52 weeks of honest guidance for fiction writers who want to finish, publish, and keep going

Cut through the confusion around craft, publishing, mindset, and building a writing life. One email a week for a year. Starts immediately. $12 once. No subscription.

• Learn whether traditional, indie, or Kickstarter makes sense for your goals
• Avoid beginner mistakes that waste years
• Get practical advice on writing, publishing, discipline, and expectations
• From a novelist who’s been traditionally published, indie published, and paid to write across multiple lanes

Your career as a novelist began years ago, and nobody told you.

Who this is for

For fiction writers who are serious about the work but tired of guessing. If you’re trying to finish better stories, understand the difference between traditional and indie publishing, avoid beginner mistakes, and build a writing life that can actually last, this is for you. Whether you’re unpublished, newly published, or stuck somewhere in the messy middle, these emails are built to help you think clearer and move forward.

What you’ll get

One email a week for 52 weeks: practical, actionable, honest guidance on writing craft, traditional publishing, indie publishing, Kickstarter (crowdfunding), expectations, discipline, mindset, and staying sane while you do this strange thing we do.

No course to finish. No membership to manage. A year of straightforward advice from someone who’s been and is in the highs, the letdowns, the contracts, the rejections, and the reinventions with you.

The moment you decided someone should pay you money to write fiction—that was the moment you became a professional.

Not when you finish a draft. Not when you get an agent. Not when you sell a book. Right then.

FictionMentor is a 52-week email series designed to help you live the life of a writer.

You’ll get your first email immediately, and then you’ll get one email a week for the next 52 weeks.

Each email is short, practical, and meant to give you one clear next step—something you can use today, then get back to your life.

If you are an unpublished writer asking, “How do I publish my novel?” or “How do I get an agent?” or “Should I click on this Facebook ad promising me I can write a bestseller this weekend?” …you’re asking the wrong questions.

Anyone can write and sell a novel. (Yes, really.)

But no one is prepared for what happens after they sell that novel—or for what it actually means to build a life that can sustain writing for years.

My name is Tom Leveen. I’m an award-winning novelist with nine books originally published by Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, and other New York publishers. I've written for Image Comics and for Topps, Inc. I have an MFA in Creative Writing (which I got years after my ninth book). I've had a feature length film made from one of my books, been translated into multiple languages, and been overseas to teach and promote my work. And I licensed my first novel at auction for almost six figures.

That’s the dream, right? It was pretty awesome.

But it also wasn’t all it could have been, because I wasn’t prepared—financially, emotionally, artistically, sometimes even physically—for the job of being a professional author.

I’ve taught university writing courses for many years. I’ve written for Writer’s Digest and other writing sites. I’ve taught at conferences all over the country.

So I can (and will) help you write your first or next novel. But that’s not all you need.

What you need—starting now—is a way to live the life of an author. The longevity and enjoyment of your creative career will be defined by the parameters you set for it before you ever “make it.” The choices you’re making today are already shaping what kind of writer you become…and whether you’ll still be writing five years from now.

Here’s what I want for you: I want you to tell your stories—novels, short stories, comic books, screenplays, you name it. I want you to enjoy it. I want you to make real money doing it. And we need you to do it. We need your stories.

Getting starred reviews, hitting bestseller lists, landing big advances—those are great. They’re also rare. And even when they happen, most writers are still unprepared for the reality of the work.

So FictionMentor is designed to share what I wish I'd known when I started.

One email a week. One clear next step. For a full year.

No overwhelm. No “write a bestseller by Sunday.” Just steady, useful guidance and encouragement that helps you build momentum—and build a career that doesn’t wreck you.

And don’t worry: I hate spam too. You’re not going to get bombarded. This is just between you and me. No subscription, no surprises.

Ready? Your first email is waiting.

After your purchase via Payhip, you'll be sent a jpeg image; that's just a placeholder for the order. Your 52 emails will begin arriving shortly afterward.