Best of luck with the proofreading and editing too; I’ve dabbled in both (though only on special request — I’m really a writer), and it’s a wonderful way to help someone else hone a creative project. Hope it goes brilliantly for you, and that you get to work on some fun texts!

With the mini free ebooks, I tend to just write them and put them out there, and wait for feedback! (Usually because I do them in a short time frame.) With the Staff Blogging Course, I got some feedback earlier along in the process, and I also asked a few staff bloggers I knew if they’d contribute some of their own tips and thoughts.

I’ve got a couple of bigger ebooks at a very early stage at the moment, and will definitely be getting some feedback on those: I’m slowly getting less shy about asking…

Definately agree on the business venture/partnership. At the moment, between me and my business co-hort, when one of us is down and out, the other one is buzzing! Also really good to bounce ideas around and get second opinions.

On your latest eBook did you do much collaboration or have many other people involved or do you tend to have a pretty good idea of the finished product before you begin?
Andrew´s last blog ..Monday mornings – one thousand seven hundred to go…

I agree that “persevering” is a nicer way to put it than “annoying”! And you’re completely right about the need to be brave and simply ask — the worst that can happen is that someone says no, and you’re no worse off than before if that happens.

This is a great topic, and one that is rarely dealt with. I’m in the process of trying to convince a more experienced colleague to be my mentor. It is a shame that mentoring is such an elusive luxury, because it is the best way to accelerate the mentee’s career prospects, and the mentor can benefit from the experience too. I think the problem lies in our attitude towards mentoring. It is often seen as a one-way system. One person gives and the other person takes. I think it is important to take a more creative approach to finding a mentor by identifying a situation in which both the mentor and the mentee benefit from the relationship. For example, I have offered to cover some basic secretarial services for my potential mentor in exchange for his feedback and advice on my work. Because he is relieved of the burden of drawing up countless invoices for all his client orders, he is free to devote some time to helping me achieve my career goals. He wins, I win.

I think that Penelope Trunk is right in that you have to be slightly annoying to secure a mentor, although I prefer to refer to it as being persevering. Mentor-mentee relationships don’t form overnight, and as mentees, we have to be courageous enough to put ourselves out there, be the driving force in forging new relationships, and overcome our fear of asking for help and guidance. It is scary, but that old saying rings true: If you don’t ask, you don’t get.