Mary DeMuth has a keen eye for making manuscripts better.

I can say this because she’s made mine better. I met Mary at the Rockwall Christian Writer’s Group a little over two years ago. In those meetings, Mary’s critiques got to the heart of what was good and what needed improvement. She gave advice I could apply not just to the five pages we looked at that month but my whole manuscript. And she was always encouraging about it. I never left feeling like a loser. Quite the opposite. I left knowing I had work to do, and I was inspired to do it.

I tell you all this because Mary started a writing critique/mentoring service called The Writing Spa. She graciously answered a few questions for me about it.

How did you get started on your writing journey?

I started right after I had my first child. I saw a clear need to write a newsletter for moms about managing their homes well with the intent on giving. I launched the Giving Home Journal in 1992. The profits from that newsletter financed my first computer. With three little kids, I spent the bulk of my time feeding and diapering and singing and storytelling. But when those kids napped or rested, I wrote. I did that for ten years, writing in obscurity. When my youngest went to preschool, I dusted off my dream to be published and pursued it wholeheartedly. Within a year, I’d finished my first novel, landed a weekly columnist job, attended a local writer’s group regularly, participated in my first major writing conference, and landed an agent! Crazy! Since then I’ve had five books published with four more coming in the next 18 months.

How did others influence and encourage you along the way?

My husband Patrick’s always been a great encouragement to me. He’s cheerleaded me from the beginning. My children have too. I also had the pleasure of meeting Sandra Glahn, one of the professors at the seminary my husband attended. She really steered, directed and encouraged me forward. Her influence inevitably led to the creation of The Writing Spa. My passion for mentoring writers was birthed from her unselfish shepherding of me.

Tell me about the genesis of The Writing Spa.

The past two years transitioning back to life in America (We’d been church planters in France has been financially difficult for us. I spent a lot of time marketing my books, writing and editing my first novel with Zondervan, and mentoring writers for free. One I lessened the strain of too much work was to start http://www.wannabepublished.blogspot.com where I mentored writers through daily little articles on the blog. But this summer, I realized I’d have to cut way back on my mentoring and perhaps find a paying job. I taught at the Greater Philadelphia Writers Conference in August and had several writers approach me, asking me to mentor, and saying things like, “Would you coach me? I will pay for it.” Then I realized God was morphing my passion to help writers with our need for me to make a more steady income. And voila! The Writing Spa was born.

What is your vision for The Writing Spa?

I long for it to be a virtual place where writers are challenged to grow deeply and widely in the craft, where they’ll better understand the rigors of the publishing journey, and come away with a better piece of writing than they had when they came through the doors. I pray folks will be encouraged, and, Lord willing, published.

Thanks for joining us, Mary!

So if you feel stuck, if you don’t understand why you continue getting rejections, or if your manuscript yawns at its own prose, I recommend heading over to The Writing Spa and see if Mary can help you.