MENTOR:
Sujin Witherspoon (she/her)
CATEGORY:
Young Adult, New Adult
SUB GENRES:
Contemporary Romance, Rom Com, Romantic Suspense, Paranormal, Horror Romance
BIO:
Sujin Witherspoon is the Korean-American author of Bingsu for Two and other young adult romances in the contemporary, speculative, and horror space. She loves stories that will either make her stomach hurt from laughter or give her nightmares -- no in between. As a writer who grew up on fan fiction, she is particularly drawn to romances that are self-indulgent in their usage of tropes, but loves anything that makes her pine for the characters long after she reads the last page.
MSWL:
In general, I love any romance in the contemporary, horror, or speculative space, as long as it has compelling characters with searing chemistry. Below are some specific things I adore:
- HORROR ROMANCE, please!
- cannibalism as a metaphor for love
- queer love of all kinds, platonic or romantic
- slow burns, fake dating, enemies to lovers, found family
- embarrassing, loser protagonists who you cringe at but adore
- Asian and BIPOC representation (bonus points if there's also LGBTQIA+ or mixed rep)
- evil women and their girlfriends who support them
- "quiet" stories: first loves, coming out, heartbreak, etc.
- paranormal romance!! I especially love ghosts, vampires, and cryptid hunters. If your story would have been a Buzzfeed Unsolved episode but with romance, send it my way
- I LOVE romcoms! Comedy ala Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is right up my alley
- lovers that are doomed by the narrative -- or alternatively, soulmates!
- anything fandom or fan-fiction-inspired
Some things I'm not the best fit for:
- high fantasy (but grounded, speculative elements like ghosts are welcome)
- insta love, unless there's a good reason or a twist
- enemies to lovers that are bully x victim, or similar dynamics
- cheating plots
- love triangles (unless it's queer!)
- exes to lovers
MENTORING STYLE
I love working collaboratively with writers to determine what their goal is and how we can best get there with the story they want to tell. I will provide detailed feedback at the developmental and line level, both in a formal edit letter and also with in-line comments, but ultimately, nobody knows your story better than you, and I hope you feel empowered to only take the suggestions that resonate with you! I am also a big cheerleader and will probably leave comments screaming over the parts I love in your story. Logistically, my approach to mentoring is: 1. read the querying package 2. meet with you to get a sense of your goals and your passion for this story, and talk about the querying process 3. read the sample and come back with in-line comments and an edit letter 4. discuss 5. let you work your magic 6. rinse and repeat until we are happy with the story.
APPLICATIONS FROM CONNECTIONS
Please do not apply to me if we are personally close. I'd love to continue supporting your work in our usual channels. If we're just mutuals on social media or have interacted here or there, don't hesitate to submit!
MORE MENTORS
Christine Cowan & Noreen Mughees (NA, A)
Liana De la Rosa (NA, A)
Faye Delacour (A)
Grace Demyan (A)
Noelle Douglas (A)
Amaka Egbe (YA, NA)
Christina Elle (YA, NA, A)
Isabelle Engel (NA, A)
K. M. Enright (NA, A)
Shaylin Gandhi (A)
Daniel James (YA, NA)
Anahita Karthik (YA, NA, A)
Rufaro Faith Mazarura (NA, A)
Pyae Moe Thet War (A)
Taylor Moore (YA, NA, A)
Noreen Nanja (A)
Katie Naymon (NA, A)
Melissa O’Connor (NA, A)
Megan Oliver & Ava Watson (A)
Kalie Reid (NA, A)
Audrey Ruoff (A)
Annika Sharma (NA, A)
Mia Sosa (NA, A)
Celia St Gelais (A)
Ravynn Stringfield (YA, NA)
Neely Tubati Alexander (NA, A)
Alexandra Vasti (A)
Sujin Witherspoon (YA, NA)
Lenora Woods (NA, A)