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From the President's Desk

W.W.J.D

by Bob Bittner

2008-02

I remember one defining moment in my life as if it were yesterday.

My wife and I were shopping at a mall in Gurnee, Illinois, when I walked past a store mirror and suddenly saw myself for what I'd become: a 5'9", 258-pound man on the verge of high blood pressure. In that moment, I decided I had to change. The next day, I visited the local Jennie Craig storefront to begin a weight-loss program.

Over the course of the next year, thanks to Jennie Craig, I lost 108 pounds. That was in 1993. Maintaining that loss hasn't been easy. But I keep reminding myself that there's nothing I can taste that can make me feel as I good as I feel when I look in the mirror now and see the man I've become. And when temptations arise, I can always ask myself, "What would Jennie do?" She has given me a model I'll follow for the rest of my life.

Jennie's my mentor when it comes to weight loss. And when I write? Well, my mentors, more often than not, have been ASJA members.

As freelancers, we need others we can turn to for advice about developing our craft, finding new markets, exploring new subjects, meeting and working with new editors. These are the mentors who can equip us, challenge us and inspire us to meet our goals.

It's kind of shocking, actually, that so many gifted professionals would be willing to share what they've learned with their fellow writers. After all, how many other professional organizations encourage the training of "the competition?" Yet doing just that has been a foundational and guiding principle for ASJA from the very beginning. We are here because we want to learn, to grow and to help others do the same.

Surprisingly, few members take full advantage of the mentoring connections that come with ASJA membership. Every now and then, I see Forum posts where folks share information like this. Sometimes I overhear conversations along these lines in the Hyatt's halls during the annual Conference. But a lot of members are reluctant to contact other members out of the blue to ask, "How did you break into X magazine?" or "What advice would you offer an experienced writer wanting to break into your specialty?"

I'm delighted, however, that nonmembers are not nearly so shy about tapping into our collective expertise.

The Lynne S. Dumas Mentoring Program continues to be a popular feature at our annual Conference. For a modest fee, Conference attendees can sign up for half-hour, one-on-one mentoring sessions with ASJA members who can address their specific questions and concerns. Some mentors (myself included) have gone on to maintain long-term correspondence with their mentees, checking in periodically to see how things are going. In turn, many mentees have become ASJA members as a result of these relationships.

This past fall, Vice President Russ Wild came up with a plan for turning this one-day-only experience into an ongoing opportunity he christened Year-Round Mentoring. Within days of the official announcement of this program in early December, we heard from more than 40 ASJA members who were willing to serve as mentors and share their expertise. If you'd like to be added to that list, here's how it works:

• If you're willing to volunteer 30 minutes of your time, contact Executive Director Alex Owens with a list of the general areas in which you feel equipped to be a mentor.
• Mentoring candidates seeking professional advice will visit the ASJA Web site and sign up for a 30-minute mentoring session in a given subject area. (The cost is $50, the same fee charged at the annual Conference. Mentees will be billed directly by the ASJA office.)
• The ASJA office staff will then match each candidate with an ASJA mentor and give the candidate's contact information to you, the mentor. At no time will your direct contact information be released to the candidate.
• You will then contact the mentee to arrange a time for the session. The mentoring candidate will not be able to contact you again without your express permission.