It is my pleasure to welcome author Marielle S. Smith, who kindly answers my question (although I hadn't expected quite so much advertising)...
ELF: How do you mentor others?
MSS: I love this
question so much. As a writing coach, mentoring others is literally my job, but
being asked the question forced me to sit down and reflect on my coaching
practice and whether I mentor others in any other way.
Here’s what
came up for me:
52 Weeks
of Writing
One of the
ways in which I mentor others is through my 52 Weeks of Writing series. I
created this series of journals/planners to help writers get out of their own
way and users consistently describe the three volumes as ‘it’s like having a
coach in a book’.
Of course,
it’s not exactly the same and a journal can never replace the real thing, but
the series has been lauded as an affordable way to get at least some coaching
in your writing life.
My upcoming
book, 99 Writing Prompts and Journal Exercises for Writers to Cultivate
Courage and Kick Imposter Syndrome to the Curb, serves a similar purpose. If
you want to check it out, I’m currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund its launch.
The
Accountable Wordsmiths
Those
who’ve purchased a copy of 52 Weeks of Writing get access to my Facebook
group The Accountable Wordsmiths. While the group is intended as a safe space
where writers can support each other on their respective journeys, I reply to
comments where I can, to offer guidance, ask deeper questions, make suggestions,
and so on.
I also
share my own struggles in the group to show we’re all in this together. I might
have a lot of answers, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get into my own way as
well ;)
Individual
coaching sessions
As a
writing coach, I offer individual coaching sessions to writers who somehow got
stuck, whether that’s because their plot’s not working and they need a sounding
board, they can’t figure out how to prioritise their writing time, they
struggle to own their voice and brilliance, it can be anything.
Often, I
find that writing-related issues are actually linked to author mindset issues.
Someone might come to me with a plot problem, only to learn that the reason
they have a plot problem is because they don’t dare to write what their story
is asking for.
Or, they
think they’re struggling to finish their novel because of time constraints,
only to realise what’s really keeping them from committing are fears around
their writing style or language proficiency.
3-Month
1:1 Coaching for Writers Programme
During the
thirteen weeks of this programme, I work together with writers to figure out
why they aren’t where they want to be. What I love about this programme is that
it gives us time to dig deep and truly unearth how and why they’ve been getting
in their own ways.
Because of
my spiritual background—I’m a Reiki master, a Magnified Healing practitioner, a
cartomancer, and an Akashic Records reader—I sometimes use different coaching
modalities during the programme as well, if my clients are up for it.
Sometimes,
we run into something that seems to be running so deep, it needs a little more
than regular coaching sessions to get to the bottom of it. What these
modalities do is offer a fresh perspective, an angle our thinking brains easily
overlook because it might not be as obvious at first glance.
However,
this is not for everyone and that’s absolutely OK—you don’t need to be
spiritual to work with me. But, if you are open to explore this other approach,
I’ve booked some great results using different these modalities.
While I
used to offer these alternative coaching modalities only during the three-month
programme, I’ve recently started offering individual sessions in my inner
circle, the success of which made me decide to include a coaching reward tier for
individual sessions in my current Kickstarter campaign where you can choose whichever
modality you prefer.
At this
point, I have no idea whether there’s any demand for that amongst my own
followers, but it’s been so rewarding doing this for my friends and so
immensely helpful, I wanted to give others a chance to try it too.
So that’s how I mentor others. I have my book, my Facebook group, and my actual coaching practice. When I started my freelance editing business all these years ago, I’d never expected to end up as a writing coach, but I’m so glad I wholeheartedly said ‘YES!’ to it when it crossed my path. .
*************************
by
Mariëlle S. Smith
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Non-fiction; self-help
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
***
‘The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.’ Mary Davis
Gratitude is not just about ATTITUDE.
Gratitude is about PRACTICE.
But how do you create a gratitude practice that sticks?
After the success of her first 365 Days of Gratitude Journal, writing coach
Mariëlle S. Smith brings you Volume 2. Same journal but with an entirely
different look!
After years of barely surviving her own emotional minefield, Mariëlle
discovered the transformative power of practising gratitude. But, like no one
else, she knows that cultivating an attitude of gratitude is easier said than
done.
365 Days of Gratitude, Vol. 2 is an undated, guided journal. Complete with
inspiring quotes, daily prompts, and recurring check-ins, it was designed to
help you create a sustainable gratitude practice too.
Commit to the life-changing power of gratitude today and order your copy now!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
I’m not here to sell you on gratitude. There are many
articles and research papers I could be citing to convince you just how great
practising gratitude is for you. I think you’re already aware of that, though.
Perhaps you’ve read some of those articles and papers or maybe you just know it
somewhere deep down—or not so deep down.
I’m not hooked on gratitude because it works wonders on my
blood pressure and promises to help me sleep better. Although it probably does
that, too.
I’m hooked on gratitude because it enables me to perceive
everything in life as magical again. I’m hooked because I’m not the same person
I was since I started practising it. And because I slip and return to being
that anxious, burned out, overachieving workaholic as soon as I stray from the
gratitude path—which happens far more often than I care to admit.
Gratitude is a commitment for life. I created this journal
to help you commit and turn your gratitude practice into a sustainable one.
Purchase Links
All purchase links can be found on https://mswordsmith.nl/365daysofgratitude
Barnes & Noble (Black and white edition)
Barnes & Noble (Full colour edition)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
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Mariëlle
S. Smith is a writer, writing coach, and editor. She lives in Cyprus, where she
organises private writer's retreats, is inspired 24/7, and feeds more stray
cats than she can count.
Contact
Links
****************************************
The tour dates can be found here
****************************************
My review:
4.25 stars
365 Days of Gratitude Journal, Vol. 2 by Marielle S. Smith is a non-fiction book
aimed at reminding one to find something to be grateful for every single day,
and encouraging one to reframe even negative occurrences into something to
appreciate. There are inspirational quotations every so often, and a place to
plan for making the following day even better.
I like the way this encourages you to live a life of
positivity and to stop and appreciate things. Although I tend to like having
lines to write on, the spaces allow one to perhaps sketch or apply stickers to
help make the journal your own. I tend to forget to write daily in a journal,
so it’s nice that the pages are labelled with just a sequential day which may
or not be the next calendar day. The prompts such as what I could have been
more grateful for today stimulate introspection and thoughtfulness. I think
this would be a lovely gift to oneself or for someone else as a tool to make
one’s outlook on life more positive.
A copy of this title was provided for review
Thank you for hosting me and for your lovely review. I'm so sorry about the advertising, that was not my intention at all *insert embarrased emoji* I guess this is what you get when you ask a writing coach how she mentors others? Even now, thinking about the question again, I wouldn't know how else to answer it.
ReplyDeleteMy apologies if I sounded snarky, but I was a little taken aback to see your Kickstarter campaign mentioned a couple of times, plus the info of what you provide when folks buy your program or books. I understand that you need to get the word out, but it seemed a little more sales pitch and less how you pay it forward by helping others. I do appreciate your positivity, because I wholeheartedly think we need much more of it during these challenging times, and I wish you much success in your endeavors.
DeleteSounds good.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to read about it, Sherry!
DeleteThank you for sharing your review of the 365 Days of Gratitude Journal, it sounds like a must read for me
ReplyDeleteGood to hear, Bea. Thank you for coming by, and I hope you enjoy the journal!
DeleteI enjoyed the review for this book, a journal sounds good especially during the busy holiday seasons ---Rae
ReplyDelete