The 2015 Women’s Mentor Exchange has ended.
Thank you to all who took part. It has been an amazing experience, and I’ll be doing it again next year so sign up for my newsletter and I’ll send you all the details.
I have a custom. Every year on my birthday, I give gifts instead of getting them. I’ve done this in different ways over the years. This year, with the help of some really talented, amazing women — more about these women later — I’m gifting 50 one-on-one mentoring hours to women who would benefit from the support.
Where did this custom of mine begin?
Credit where credit is due
In college, I met a man named John Blackfeather Jeffries, a member of the Occaneechi tribe. He invited us to his home. It was the end of summer, still warm, so we sat outside to drink soda and chat. We talked about many things, but this stuck with me
“We Native Americans do things a bit differently. Instead of getting gifts on our birthdays, we give them.” He leaned back in his chair, steadying himself by propping his feet against the retaining wall in front of him. “Truth is, you end up getting a whole lot more.”
From then on, I followed John’s lead, each year giving at least a little something to someone else.
This year’s birthday celebration
Last year, I gave ten one-on-ones. This year, I wanted to do something bigger, so I asked women writers I know to donate time to mentor other women. I have been overwhelmed and humbled by the response.
This year, thanks to these wonderful people, I’m able to offer fifty, yes, that’s a big 50 hours of mentoring with me or one of my talented friends and colleagues for fifty different women.
What do you mean by mentoring?
I hear from women all the time about how much they want to write, but they don’t believe they can. Usually fear and doubt holds them back. Does that happen to you? It sure as hell does to me. That’s why it’s crucial to have someone to guide you, to help open your eyes to new pathways and to let you know that you’re headed in the right direction.
The women who have so generously offered their time to work with other women have incredible advice and wisdom to offer. Whether you’re looking to write a novel, refresh your resume, get up in front of a crowd and make them laugh, or any other endless possibilities of things you can do with words, the women involved in this giveaway are an incredible resource.
And their time is now available to you!
How does this work?
You sign up for a mentorship hour anytime between my birthday, March 20th, 2015 and my daughter’s birthday on April 29th, 2015.
Sign up for the 2015 Women’s Mentor Exchange has ended, but I’ll be doing this again next year and hopefully every year after that. Sign up for my newsletter and you’ll be the first to know when it happens again. (And in the meantime, I’ll send you monthly support for your writing.)
Once it hits 11:59 April 29th, I’ll shut the entry form and randomly choose 50 women for mentoring hours. If you are selected, I’ll let you know via e-mail by May 5, 2015.
You can read the 2015 birthday give away rules here.
Who are these awesome women?
This is a partial list of the women who have joined me to support other women as they generously donate their time, expertise and attention. They honor me! I couldn’t ask for more to mark my birthday.
Jessica Ainlay is a successful blogger and author working on a book / screenplay of some of her 15 years spent living and traveling abroad.
Nigerian-born Lola Akinmade Åkerström’s photography and travel writing are characterized by vibrancy and hope. She was featured in was featured in a vignette called Through The Lens which airs on Nat Geo channel across the globe.
Ashley Black is a talented comedy writer who’s been teaching comedy writing at The Second City and Columbia College. Check out her portfolio.
Margaret Corvid is a professional dominatrix, writer, and activist, based in the South West of the United Kingdom. She is a regular blogger for the New Statesman website and has written recently for The Guardian Comment is free, xoJane, and The Frisky.
Mara Gorman is a freelance writer and blogger. The Mother of all Trips has inspired families to travel for the past seven years. She also is the author of The Family Traveler’s Handbook. Mara has a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Nonfiction from Penn State University.
Dina Kaplan‘s is founded of The Path and former co-founder, blip.tv.
Laura H Lucas is a writer, editor and works at Lexis Nexis helping them edit content.
Kim Mott has freelance written and blogged for a lot of big guns for the last seven years and worked on-camera for Travel Channel and others. She’s currently working on filming a new series and book exploring the world’s esoteric traditions. More at kimmott.com
Jeannie Mark. Writer and blogger at Nomadic Chick and co-founder (with me) of Creative Revolution Retreats, international writing retreats for women.
Alex Millard. Writer, artist and consultant. She tumbles at Hippo In a Tutu, and you can find her on Twitter, too.
Avital Norman Nathman writes about feminism and parenting and authored the anthology The Good Mother Myth. You can find her on Twitter and on her website The Mamafesto.
Betsy Talbot is a romance author living in Spain. When she’s not writing the next book in her Late Bloomers Series, you can find her attempting to learn flamenco and drinking wine. Get a free short story from Betsy at BetsyTalbot.com.
Dr, Jessie Voigts, co-founder of Wandering Educators, a White House blogger and expert on travel blogging at Learn.ist.
Louse Ware works with people helping them organize and plan their career and life options at People Development.
