Wendy, I love your list! LOL I think you're right – verbiage like that is hiding something. My guess is it's hiding lack of actual value.

Explosive- ticking time bomb exploding, nuclear blast within your soul, etc.

Infomercial- I'll take those self-defeating thoughts and slice and dice them. Then, I'll crush them for good measure.

Space- Catapult yourself to the stars, reach high-in-the sky for those goals, drift to the heavens, etc.

Inspirational pep talks are necessary, but the over-the-top language use makes you think they're just covering up for something.

And I've learned to ask them in return before I take someone on.

I've learned to limit how much time a client has to use me… that is I don't want someone showing up in 6 months after not doing what we agreed to in the first place.

I'm getting better at picking out those who really want my advice.

I think your skepticism is well placed. I've seen a few customer "reviews" that I've questioned. Not everyone is honest, and we really shouldn't believe every claim just because someone is making it publicly.

One thing I'd suggest when it comes to mentors is to dig a bit deeper into the people they've worked with. See how they're really doing after the mentoring. Do they have a better presence in their specialty area? Did their work seem to improve over the time they were mentored? Do they even really exist?

Maybe I'm just a skeptic, but I don't buy a lot of the raving I see from people I've never heard of before they review something and who seem to drop off the face of the earth afterwards. If the mentor did their job, we should see more of them. Perhaps that skepticism comes from my history with e-books and all the fraudsters out there writing their own "reviews" and slapping generic names on them. Or those popular freelance writers who were caught posting fraudulent comments under multiple names to create false support for their claims. See enough scams in people marketing and you learn to dig a bit deeper in general.

Ashley, we must be on the same wavelength. 🙂 I like what your friend said. She provided that Ah-Ha Moment for you. Good for her, and good for you for realizing the validity of it.

Devon, exactly! It's fear talking. To me, fear is what most people call writer's block, too.

Oh Paula, you crack me up! It's true – if your "editor" mentor can't spell, you're in trouble. LOL I'd hate to see that person's profile – lord, how many clients ran the other way, I wonder?

When a supposed writing mentor was offering bad advice on a writing forum while boasting about her massive success, I had to check her website. This "professional writer" couldn't even write a coherent profile – of her self. She shifted back and forth from first person to third person and had several grammar problems. (I wanted to shake her and say, "Even beginning writers should know why phrases like 'there's lots of opportunities' are wrong, wrong, wrong. So why is your copy littered with such obvious errors?") Oh yeah, she claimed to be an editor, too.

Those are mistake I'd forgive in forum comments, or maybe even in an occasional blog post. But when you're positioning yourself as a professional writer / editor / mentor / writing coach there is no excuse for having such blatant mistakes on your own site.

I've never been in the market for a coach or mentor, but it seems a basic comprehension of the English language should be the top priority potential clients want in a mentor.