You can feel what this story is supposed to be.
A three-month mentorship for writers who want their first draft to carry the complexity of their novel without it becoming a mess that will take years to revise.
Learn More ↓You know the method. Your novel is another matter.
You've watched the videos, taken notes, and so far it's unlocked things about your characters and your story that nothing else had. You can feel your story getting closer to what you always knew it could be. But there's a limit to what a general explanation can give you. Your story has its own level of complexity that no bestselling novel can fully account for. Which means there's no way for you to know if the story making it onto the page vibrates with the same emotion you've been carrying in your head for years.
You can try to figure it out on your own. But without that certainty, those doubts linger and compound. You either feel the story losing its shape before you're halfway across. Or you power through to the end, only to turn around and realise your first draft has already collapsed behind you. Eighty thousand words that will take years to fix.
At this point, most writers either abandon the story or spend $4,000 on a developmental editor.
$4,000 to be sent back a report, having to interpret it alone, and applying the changes alone. And if you want a second opinion after you've done the changes… you pay, again.
Or, you can build your story with someone alongside you who knows the method and knows your story, so what makes it onto the page is actually the novel you've been carrying with you all those years.
I'm Julian Maylett, and I created the Story Pillars Method.
I built it because I needed it. When I was eighteen, I had a story idea that would haunt me for well over a decade. I had read countless books on writing and story structure, watched countless videos rehashing the same writing advice. But none of it helped me write my novel the way I saw it in my head, and none of it could have prevented the story from falling apart halfway through.
I powered through that first draft, and all I had left was a complete mess that would take years for me to fix. And I had no idea where to even begin.
But while I was a struggling writer by night, I was a researcher by day. And it's in treating my own novel like a research problem and dissecting bestselling novels that I stumbled upon the Dual Storyline. A storyline where the inner journey and the outer plot don't run in parallel but reinforce each other at every turn. And it's in reverse-engineering it that the Story Pillars Method came to be.
I put everything about the method on YouTube for free. This programme is the next step, the one for the writers who want to do more than 'understand' it, who want to experience that moment where the words on the page finally carry the same heat and depth as the story that's been haunting them.
This is the mentorship I wish I had when I was wrestling with that first mess of a draft. I needed someone who could see what my story was trying to be, and help me get it onto the page without losing what made it worth writing.
What the programme is
The Story Pillars Mentorship is three months of working directly with me on your novel, with one-to-one sessions, feedback every step of the way, and a community of writers who progress with you.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
5 one-to-one sessions based on submitted work
One every three weeks. Before each call, you submit your work. I analyse it and prepare my observations. That preparation is what makes the sessions useful. These are coaching sessions, not discovery conversations.
Unlimited feedback
Between sessions, you have direct access to me via DM. Submit your work, ask a question, flag something that isn't sitting right and I'll respond within 24 hours on weekdays. You always know what's working and what isn't before you go further.
Bi-weekly Group Office Hours
Every other week I hold open office hours. Drop in when you have a question, leave when you're done. No pressure to stay, no need to prepare. I'm just available.
Monday accountability calls
Every Monday, there's a 25-minute check-in call. No preparation required, no coaching. You say what you're working on and what you want to get done this week. That's it. It's a small ritual, but it's the kind of thing that keeps a novel moving when life gets in the way.
Lifetime access to the Storyteller's Stoa
You'll have access to our client-only Discord community, where serious writers working with the Story Pillars Method build the kind of creative relationships that outlast any programme. Beta readers for your novel who speak the same language, real writing friends who show up to support you. And because the writing doesn't stop after three months, neither does your access.
Exclusive bonuses
You'll have private access to tools built specifically around the Story Pillars Method. For example, the Wiki Pillars: a searchable reference of the full method. Instead of rewatching a YouTube video to find one specific answer, you go straight to what you need. These are resources that won't be available anywhere else.
"Working with him shaped my uncoordinated ideas into what I believe will be a tight and compelling story… it's left me far more confident in strengthening my own plots going forward."
And it's all backed by my 30 day guarantee.
I can't guarantee your novel will get published and become a bestseller overnight after taking the Story Pillars Mentorship.
But I do guarantee that if you show up, do the work, and commit to taking action, your first draft will capture the complexity of your novel and you'll actually be looking forward to the revision.
And if, within 30 days, it isn't working for you, I'll give you all your money back.
Simply email me at: support@julianmaylett.com and I'll get it sorted out for you. No hard feelings, I promise.
Who this mentorship is for
This only works if I'm able to deliver a high level of personalised attention. That's why spots are limited to 10 writers. I'll personally review your application, so here's what I look for:
- You have a story idea you cannot shake, and you want to build an outline following the Story Pillars Method, so the draft you write from does not collapse on you.
- You have started your first draft and you can feel it slipping as you write. You would rather stop and rebuild now than push through and pay for it later.
- You wrote your first draft all the way to the end, turned around, and saw the mess. You refuse to begin the second draft until you understand what went wrong with the first.
- You're ready to submit your work, receive honest feedback, and act on it.
Whatever stage you're at, the work is the same: a first draft that carries the complexity of your novel and gets you to the finish line.
This is not a programme for prose feedback. If you are looking for someone to improve your sentences, sharpen your dialogue, or edit your writing style, this is not that. The work here is structural: building the outline so your draft won't collapse.
This is not a programme for writers who want to use a different method. The mentorship works inside the Story Pillars Method. If you are not interested in working that way, this is not the right place.
"Julian helped me shape my story ideas into a comprehensive outline with a structure that I feel proud of. His comments and guidance was never overbearing, and it always felt like he wanted me to be able to tell MY story, in the best way possible."
If you've read this far, you already know which writer you are. You're the one who has been carrying this story for years… through jobs, through life, through every other thing that wasn't this. You haven't abandoned it. You're still here, aren't you?
The question isn't whether you want to write this novel. You do.
The real question is:
Does the story stay in your head, or is this the year it makes it onto the page?
If you're ready, the application takes five minutes.
I'll read it personally.
Frequently asked questions
Why should I pay for this when the Method is on YouTube for free?
You shouldn't, if what you need is to understand the method. Everything about it is on the channel, and it's there because it should be free.
What the channel can't do is sit with your specific novel. It can explain the method, use bestselling novels to illustrate and help you better understand, but it cannot help you get on the page the complexity of your novel, its characters and its worldbuilding. With the Story Pillars Mentorship, you don't have to figure it out on your own and hope it'll work. So instead of spending your precious time piecing it together, you can focus your energy on writing the novel you've been carrying with you for years.
What stage does my story need to be at before I join?
There's no single starting point. Some writers join with a story idea they haven't started writing yet and want to build right from the beginning. Most arrive mid-draft, at the point where the story is starting to lose its shape. Others have finished their first draft and turned around to see a mess that no amount of revision will ever fix. All three are valid, the mentorship will be shaped around where your story currently is.
I'm writing a series. Does this work for me?
Yes, series writers are welcome. We'll first work on the Dual Storyline at the series level and ensure each instalment is a stepping stone toward the overarching series storyline. Then, we'll focus on building whichever book you want to work on next, whether that's the first instalment, a later one, or working backwards from the end.
Does the method work for my genre?
The Story Pillars Method is genre-agnostic, meaning that it works regardless of the genre of your novel.
Will you be reading my actual writing?
The work here is structural, so what you submit is your progress on your Internal Conflict Framework, your Dual Storyline, and your Story Pillars Outline, not your prose. Your sentences are yours. What we're building together is the foundation they'll stand on.
I have a full-time job. Is this realistic for me?
The programme is built around writers who have a life outside of writing. The one-to-one sessions run on a three-week cycle, which gives you enough time to do the work without it becoming another source of pressure. We'll schedule each call around your availability. And between sessions, day-to-day support happens through DMs so when something isn't working at eleven on a Tuesday night, you don't have to wait until the next call to get unstuck. The expectation is consistent effort, not full-time availability.
How do I apply, and what happens after I do?
Click the Apply Now button and fill in a short application form. I review every application personally. If you're accepted, you'll receive a checkout link to secure your spot. The enrollment window is two weeks and spots are first come, first served, so if you're accepted, I'd recommend not sitting on it.
If applications are closed by the time you're reading this, you can join the waitlist and you'll be the first to know when the next cohort opens.
What happens after the three months?
You keep lifetime access to the Discord community, the Wiki Pillars & other tools, and the weekly accountability calls. If you'd like my help to revise your novel once your first draft is written, you'll be able to join the Revision Mentorship program.