60: 8 Ways to Make Author Connections
Making connections as writers is important. But how do you go about leaving your shell to make those connections? Here are eight ways to connect.
Co-writing a book: Collaboration and Co-creation for Authors by J. Thorn and Joanna Penn
Question of the week: How do you make writing related connections?
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Transcript
True story. When I started thinking about this episode, I
Speaker:was wearing a t shirt with the motto. I'm not antisocial. I
Speaker:just prefer to stay at home. It featured a turtle on the front
Speaker:and turtles are my spirit animal because they can always draw
Speaker:into their shells and be at home. The Myers Briggs test says
Speaker:I am an INTJ, which stands for the introverted intuitive
Speaker:thinking and judging personality type, the architect or if you
Speaker:prefer the evil mastermind, the evil mastermind part is not a
Speaker:term put forward by the Myers Briggs folks, but it seems to
Speaker:fit, especially when you know Professor Moriarty and Elon Musk
Speaker:are supposedly INTJ is one study I found estimates that female
Speaker:INTJ is makeup only 0.5% of the population. Yay, me! I'm a
Speaker:unicorn. What it really adds up to in my case, is someone who
Speaker:always, always feel socially awkward, no matter how well I
Speaker:fit in. But I'm also an intuitive thinking sort of
Speaker:person who is hyper self aware. That means I know I need to make
Speaker:connections, no matter how much I want to be alone. So today, we
Speaker:are going to talk about writers making connections, because it's
Speaker:important and whether or not you are also an INTJ. There are
Speaker:plenty of authors who are introverts. So I hope this
Speaker:episode will help you come out of your shell. To make
Speaker:connections a writing precedes authors. Welcome back to the
Speaker:podcast. To those of you who are new, I want to extend a special
Speaker:welcome. My name is Kathrese McKee. And I'm glad you're here.
Speaker:If you are a writer seeking encouragement, information and
Speaker:inspiration, this podcast is for you. Let's get to it. Let's
Speaker:start by figuring out why making connections is important for
Speaker:writers. First, if you don't connect with readers, there's
Speaker:really no reason to publish your writing. You need to understand
Speaker:their needs, wants and desires, you need to understand what they
Speaker:want to read. Once you have a set of readers, you need to
Speaker:nurture your relationship with your readers if you want to sell
Speaker:more books. Second, you need connections to competent
Speaker:editors, cover designers and other service providers to
Speaker:produce the best products possible. Third, you need to
Speaker:connect with other writers because other writers are the
Speaker:only folks who will fully understand your daily struggles
Speaker:with words and other writerly chores. Your spouse won't get it
Speaker:unless they write to your kids won't get it. Face it, the
Speaker:majority of your family won't even read your books. You need
Speaker:other writers to support you. Through it all. let me commend
Speaker:this, you really really need to connect with other writers in
Speaker:your genre, you can enjoy meeting a romance writer. But if
Speaker:you write hard science fiction, that connection is unlikely to
Speaker:help your writing business find folks, let's call them
Speaker:coopetition, who cooperate with you to cross promote and
Speaker:critique and create great books. Fourth, you need to connect with
Speaker:agents and publishers, if you are not interested in being an
Speaker:indie author. Fifth, it's a good idea to make connections with
Speaker:library staff members and bookstore owners, no matter if
Speaker:you are an indie author or traditionally published. And did
Speaker:I mention connecting with readers? That's the most
Speaker:important thing. Okay, so making connections is important. But
Speaker:how do you go about leaving your shell to make those connections?
Speaker:We could spend an episode on each of these tips. But as an
Speaker:overview, here are eight ways to make connections for authors,
Speaker:one, writing communities if you live near a city, then more than
Speaker:likely there's at least one chapter of a writing
Speaker:organization that has regular meetings where you can meet
Speaker:other authors if you live in a rural area. They may not
Speaker:however, there is nothing to stop you from joining a national
Speaker:authors Association like our RWA (Romance Writers of America), or
Speaker:SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers) of America or
Speaker:the Mystery Writers of America or the like these associations
Speaker:have online forums. Tune in to your genre. Get to know your
Speaker:peers. Two, conferences and workshops. Even if you can't
Speaker:find a writing community. You can attend conferences and
Speaker:workshops. Usually these are not free, but I have never been
Speaker:sorry that I paid to attend. Here's a chance to meet authors
Speaker:you have heard of editors, agents and future collaborators.
Speaker:Some conferences, offer pitch sessions and mentoring. All
Speaker:workshops and conferences give you the opportunity to meet
Speaker:people with similar interests. Make sure you get contact
Speaker:information for people you meet, and then follow up three social
Speaker:media. Find author groups on Facebook and search for authors
Speaker:on Instagram and Tiktok interact on
Speaker:Mind for groups be sure to read and follow group guidelines. No
Speaker:spamming and self promotion, get in there and interact. Try to
Speaker:contribute and be sociable and respectful. If possible, create
Speaker:posts yourself. When someone follows me on Instagram, I pop
Speaker:over to see their posts. If it's nothing besides sale sale sale,
Speaker:I don't follow back, it is entirely possible to strike up
Speaker:virtual friendships and get to know your peers long before you
Speaker:have an opportunity to meet them in real life. Four - literary
Speaker:events and readings, check out meetup.com and Eventbrite, and
Speaker:count library calendars and bookstore announcements to find
Speaker:local events where you can meet other authors. Also, there's
Speaker:nothing stopping you from scheduling an event of your own
Speaker:to connect with local authors five critique groups, my first
Speaker:critique group had about seven authors from all over the United
Speaker:States and Canada, we found each other through an online message
Speaker:board, made available through our mutual Writers Association.
Speaker:My second critique group was established the same way, you
Speaker:need critique partners, especially when you're starting
Speaker:out, take every piece of advice with a grain of salt. It helps
Speaker:to find authors at or above your level. But honest, thoughtful
Speaker:critique from any serious reader is worth its weight in gold.
Speaker:Take the advice you can use and ignore the rest. critique groups
Speaker:help you forge long lasting relationships with your peers.
Speaker:connections that are meaningful. Make sure your critique group
Speaker:has clear guidelines and expectations before you join.
Speaker:Writing pursuits is run by Kathrese. McKee, who has been
Speaker:trusted by fiction authors since 2014. To take their writing to a
Speaker:new level of excellence. Kathrese is a three story
Speaker:methods certified editor who specializes in story
Speaker:diagnostics, coaching and line editing to help you prepare your
Speaker:story for the journey ahead. For more information, go to writing
Speaker:pursuits.com. The link is in the show notes. And now back to the podcast.
Speaker:Six collaborations okay, this is definitely something I have not
Speaker:done. Personally, I don't think editing a couple of anthologies
Speaker:counts, but finding a collaborative partner is a great
Speaker:way to advance and challenge your writing skills.
Speaker:Collaborating is something I want to do. Once I find the
Speaker:right partner, check out a couple of resources before you
Speaker:get started. Collaboration for authors A Complete Guide to
Speaker:collaborating finding a partner and accelerating your author
Speaker:career by Daniel Wilcox and Jay Thorne, and also co writing a
Speaker:book collaboration and co creation for authors, Vijay
Speaker:Thorn and Joanna pen. I will put links to these in the show
Speaker:notes. Seven mentors. I mentioned finding mentors at
Speaker:conferences but of course, you can find them other places. If
Speaker:you find a mentor or take part in a mentoring group or
Speaker:mastermind group, you will progress more quickly than you
Speaker:would on your own. When you find people who suit you these
Speaker:connections can last a lifetime. Eight, your newsletter
Speaker:subscribers. The moment you finish your first best short
Speaker:story or novella put it out there and collect email
Speaker:subscribers seriously. Before you publish your first book
Speaker:published a lead magnet, set up a free Miller Lite account. And
Speaker:the moment you get a subscriber start sending out a monthly
Speaker:newsletter. A newsletter is your best way to forge personal
Speaker:connections with your readers, your tribe, your niche, whatever
Speaker:you want to call them. You need to connect with your readers and
Speaker:keep the connection fresh. entertain them, inform them info
Speaker:obtain them. Every once in a while send your readers and
Speaker:exclusive chapter or short story it is never too late to do this.
Speaker:If you haven't started a newsletter, put it on your
Speaker:calendar and set to work. If someone writes back, make sure
Speaker:you respond. And guess what? You never have to leave your house
Speaker:to send out a newsletter. What a great deal. In conclusion, I'm
Speaker:certain I haven't covered every method for writers to make
Speaker:meaningful connections. Today we've discussed why you need to
Speaker:make the effort to come out of your shell to make connections
Speaker:with other writers and readers. And we covered eight ways to
Speaker:increase your odds. Writing communities conferences and
Speaker:workshops, social media, literary events and meetings,
Speaker:critique groups, collaborations, mentors and last but not least,
Speaker:your newsletter subscribers. If you would like to connect with
Speaker:me, find me on Instagram at writing pursuits podcast. How do
Speaker:you make writing related connections? Leave your answers
Speaker:at writing proceeds.com forward slash podcast forward slash 60.
Speaker:That's all I have for today. Until next time, keep writing my
Speaker:friends keep writing. Thank you for listening to the podcast.
Speaker:Today if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a star
Speaker:rating and follow the podcast. If you're new around here, I
Speaker:hope you will sign up for writing pursuits tips for
Speaker:authors, my newsletter that comes out most Thursdays when
Speaker:health and life permit that link and all the links mentioned in
Speaker:today's episode are in the shownotes and writing
Speaker:pursuits.com. Please join us on Wednesdays for new episodes and
Speaker:keep writing my friends. Keep writing