The Guide to Success With Online Writing, Part 4: Find a Mentor
By Zach3000, 20th Jan 2012 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutWritingTips
Finding a mentor is one of best ways an online writer can learn the in's and out's of being a writer. Find out what you can expect to learn from someone who has done it before in the writing business, to quickly accelerate to the top.
- Recap
- New Advice: Find a Writing Mentor
- Online Writing is a Unexplored Territory
- A Warning in Advance for Free Spirits
- Readers are Welcome and Appreciated
Recap
In part one of The Guide to Success With Online Writing, we learned that if you desire longevity as an online writer, then you must be able to adapt to the changing environment.
The analogy used in part one was allow yourself to bend - like a river - rather than be an ineffective flood, only to be forgotten when the waters recede and dry up.
Part one also challenges the online writer to build up high-quality content, with the intended purpose of publishing an ebook later on, down the road.
If you are interested in writing and publishing an ebook, please read my Wikinut article on how to do so, found here.
Part two of the series teaches the online writer how to be successful by producing high-quality fruit. By writing great pieces consistently, you will build a readership of followers that will help propel you into further success.
Part three shares the importance of using the analytic tools provided by the writing websites, so you can best decide when to add new content versus managing other online writing portfolios.
To learn more about building and maintaining your online writing portfolio, read my Wikinut article here.
New Advice: Find a Writing Mentor
The quickest way to get a leg up on all of your competition is to find a mentor who will fast-track you all the way to the top.
Reasons to Find a Writing Mentor:
- Provide insight already learned from experience
- Give shortcuts to make it to the top faster
- Vastly improve your writing skills and techniques
A mentor is an invaluable resource to the writer, because otherwise, the online writer is left to forge his own path through trial-and-error.
Keep in mind that many successful writers will tell you that they did make it on their own, with no help whatsoever. That is great.
But wouldn't you like to shave 10 to 15 years off of your long and arduous trek to the top?
I know I sure would.
In fact, the Bible confirms the use of wise advice:
Proverbs 24:6 says:
"For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory."
Online Writing is a Unexplored Territory
While it is good to get a mentor, keep in mind that the generation above you may not be familiar with the online writing industry.
But a mentor does not necessarily have to be older in age.
A mentor can be garnered to simply improve existing writing skills, or a mentor can be selected to exclusively learn the "in's and out's" of online writing.
Either way you choose, you will learn valuable insights from a knowledgable person in your field of interest.
A Warning in Advance for Free Spirits
Mentors are helpful, but they can also be opinionated.
Always be respectful of those who have went before you and scaled the Mt. Everest of writing. They deserve credit for what they have overcome to get where they are.
If you don't like a certain piece of advice, be polite, take it down, and move on.
There is no need to hurt feelings over a slight difference of opinion. The main advantage to working closely with a mentor is getting much needed experience of learning how to take constructive criticism.
Most published writers work with at least one editor.
This means you need to know how to work with people to get a project completed, and have to be willing to redo work that isn't fit for publication.
Which means you can't be a lone wolf, trying to "make a go at it" all by yourself.
Yes, that does mean that you will need to take on some responsibility. Real jobs that pay real money require real dedication on your part.
Readers are Welcome and Appreciated
If you would like to start your own writing portfolio, consider writing for Wikinut, with a diverse community of people that provide honest feedback on your articles.
Sign up here: http://www.wikinut.com/in/zghej/
or
Continue reading in this series. Part 5 can be read here.
Comments
21st Jan 2012 (#)
Continuing good advice here.
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
Very well stated
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
Nice article and advice.
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
Thank you, Zach. Your information is appreciated.
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
I always believe that the Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom and that is what propels me to write what I write as I believe that Creation writes through you using your outlook and experience through life to create an opinion which could make or break a person's success or failure.
Personally I write for my satisfaction and to create awareness to people around me.
With regards to mentors, mine started with my school teachers asking me to write compositions at the drop of a hat and I became a good story teller as these were done orally and then made to document them. I was encouraged at the age of ten to write for the newspapers and that was because my English teacher recognised my potential and encouraged me to move forward.
I was later trained by a published editor of Mcmillian, Professor David K Sebastian who left a lasting mark on my English Vocabulary apart from Music. Then another teacher from South Africa set the punctuation right.
All said and done I had an overall score of 92% in English for my board examination that won me a scholarship to Australia which I didnot take up and went to do Business Management instead.
The best mentor one can find for writing is to read other peoples' works, tips and ideas from people etc. and work to develop it accordingly. Its a continuous learning process as the format changes from time to time as does the language and the grammar.
Well to be very honest sometimes the best way to reach the top is to set the priorities of your life right and then work towards achieving that particular goal.
LoneWolf does help in containing the learning with oneself and sharing information of what is necessary from time to time before stepping off the boat as they say it.
Sometimes the best mentor to oneself is yourself, its called motivation and will to pursue what you believe in despite the odds. As no one knows the ins and outs of experiences the way you do with your point of view showing how what and why. Everyone judges by what they see and learn from what we judge...
Good tips...
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
Lots of good advice.
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
Great information..thank you...
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
Like this part of the article: Online Writing is a Unexplored Territory.....inspiring
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22nd Jan 2012 (#)
Great advice and very helpful
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