17: Mentor applications close
March 31: Mentors announced
April 3: Mentee applications open
April 21: Mentee applications close
June 9: Mentees announced
October 2 - 6: RAMP Pitch Week