On Mentorship
A few days ago the inaugural Write Team Mentorship Program (WTMP) made its mentee selection announcements. I am a volunteer mentor for the program, and my mentor teammate Christine Daigle and I have selected Daphne Fama, who we're excited about for several reasons. Daphne's manuscript, Samsara's Knot is a SF thriller featuring a queer Filipino lead. It has everything that I want as a reader, and all the elements that pervade my own projects.
Not too long ago, I was in her place, coming into a mentorship program as a mentee with the same kind of story. I've written about PitchWars before, one of the bigger writing mentorship programs out there, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was a lot of work, but I learned a lot too. My mentor Rob helped get The Sleepless ready for agents' eyes, and he also gave me the lowdown on the querying process, as well as the industry as a whole.
Aside from PitchWars, I also participated in the SFWA Mentoring Initiative, where my mentor helped me jumpstart my next project and also hold my hand through the agony of querying. From workshops and other pedagogical settings, I've also had help from more advanced writers, many of whom I consider my mentors.
Being a mentee helped me become the writer I am today. I know firsthand how good mentoring can inspire confidence and build skills in newer writers, and highly recommend participating in such programs whenever possible. There are so many options to choose from, with different formats that fit every schedule and preference. Of course, there's PitchWars and Author Mentor Match (AMM), WTMP, SFWA and many others.
Of course I hope my mentee Daphne also derives the same depth and breadth of knowledge that I got from when I was a mentee. Because of how good my mentors were to me, I wanted to become a mentor and pay it forward, so to speak. I'm grateful that I have that opportunity, but also as I embark on this new role, I'm also struck with a bit of impostor syndrome, which is not as bad as the real fear that I might lead my mentee astray.
No amount of preparation or pep talks from writer friends can make those feelings go away, but I'm gonna give it my all and make sure Daphne gets as much out of the WTMP mentorship as possible. I want to pass on what I've learned and give her a sense of community. I might be on the greener end of what folks think of when they hear the word "mentor", but I'm a decent creative collaborator and a great cheerleader. At the very least I hope I'm able to provide some solidarity in this industry, someone to listen when things are rough. Someone who'll affirm when she asks, This is how it is for me; is this how it is for you too?