Author Entrepreneurs, We Succeed Together
Artist Entrepreneurship by Beth Barany
Since we often work at home alone, isolated from each other, we often forget that we only succeed in community.
Authors write books. Readers read them. Booksellers and distributors get the books to the hands of our readers. Publishers bring the books to world. Reviewers bring books to the notice of the readers.
All obvious and yet it’s easy to forget.
I just got back from my writing critique group where we talked about writing and marketing and publishing. So this topic is fresh on my mind.
When we connect with other writers in person and online, we can get the support we need, we can get perspective, and we can get the resources we need to take the next step in our author career.
What are your favorite online resources for writers? What are your favorite in person resources for writers?
Good morning Beth, from the Pacific Northwest, I am so happy to have found your blog via Publitariat.com ;D
I get so much from my twitter account – the beauty of Twitter.com being that it is ‘up to the minute’. Fresh News! Flash Views!
The world of publishing is changing at light-speed velocity and these 140character tweets that lead to the big picture is just the ‘bill board’ I need to speed skim through headlines.
I also follow blogs and have a one-hour-starts the morning routine that includes catching up with Alan Rinzler, Nathan Bransford, Keith Ogorek and a host of others on their blog. My own blog [updated monthly at http://www.emilyHillwriter.com] cooks down the highlights of those weekly blogs. But, if I catch myself surfing – and not writing – I slap my wrist and get back to my manuscript.
But, before I go I am definitely adding a bookmark to my roster, Writer’s Fun Zone ;D
Although I’ve been writing basically for my own enjoyment, and already have a moderate amount of work I’ve created, I haven’t published anything but a newsletter for a previous firm I worked with. But now I’m writing more — nonfiction and fiction — still not anything published, but working harder towards that goal. So do I really need to start a blog? And if I have a nonfiction blog, do I create another one for fiction? I would like potential editors/publishers to take me seriously and I can see the advantage in having a presence on the social media sites and/or a blog, but I don’t want it to look frivolous or mundane. I would want the blog to lead me towards my goal of getting published.
Emily Hill Write, Thanks for stopping by and book marking my blog. I’m happy you found my blog too! And don’t you just love Publitariat! Our lives are a dance between our writing and reading other people’s. It’s a dance. ;D
Carol, A blog can help establish your expertise. No, you don’t need one. But you probably bneed some kind of web presence, whether it’s a website or a blog. Whether you need one for fiction and one for nonfiction is actually a branding question. Without knowing more about your specific situation, I couldn’t advise you directly. I’d be happy to chat with you live if you’d like! A blog could lead you to your goal of being published if done well, strategically with the eye on the big picture.
I love blogging because it allows me to ‘step from behind’ my characters and express my political views on publishing [yes! publishing and politics DO go together!] i.e. whether one is in the TradPub corner ‘waiting’ to be discovered; or the IndiePub corner going it alone, that’s a political stance. One benefit of following blogs, and blogging, is it also allows you to pick and choose your mentors and your writing community. For instance, I learn from reading Beth’s blog that she follows Publitariat, an indieSite started by a very savvy woman…We all cheer each other on, and teach and mentor each other when things get tricky. Blogging is as smart as having friends in your corner at the office!