Meet the mentor | Brenda Stones

The SYP is very fortunate to have Brenda Stones as a mentor; she has vast experience within the industry as freelance lecturer, author and editor. She has been an educational publisher, and has worked for a range of large and small publishing companies, including Oxford University Press where she was Publishing Director for twelve years. Brenda is now a freelance editor, consultant and author, giving training courses on publishing in the UK and overseas, and running her own literary press.

She is currently mentoring a student whose goal is to switch from teaching to publishing (working on their CV, interview technique, and providing advice on applying for internships).

Meet the mentor | Trevor Dolby

I'm very pleased that Trevor accepted the assignment of Mentor for the SYP scheme. His distinguished career as a publisher is within the polar opposite of mine -- trade publishing. He was at the forefront of the celebrity autobiography genre (formerly MD of HarperEntertainment, he is now Publisher at Preface, part of Random House). Trevor is an expert in his publishing field and is an excellent writer himself.

To that list he can also add excellent [and greatly appreciated] mentor. He is currently mentoring a Classics/Publishing MA student whose aim is to gain an entry-level trade editorial position. (The student has achieved this.)

Mentoring initiative: Scottish Book Trust

My publishing education/career started in Scotland, and I try to keep up to pace on industry developments there. The Scottish Book Trust is now sifting through applications for their own mentoring scheme.

The Independent Publishers Guild, the Publishers Association, the Periodicals Training Council, Society for Editors and Proofreaders, Society of Young Publishers and Diversity in Publishing Network all have one particular feature in common (other than the transference of knowledge from one mind to another, of course): the establishment of their own industry mentoring schemes.

I wish them well. Perhaps in the future we could look to benefit each other from shared experiences, advice and guidance.

Ten ways to get noticed | Management Today

September's issue of Management Today lists 10 ways to get yourself positively noticed and mentoring is, inevitably, within that list:

1. Find your niche.
2. Be a mentor.
3. Dress the part.
4. Learn to learn.
5. Raise your profile.
6. Join a committee.
7. Offer a helping hand.
8. Make your boss's life easier.
9. Become an expert.
10. Wave your own flag.

Mentoring underway

Mentoring has been underway since June, and I will shortly be contacting each participant to find out how their mentoring partnership has been progressing.