MFA Resources & Writing Consultation Services

Hi! My name is Winniebell Xinyu Zong. I am a poet, editor, and educator. In 2018 and 2020, I applied for the MFA as an international student. I have since earned an MA in English from Kansas State University and an MFA in Poetry from Cornell University, where I taught poetry, fiction, & nonfiction as a lecturer. Currently, I serve as the Jay C. and Ruth Halls Poetry Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing.

In addition, I am experienced in coaching ~200 high school students on college matriculation for an NPO, had edited 4 award-winning chapbooks, and had served on the editorial boards of 4 literary magazines.

With a complex understanding of the literary/higher ed application process, I offer writing consultation services for creative and critical writers, all-major undergraduate/graduate applicants, literary grant/fellowship applicants, and more. Scroll down to view my and my clients’ admissions records and the consultation services I offer. Toward the end of this page, I curated a list of free MFA resources, many of which had once helped me build my application.

To learn more about my credentials in literary editing, teaching, and tutoring, click below:

*Disclaimer: This is my individually curated resource and service. I am not acting on behalf of or as a representative of Cornell University, the Department of Literatures in English, the graduate field of English Language and Literature, or the Creative Writing Program and its affiliated MFA.

Celebrating Clients’ Admissions Success

Cornell ~

George Mason ~

NYU ~

Alabama ~

Nevada Reno ~

South Florida ~

Virginia Tech ~

Washington St. Louis ~

Rutgers Camden ~

Arizona ~

Houston ~

Maryland ~

New Mexico ~

Washington Seattle ~

Virginia Tech ~

Western Washington ~

Johns Hopkins ~

Northwestern ~

Bowling Green ~

Illinois Urbana-Champaign ~

Michigan Ann Arbor ~

Ohio State ~

Syracuse ~

Tennessee Knoxville ~

Oregon State ~

New Writers Project ~

Cornell ~ George Mason ~ NYU ~ Alabama ~ Nevada Reno ~ South Florida ~ Virginia Tech ~ Washington St. Louis ~ Rutgers Camden ~ Arizona ~ Houston ~ Maryland ~ New Mexico ~ Washington Seattle ~ Virginia Tech ~ Western Washington ~ Johns Hopkins ~ Northwestern ~ Bowling Green ~ Illinois Urbana-Champaign ~ Michigan Ann Arbor ~ Ohio State ~ Syracuse ~ Tennessee Knoxville ~ Oregon State ~ New Writers Project ~

 

We’ve got some rewarding cycles! Head to the clients’ track record page to celebrate with me my clients’ most recent MFA offers & more!

 

Arcadia ~

Eastern Oregon ~

Lesley ~

Pacific ~

British Columbia ~

Temple ~

Tennessee Knoxville ~

Kansas State ~

Edinburgh ~

Columbia University ~

The New School ~

Brooklyn College ~

Sarah Lawrence ~

Southern Maine ~

New Hampshire ~

Arcadia ~ Eastern Oregon ~ Lesley ~ Pacific ~ British Columbia ~ Temple ~ Tennessee Knoxville ~ Kansas State ~ Edinburgh ~ Columbia University ~ The New School ~ Brooklyn College ~ Sarah Lawrence ~ Southern Maine ~ New Hampshire ~

My Graduate Admissions Record

 

Among two rounds of applications, I received fully funded MFA offers from

  • Cornell University (2021)

  • Temple University (2019)

  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2021)

  • University of North Carolina Wilmington (2019)

  • University of Washington, Seattle (2021)

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (2021)

A first on the waitlist MFA offer from

  • Ohio State University (2021)

Partially funded MFA offers from

  • Sarah Lawrence College (2019)

  • University of British Columbia (multi-genre in poetry, fiction, & nonfiction, 2021)

& unfunded MFA offers from

  • California Institute of the Arts (2019)

  • Mills College (2019)

I also entered Phase II/Round 2 before withdrawing for financial reasons from

  • University of Mississippi (2021)

  • University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2021)

In addition, I received a fully funded MA offer & two merit scholarships from

  • Kansas State University (2019)

 

Consultation Services

* If you are of marginalized background with financial difficulty, hello! Contact me—I have a sliding scale for you.

* If phone/video/email does not accommodate you best as a means of communication, please be in touch and we can work together to find a method that is most accessible to you.

* When spots become limited, preference will be given to writers whose identities are underrepresented in the literary community and beyond.

Now Offering:

Live Q&A Session: MFA, Industry, & Creative Writing ($50/hour)

We will schedule a 60-min phone call or video chat to discuss all the questions you may have about your writing career. We can chat about publishing opportunities, creative writing craft, writer’s life, or about the MFA. I’m happy to share about my MFA application process: how to get started, how to look for programs that are best-fits for you, what makes a writing sample or personal statement competitive, time management during the application process, what is in a fully funded MFA offer, etc.

Live Consultation Session w/0 Notes: Creative Writing, Cover Letter, Personal Statement, or Critical Essay ($70/hour)

Open for all needing professional feedback. Similar to a writing center tutoring session, we will schedule a one-hour phone call or video chat for poetry, fiction, nonfiction, cover letter, personal statement, grant proposal, college essay, or critical essay workshop. Zoom or Google Meet with screen-share capacity is preferred to maximize the consultation experience. You are welcome to send me a draft at least 12 hours ahead of the session or come with just ideas for brainstorming. I will review the manuscript prior to our meeting and be ready to workshop it in any direction helpful for you.

Draft page limits are up to 4 pages for cover letters or personal statements, OR up to 10 pages of poetry, OR up to 15 pages of prose or critical essay. Double-spaced for prose. Single-spaced for poetry, with each new poem beginning on a new page. Send document as a Word doc, PDF, or Google doc. Please check accuracy of formatting (line break, white space, etc.) prior to sending.

Live Consultation w/ Notes: Creative Writing, Cover Letter, Personal Statement, or Critical Essay ($100/hour)

In addition to what the Live Consultation Session offers above, which is 1 hour of live one-on-one workshop for your manuscript, I will dedicate another hour prior to workshop to carefully review your manuscript and provide moderate marginal notes, which may include line edits, side comments, light proofreading, and reading recommendations inspired by your work. I will be happy to elaborate on my notes during the meeting. This consultation method, which was developed based on a dear client’ request, has proven to nurture the most engaged conversations for clients’ work.

Draft page limits are up to 4 pages for cover letters or personal statements, OR up to 10 pages of poetry, OR up to 15 pages of prose or critical essay. Additional pages can be added at $10/page. Double-spaced for prose. Single-spaced for poetry, with each new poem beginning on a new page. Send document as a PDF. Please check accuracy of formatting (line break, white space, etc.) prior to sending.

*My default feedback format is writing on your manuscript digitally on Goodnotes, which will return to you as a vibrantly annotated PDF. If you prefer Google Doc or Word Doc comments, sure! Feel free to indicate so in your request.

Live Session Bundle (3 sessions or more)

For clients who seek to purchase 3 or more live sessions at once, each session will receive a discounted price at: $45 per Live Q&A, $60 per live consultation w/o notes, and $85 per live consultation w/ notes. This bundle is suitable for those who are generating a new portfolio, workshopping a longer manuscript, or polishing one work through multiple drafts. You are welcome to book all sessions in one type, or mix and match session types to suit your needs.

Written Feedback: Creative Writing, Cover Letter, Personal Statement, or Critical Essay

Open for all needing professional feedback. I will provide ample line edits, side comments, and written notes. You are encouraged to email me your questions or concerns ahead of time so I can hone in on those areas in my feedback. For chapbook or full-length manuscripts, I offer 2 complementary 30-minute phone/video calls—one pre-editorial and one post-editorial—to help me understand your work and needs via an open dialogue.

All page numbers are based on 12-point, Times New Roman font. Double-spaced for prose. Single-spaced for poetry. Each new poem should start on a new page. Send document as a PDF. Please check accuracy of formatting (line break, white space, etc.) prior to sending. Please see below for my rates. For pricing with a more specific manuscript length, please inquire for a prorated rate.

*My default feedback format is writing on your manuscript digitally via Goodnotes, which will return to you as a vibrantly annotated PDF. If you prefer Google Doc or Word Doc comments, sure! Please indicate so in your inquiry.

 

Short Manuscripts

  • Up to 3 pages: $50

  • Up to 5 pages: $65

  • Up to 10 pages: $125

  • Up to 15 pages: $175

  • Up to 20 pages: $225

 

Chapbook or full-length manuscripts

  • Up to 25 pages: $300

  • Up to 30 pages: $350

  • Up to 40 pages: $425

  • Up to 50 pages: $520

  • Up to 60 pages: $615

  • Up to 70 pages: $710

  • Up to 80 pages: $805

  • Up to 100 pages: $995

 

MFA Consultation Package ($450)

In this package, you will receive:

  • One 30-min initial consultation: We will set up an initial 30-min consultation via phone call or video chat to answer any application questions, discuss expectations, and draft a tentative consultation timeline.

    • During our conversation, I’ll be happy to draw from the extensive research sheets I’ve compiled over three years, including highlights and red flags I’ve seen from dozens of MFA programs’ course of study, GTA responsibility, diversity/workshop vibes, cross genre/electives policy, funding (some with details on the funding offers I received), health insurance, decision timeline, application requirements, etc.

  • Four 1-hour live consultation sessions: after the initial consultation, we will schedule 4 additional 1-hour sessions via phone call or video chat to support your application process. Usually, you will send a draft of EITHER your personal statement OR your manuscript to me at least 12 hours ahead of meeting time (please check the bullet point below for page limits for different writing samples). I will review the draft ahead of our session. And we will talk about your draft together during the session. If desired, we can spend some meeting time to talk about your MFA program list, recommendation letters, etc. The goal of each session and how it’s run can be totally up to you, so feel free to tailor the meetings to your needs.

  • Up to four rounds of marginal notes: as mentioned above, for each manuscript meeting, you can send me a writing sample (EITHER personal statement OR manuscript) for review at least 12 hours ahead of meeting time, and I will share my moderate marginal notes for it during our session. Please send document as a PDF. Please check accuracy of formatting (line break, white space, etc.) prior to sending. To make sure we can tend to the writing sample closely within 1 hour, please adhere to the following page limits for your writing sample for each meeting (additional pages can be added at $10/page):

    • Personal statement: 4 double-spaced pages

    • Poetry manuscript: 10 single-spaced pages, with each poem starting on a new page

    • Prose manuscript: 15 double-spaced pages, with each essay/story starting on a new page

*My default feedback format is writing on your manuscript digitally on Goodnotes, which will return to you as a vibrantly annotated PDF. If you prefer Google Doc or Word Doc comments, sure! Feel free to indicate so in your request.

  • Access to my curated SOP Checklist & MFA Programs Research Sheets:

    • The SOP Checklist attempts to break down major elements essential to a successful SOP (statement of purpose). Under each element, I incorporate tips on how to navigate common SOP questions through your narrative, with expansive quotes from my SOP that received exceptional acclaims from several fully funded MFAs & my mentors.

    • The MFA Programs Research Sheets include all the research I compiled on MFA programs over three years, with separate sheets documenting program info, money, app info, letter of recommendation track sheet, & app expenses. It is by itself an extensive resource, while remaining highly customizable, so you can tailor the templates for your own research.

  • One 30-minute Post-Application Live Consultation

    • Once you have heard back from the MFAs, let’s chat about your results! Maybe you are deciding between programs. Maybe you are planning for what’s beyond the MFA. I’m happy to guide you to weigh the pros and cons of each offer, maximize your waitlist chances, negotiate an existing offer to get more funding or lessen a teaching load, or strategize the next career steps in your writing life.

If you are interested in any of the services above, please contact me (and indicate which services you are interested in) by clicking the button below.

Free MFA resources in the Literary Community

 

Not sure where to start? I’ve been there. Here are some free, categorized resources that can be helpful—many of which once helped me:

*This is a living document and I may update it from time to time. Know a good MFA resource that is not listed below? Drop me a line via my contact page.

First: Hone Your Craft

  • “Writers of Color Discussing Craft - An Invisible Archive” by Neil Aitken is an incredibly rich resource for craft essays/talks/books from non-white writers. This is a sustaining archive that I wish I’d known during the application process, and I revisit it often to help construct my syllabi for teaching.

  • Craft Chaps by Sundress Publications is a series of creative writing craft essays by contemporary writers, including Chen Chen, Joshua Nguyen, Ángel García, and many others. “Each chap focuses on one aspect of craft [like erasure, novel anatomy, postcolonial memories, narrative...] and also contains a writing exercise and bibliography for further reading.” They are free chapbooks in downloadable PDFs.

  • Alina Ştefănescu has a website full of creative writing resources: library of prose (notable essays & memoir, on translation, poetics, innovative prose forms, racism, colonialism, cultural studies, literary theories, and so much more!), library of craft (on poetry, prose, and writer pep talks), craft on poetic and prose forms (elegy, cento, memoir, etc.), library of workshops and readings in PDFs, notes on poetic syntax, and so on. Do yourself a favor and start discovering this treasure chest!

“Am I Ready for an MFA?”

Program Exploration

  • Jess Silfa, a brilliant fiction writer & seasoned MFA vet, made a Google Map of every MFA program in the world. It can be filtered by funding, low-res, and genre—screenwriting (and soon playwriting) friendly. When clicking on each program, you can also view additional info such as faculty list, location, degree types, etc. An easy and visual starting point for research especially if funding, location, and genre matter to you.

  • The Workshop, formerly The MFA Years and The MFA Chronicles, offers comprehensive lists of fully funded MFAs, mostly funded MFAs, MAs, and PhDs. The lists come with useful information about each program with rad focuses on transparency and accessibility

  • Poets & Writers has an MFA Programs Database to get you started on exploring all programs based on degree, location, size, residency, and application deadline

  • If you like listening to Podcasts, MFA Writers is Jared McCormack’s interview series that talks to MFA students/alums “about their program, their process, and a piece they’re working on.” I found them useful in getting an insider’s view on the programs’ workshop vibes, program structure, what the students were writing about, etc.

    • MFA Writers also do special episodes with seasoned MFA vets & faculty, such as this episode with Cady Vishniac from The Workshop, and this episode with George Saunders from the Syracuse MFA.

    • What’s even cooler: if they don’t have an episode about an MFA that interests you, you can request an episode from them!

  • From catapult, a roundtable discussion with faculty from 6 top MFA programs: So You Want to Apply for an MFA | Don’t Write Alone

  • Director Insights is an interview series that “answer[s] some of the highly requested questions from potential applicants, in the perspectives of Directors from the best MFA programs.” I founded and solicited for it during my tenure at Frontier Poetry. The series is currently on hiatus.

  • Do you write speculative fiction? If so, read this rad list that Steph Grossman put together for MFA Programs that are Chill with Speculative Fiction

Understanding the Application Process

Resources for Writing the Personal Statement

Resource for Asking for Letters of Recommendation

Useful MFA Communities Online

  • The MFA Draft Facebook groups are where hundreds (sometimes thousands) of applicants, current MFA students, and MFA alums share application-related expertise and camaraderie. A new main Draft is created each year. The most active among all the Drafts, the main Draft is where most members share acceptance/waitlist/rejection updates in the spring. I found most of the resources I now share in this list thanks to Draft. To join, search MFA Draft on Facebook

    • Beside the main Draft, there are Draft subgroups for POC applicants, International applicants, Creative Writing PhD, and MFA alums. In addition, there are genre-specific subgroups where applicants can form free workshop groups to exchange their manuscripts or personal statements

  • The Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum on Grad Cafe is another good spot to exchange information with applicants. Compared to Draft, it’s more anonymous. A new group is made each year, and the link above leads to the 2021 forum

  • Grad Cafe also has a straightforward database for applicants to self-report admission results. Many, including me, refreshed this page several times a day in the spring and dug into the previous years’ data to predict when a specific MFA might release results. Beware—since it’s self reported, a small number of results may not be accurate or truthful

Free App Review Services

  • MFA App Review offers a free (small contribution optional to fund application fees for Black writers), informal review of your writing sample and/or personal statement via a phone call. It pairs you with a reviewer, who is often an MFA student, based on the interests in your writing, background, and MFA list. It’s a platform dedicated to helping underrepresented writers, and the eligibility rules can be found here

Free Money for MFA App Fees & More!

  • Poets & Writers offers a grant called, “Open Door Career Advancement Grants for BIPOC Women Writers”: “A limited number of grants of $500 or $1,000 will be awarded to BIPOC women writers. Grantees may use funds to cover application fees for MFA programs, writing contests, conferences, workshops, and residencies. Related expenses, such as travel and childcare, will also be eligible. To be eligible, writers must identify both as a woman and as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC); further, applicants must be unagented and not yet have published a book.”

Options beyond the MFA?—Creative Writing Grants, Funds, Jobs, Contests, Residencies, & Fellowships

Navigating the Literary World: Revision, Submission, Querying, etc.!

Good luck, and happy writing!