In a community online in a corner of the internet, there lived a group of writers. This wasn’t a weird, nasty sort of group, full of wormy attitudes and bits of half-eaten ideas. This was a LegendFiction group, and that meant…fun.
More importantly, it meant faith-inspired fiction, from Catholic and Orthodox creators.
As with any epic undertaking, we need leaders. Thorins and Dumbledores and Natasha Romanovs and Qui Gon Jinns and Samantha Carters. These are craftmasters, authors who are published, earned degrees, or proved their unique passion and dedication to helping other writers succeed.
About the LegendFiction Mentors
- What does a mentor do?
- Do mentors sell services?
- How can someone become a mentor?
- Are there cookies, like the dark side?
Yes, there are cookies – maple pralines on Fridays. And these are great questions.
Let’s answer them.
What does a mentor do?
Mentors are preferably writing professionals, or passionate hobbyists with great street cred. They may have their own websites, and they offer consulting and writing services. Perhaps editing, book reviews, manuscript structure, developmental feedback, etc.
They are serious about helping writers succeed, discovering their own voice, and creating something writers can be proud of.
For LegendFiction, they are also passionate and practicing Catholics or Orthodox. Our faith is crucial to our craft, because it is the light by which we see everything. And it is the light by which we can see God in everything, and everyone. No matter how dark or distant or beige things may be.
A LegendFiction mentor helps writers create stronger and stranger works of fiction, providing advice and recommendations on how to deepen our faith insights. Part mastermind, part spiritual advisor.
This is because we believe that writing, taken seriously, can also be a path of discovery and discipline in God.
Do mentors sell services?
Yes, they do. This is how they are able to continue doing what they love – writing, and helping others write.
Here’s how we break down the 3 parts of the legend cycle process for mentors:
COMMUNITY ACTIVITY: Mentors select days when they are present in the community. They check to answer community questions for staff, scan recent stories, and freely choose where to comment and upvote. Since the community is primarily peer-to-peer, mentors are not expected to be deeply involved in everything. They can share ideas, resources, their own work, and maintain a sense of presence. Some mentors may even host write-ins, monthly AMA sessions, or free workshops.
PAID GIGS: Some writers, inside or outside the community, may be ready to pay a mentor for private consulting and help. LegendFiction is helping mentors offer as many gigs as they like. A gig is a fixed-rate, clearly-defined work project. Examples of gigs are:
- A 15 minute review of your [genre] story, highlighting a strength and 2 areas to improve.
- A 30 minute editing review of story structure and word choice
- A 25 minute scheduled videochat to meet and discuss a story pitch.
These gigs are intentionally focused and affordable. They help authors get used to paying mentors for time and services, perfect for doing better in contest submissions and publisher pitches.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES: On mentors’ own websites, they offer more extensive services. These are the most valuable to authors, since mentors will spend the most time with them and their works.
As LegendFiction continues to do its best to grow our community and our stories, this creates more opportunities for mentors to meet and offer services to members.
How can someone be a mentor?
Reach out to us and ask us today. The magic and value of LegendFiction depends on the time and attention of our mentors.
We fully understand that you have your own life, and you are busy with your own work. That’s why you decide your availability. You decide what to offer, when, and how much. If something comes up, and you need to back off, or bow out, we understand.
You are partnering with LegendFiction to bolster and inspire a new generation of creators.
And it’s all free to set up.
We strongly encourage Mentors to get creative about how they stir up engagement. Since we want to avoid the constant bleating of ‘buy my services’ that happens frequently online, we have other suggestions that create connection and lead with value:
- Host a Quest with a fun writing prompt, and feature an optional, specific gig.
- Host a monthly AMA meetup, sponsored by one of your gigs.
- Offer a live, paid workshop once a quarter
It’s important that authors know you don’t work for free. For now, you keep 100% of what you make from workshops. In the future, as we all grow more successful, LegendFiction will charge a 10% share of your workshop sales.
That’s how you help us cover costs, and partner with Dominic, LegendFiction’s founder, to support and grow this community.
Are there cookies?
Yep. Whenever we can.
Grow together
Our LegendFiction mentor group is a tight-knit team of fledgling and professional business owners. Which means we have questions and ideas all the time about how to improve.
Mentors get private access to a private group where we ask questions, share insights, and ask for support. Dominic is incredibly responsive and creative, and usually invents a solution or brainstorms a path within a day.
One of the more exciting prospects of being a mentor is that you can test gigs. Perhaps you’re unsure if you want to serve a certain age range, or work in a genre, or offer a service long term. Before committing to adding it on your website, test it in the community. If it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to drop.
Partner with LegendFiction
By partnering with LegendFiction, we’re trying to solve several problems for mentors and authors alike:
- Accustom writers and teens to the value of paying for consulting and investing in themselves
- Create simple, streamlined paths for mentors to generate income
- Help everyone use simple, beautiful tools that create comfort for mentors and writers alike
- Create a vibrant, active community that ignites a writing passion in teens and authors
We recommend our mentors use these tools:
- BuyMeaCoffee.com – perfect for processing gig payments, selling workshops, or limited access consulting
- TidyCal – a calendar scheduling system like Calendly, but simpler and better (and charge fees)
- Loom – easy tool for recording personalized video feedback
- Session.com – free and easy online video meeting rooms
- TicketTailor.com – free and beautiful event sales platform
Do you have questions? Comment them below!
Interested in being a mentor? Send us a message today.
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