Thanks, again, Serena, for this chance to visit your blog and
chat about my passion: writing. I hope everyone enjoys “Drawing Closer”. I will
be giving away one Kindle copy of Drawing Closer
to one commenter today.
Writing is Not
a Solitary Craft
Being an author
means building your support network. Next time you’re reading a novel, flick
back to the acknowledgements page of the book. You’ll see the author thanking all
the people who made the book possible. She’s not kidding. An author is a
professional who knows she’s part of a team.
There are the
people in your life who aren’t authors, aren’t in any way connected to the
publishing world, but they’re family and friends who support you because they
love you. They are gold. Stop reading this and go hug them.
Okay, so now
you’re back I want to talk about the support team you’re building for your
writing.
Start with
author friends. These guys are on the writing journey, too. You won’t walk
quite the same path as one another, but you’ll be walking close enough to shout
encouragement, pick each other up when you stumble and share gossip. Yes,
gossip. Every profession has its own inner workings, trends and possibilities.
When I say gossip, I’m not talking about nastiness. I’m talking about keeping
an ear to the ground in your industry, publishing.
Where do you
find these friends? A great place to start is by joining a professional
association, such as the Romance Writers of Australia, which I belong to.
Whatever point you’re at with your writing career, you’ll find people like you.
But you can also find and build these friendships organically by joining in
Twitter and Facebook conversations and commenting at blogs. Basically, you find
a community that feels right for you and you join in. Sometimes you can also be
lucky and have the community find you. When I had a handful of novellas
published with Carina Press I became part of their author group and it’s proved
enormously supportive.
Which brings me
to my luckiest break of all. Editors. Great editors are an integral part of
your writing journey. I’ve been blessed. From Anna Genoese who while she was at
Tor rejected my first ever novel, but did so with such kindness and encouragement
that she inspired me to keep going, to Nas Dean who has just edited “Drawing
Closer” and taught me to delve even deeper into my characters’ emotional
responses. Good editors are focussed on the manuscript they’re responsible for,
but their comments and advice develop your craft.
Finally,
remember and respect reviewers and readers. They provide you with feedback
(sometimes negative! eek!) and encouragement.
For all that I
was trying to keep this post short, I seem to have rambled on for quite a bit. I’m
going to be brief then in my take on how, having identified your support
network, you nurture it. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I first read
this phrase, but it’s what I hope you take from this post: bank social credit.
Behave
professionally. If you’ve made a commitment (revisions, a blog post, a review,
a critique), then meet it. Promote your author friends’ work. Volunteer for a
role in your professional association. Walk the talk that tells people you’re
serious about being part of the community. Comment on blogs, retweet great
reviews via Twitter. Be authentic.
I used the
phrase “bank social credit” not because I think of nurturing your support
network as a soulless transaction, but because I want to counter the Demon
Doubt that says you should be WRITING and that anything else is wasting time.
Nope. Building a support network is part of the author’s craft. In this world
of social media craziness, it’s essential.
Jenny on the Web:
Blurb Drawing Closer:
Zoe Loyola has a secret. Just between her and her
sketchbook, she loves sculptor Nick Gordon. Her drawings of him are hot and
naked.
Nick has a secret, too. He’s being blackmailed.
Protecting his family means ignoring his desire for Zoe.
But in the world of art, passion breaks every rule
and secrets are made for sharing.
Please add to your Goodreads
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