Issue #61, BAB, Monday, June 30, 2014
Voice Matters. Dare To Share Yours. Impact the World.
This week’s Big Idea highlights the importance of networking for entrepreneurial authors, providing you with simple strategies you employ to expand your network of professional contacts.
Also in this issue…
You’ll get to see a rolodex that you can use to keep track of the business cards that you acquire and the contacts that you make. Plus, you’ll get to meet this week’s Makin’ It Happen author Mandy Eve-Barnett, an experienced freelance writer and novelist.
I hope this week’s issue inspires you to get out there and expand your professional network. And as always, thank you for being a BAB subscriber!
Write on,
Today’s Quote
“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
- Philip Pullman
Monday Musing
How Much Professional Networking Do You Do?
Today’s Big Idea
The Power of Forming Connections: 3 Straightforward Techniques
By Michaela Zanello
Whether it’s through computers, smart phones, or face-to-face interactions, at any given moment, we are usually connected to people in one—or more likely—multiple ways.
Every Facebook post, tweet, and blog entry serves as a connection too, extending our thoughts and ideas to friends, followers, and readers.
No human being is, or should be, an island. Even Tom Hank’s character in Castaway had Wilson the volleyball to talk to.
And while most of us are fortunate enough to have connections and relationships with actual people and not just sporting goods, we often either underestimate the importance of creating professional connections or we do not put as much effort into it as we should.
But the bottom line for entrepreneurial authors is this: You need to network and form connections with other like-minded individuals and people who can provide you with advice or coaching. Networking helps you to grow as a writer and to expand your business.
Networking doesn’t come as easily or as naturally to all of us, however. I know, as an introvert, that active networking decidedly falls outside of my comfort zone. But really, that’s not an excuse. Networking is necessary.
If you’re struggling to find places where you can network or with getting organized about it, then check out the tips and resources below.
LinkedIn
If you don’t already have a professional LinkedIn account, then first thing’s first, swing on over there and sign up pronto.
Then, check out the Groups section located beneath the Interests tab. Click on the Find a group button and type in keywords such as “writing,” “writers,” and “authors.”
That will pull up a list of relevant groups for you to choose from and review to see what kinds of discussions are going on and if it would be worth your while to join.
LinkedIn groups can provide you with an abundance of tips and resources from compatible people, and you can add them all to your LinkedIn network and converse back and forth.
Twitter
Twitter is a social media site that you get out of it what you put into it. If you follow people who only post about topics such as what they ate for breakfast or what they did over the weekend, then professionally, it’s not going to be that useful for you.
If, however, you follow people who post high quality content related to writing, editing, and publishing, then your Twitter feed will be filled with much more meaningful insights and links.
Make a point to select 10-20 people you follow, who are posting top-notch tidbits, and interact with them regularly. Comment on their tweets, ask them questions, build relationships with them. Maybe even exchange email addresses.
Additionally, there are Twitter chats geared towards writers that you can participate in. For example…
#YALitChat – Wednesdays at 9:00pm EST – for Young Adult writers
#NALitChat – Thursdays at 9:00pm EST – for New Adult writers
#twdtopic – Tuesdays at 9:00pm EST – for all types of writers
Writing Conferences
If you have the time and means, then attending a writing conference is one of the best ways that you can successfully network with fellow writers, authors, and publishers.
Most writing conferences are not free, however. But if you can afford it, then attending a conference and meeting serious people in your industry at varying stages of their careers can be a worthwhile investment. Plus, you can write the trip and entry fees off to Uncle Sam as a business expense.
Writing conferences can teach you lots of practical information—no matter how experienced or inexperienced you are—such as how to format a manuscript, file your taxes, or how to write a solid query letter.
Additionally, you can meet editors and agents in person who may be interested in your work, which sure beats the heck out of mailing in your manuscript and having it sit at the bottom of a stack of papers.
When you attend a writing conference, you’re pretty much guaranteed to enhance your knowledge about your craft. Plus, you might even discover a new market for your book or get inspired to try a new genre.
To find a list of more than 550 writing conferences and retreats, both national and international, check out this directory link. You can search by location, type (conference, residency, center, festival, or retreat), or genre (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, playwriting, screenwriting, or children’s literature).
Organization
Anytime you make a connection with someone, whether it’s through LinkedIn, Twitter, or face-to-face at a conference, you want to keep track of the following pieces of information about them:
Their name;
Contact info;
Area of expertise; and
The date/where you met them.
You can do this in a simple Google docs spreadsheet or in a rolodex, which can come in handy as your collection of contacts’ business cards begins to grow.
How comfortable do you feel with networking? Is it something that you already do regularly? If not, what’s been holding you back? Please share your thoughts and insights with us on the Be A Bestseller Facebook fan page. We love hearing from you!
Your “Write” Resource
Check out the “Write” Resource that we have for you today. It’s a Rolodex, Low-Profile Business Card Book, which is perfect for keeping track of all the business cards you collect when you’re networking.
The Rolodex, Low-Profile Business Card Book holds up to 96 business cards and includes interior pockets, which can also hold ID cards or credit cards.
The rolodex also comes with a pen loop and ten 4- X 6-inch notecards, great for taking notes when you’re on the go or attening a conference.
The entire rolodex is 4.85 inches long by 0.5 inches wide by 9.6 inches tall.
Check it out!
Makin’ It Happen
This week’s Makin’ It Happen author is Mandy Eve-Barnett, a freelance writer and regular contributor to the e-zine, Strathcona Connect, and the “Never Been Better” page in the Sherwood Park newspaper.
Mandy has been an avid reader her whole life, but it wasn’t until after promising herself an outlet for her creativity that serendipity took her to the Writers’ Foundation of Strathcona County, where the writing ‘bug’ took hold.
Now, Mandy is deeply involved with the Writers’ Foundation and its members as Secretary. Plus, she sets a writing prompt every Saturday on the WFSC website.
You can find Mandy’s writing in an anthology, Writing Prompt Journey. Plus, she regularly blogs about her writing experiences.
Additionally, Mandy has successfully completed four consecutive National Novel Writing Month challenges from 2009 to 2013 with the subsequent volume of work resulting in four novels.
Her children’s print book Rumble’s First Scare was published in September 2011. And in August 2012, her adult fantasy eBook, titled The Rython Kingdom, was released on Smashwords along with Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk and is now available as a POD through Create Space.
Mandy also collaborated to produce a ‘how to write your memoir’ workbook, called Your Lifetime of Stories, which was published in 2013.
Currently, the illustrations are being completed for Mandy’s fantasy children’s book, Ockleberries to the Rescue, to be released later this year. Plus, Mandy is in the midst of editing her cowgirl romance novel, Willow Tree Tears, which is also scheduled to be released later this year.
You can learn more about Mandy and her work at:
http://mandyevebarnett.com/
http://www.dreamwritepublishing.ca/
http://www.dreamwritepublishing.ca/
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