Mentorship (really) Matters

In 2007, I applied for and won the SCBWI-MI Picture Book Mentorship Competition. The grand prize was a year with Newbery Award author, Lynne Rae Perkins, as my mentor. Suffice it to say, this experience was a game-changer. Suddenly, I had self-permission to carry on. Suddenly, I had eyes and ears for my work. And suddenly I was published. NOT! Even after this amazing year in which she gave freely, often, and with very good humor toward my fumbling attempts, I wasn't ready yet. However, I still wouldn't be ready without that year with the amazing Lynne Rae Perkins.   

So...I love mentorship -- for what it has done for me in the writing world, but also because the right person at the right time can change the game for anyone. 

Now I'm a mentorship cheerleader and try to promote this activity by mentoring others and singing the praises of mentoring when I can. Here are a few resources for mentoring:

• my blog; you can read many posts about this topic and interviews with mentors and mentees (many names you'll recognize now and in the future)
  
  

• the great state of Michigan has a super mentorship program http://michigan.scbwi.org/mentorship-program-2/ run by member Catherine Bieberich. 
  
  
• although I'm partial to Michigan, there are other programs in the SCBWI world. I worked with SCBWI to create a resource page for these programs. The page resides on the main website https://www.scbwi.org/scbwi-mentorship-programs/. (You can only access it if you are a member.) If you wish to be mentored or mentor another, you can start your research here. We will add more programs as they become available.   
  
  
• You can find another SCBWI-member only resource about mentorship in THE BOOK: The Essential Guide to Publishing for Children 2014 (p.37) called Mentoring Matters by moi. This describes the benefits of mentorship for both mentees and mentors. 

Go forth and mentor or be a mentee. Change your game.