Year of Fearless Writing: Networking On- and Offline

Welcome to the Year of Fearless Writing!

One is a lonely number

Writing is a solitary activity, yes? The author sits in a quiet attic room, diligently typing away at the Next Great Novel. Right—and wrong. Unless you’re writing only for yourself, it’s an interactive activity: between you and your readers, you and your publishers, you and other writers. And much as we all hate to admit it, who you know will almost certainly play a significant role in getting your work published.

Kameron Hurley, sci-fi author and essayist, lays it all out for us in her article for Locus Magazine, “Hard Publishing Truths: Relationships Matter.” She writes:

“The myth of the meritocracy runs deep in publishing. ‘‘Just write a good book!’’ is of­fered up as the singular cure to all of a writer’s worries about the financial success of their title. But writing a good book is no more a magical recipe for success than ‘‘working hard’’ is a guarantee one will retain gainful employment. As in any industry, there are simply too many factors at play.

“And yes, one of those factors is still who you know.”

So let’s talk about how to start creeping out of our individual garretts and coffeeshops and meet the people we need to support—and celebrate—our success.

What do you need people for?

This isn’t an existential question; it’s a 100% practical one. Depending on where you are in your writing career and the type of writing you do, your goals might include one or more of the following:

• I want to publish a novel.
• I want to write for an online magazine.
• I want to find clients for my freelance writing (or editing) business.
• I want to attract new readers.
• I want to become a better writer.
• I want to understand what markets are interested in my work, and how to get into them.

The people you need are the people who have the answers to your questions about these goals. Whether they, personally, can publish (or whatever) you isn’t as relevant as whether they know someone who can.

If you’ve been playing along with the Year of Fearless Writing from the beginning, you already have a list of writing goals and some ideas of where to go with them. (Need a refresher? Go back to our February post on Finding a Home for Your Work!) Pick a goal from that list. Ready? Okay, then we can move on to…

Who do you need?

Who you need to meet depends on your goal. Hanging out with a bunch of novelists is fun, but if you’re looking to pitch your memoir, chances are this group isn’t the ideal place for advice or connections. 

Examples:

If what you want is to get published in online blog aggregators, you need to meet bloggers who have been published there, blog editors, etc. These are people who have already walked this path, and they have some level of expertise. 

If what you want is a traditional publishing deal, you need to know publishers. Usually you’ll meet them through an agent. How do you meet an agent? Welllll…….

Where do you find them?

The internet has made the first steps toward networking almost as simple as breathing. You can go macro, with groups on social media that encompass thousands of people from all over the world, or micro, with groups that are local to your town or even neighborhood, meeting in person once a month to drink tea and read their work. The trick here isn’t finding a group. The trick is finding the person in that group or groups who can help you achieve your goals, whether online or off.

Online

Honestly, Google is your friend here.

If your goal is moral support and/or casual craft discussion, it’s easy to find groups of writers online. Facebook is one place to look; Goodreads is another. Consider lurking for a while until you find the group that matches the tone and personality that suits you. Then speak up. Ask questions. Share your knowledge, too.

I’m going to focus a little bit on groups, because groups are easy to find, but what you’re really doing is looking for individual people who you can connect with on a personal level. You can join all the groups you want, but you can’t have a conversation with “a group” – you can talk to individual people. What you’re looking for, always, is someone who’s successfully done the thing you want to do, or whose job is to assist people in doing the thing you want or need.

On the other hand, the easiest way to meet one person you like (who likes you back) that’s done the thing? Get in a room with 500 people who have all done the thing, and try to find someone you connect with on another level, whether that’s both having had kids, both training horses for a living, or whatever other points of commonality you have. 

Here are few Facebook groups as examples:

• YeahWrite Coffeehouse (but of course, you already know this!)
• The Write Life Community
• Women Writers, Women’s Books (finding groups whose entrance requirements suggest that you’ll already have something in common with the group is a great way to focus your search)

You can also look for groups in your specific genre. For example:

• Romance
• Science Fiction & Fantasy
• Literary Fiction
• Historical Fiction
• Memoir

If your goal is to self-publish, look for groups that focus on the business side of things. But don’t stop there: look for individual authors who have been self-published. Follow them on Twitter. Interact with them.

• 20Books to 50K
• Authors and Creators Making Money Selling Books

 Again, your goal is quality interactions with people who do what you want to do. So try following your favorite authors (and/or agents and/or editors) on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. See who they interact with, and follow them, too. 

Offline

Conferences and workshops are an efficient (if expensive) place to meet people in person. You’ve got a captive group of people, most of whom are already interested in some aspect of the work you do. Are you following writers, agents, editors, and other influencers online? Most will let their followers know where they plan to be. 

Just like online groups, you’ll want to sift through the various offerings to find the conference that matches your style and aligns with your goals. Do you want to meet industry experts? A conference like AWP might be the place for you (or a smaller, local version of the same thing if AWP’s location and price aren’t right for you). Do you want to pitch your novel to prospective agents and editors? Many conferences have in-person pitch sessions, where you get ten minutes to hook someone into your story. 

• Poets and Writers Conferences and Residencies Database – has a database you can filter for location, cost, etc.
• Assocation of Writers and Writing Programs Writers Conferences and Centers Database – can filter by location, genre, conferences with scholarships

Pro-tip: many conferences offer free or reduced entrance fees to volunteers. They  may also have single-day fee structures. Some even offer scholarships, so plan your dream schedule early!

Meetups and local groups are another good way to put your face in a place with the right other faces. Keep an eye on local event space schedules. Is there a Sci Fi Writer’s Night at your coffee house? Go to it!

Note: your network might include people from your critique group (or groups), but shouldn’t be limited to only your critique group!

What do you do once you find your people?

This is going to sound incredibly obvious, but talk to them.

Writers – especially popular ones – may have thousands of Twitter followers. They may be in Facebook groups with hundreds or even thousands of people. And that sounds super intimidating! But you know what? You’re in that group, too. You have as much right to be there, and to talk, as anyone. Listen, yes. But ask questions. Talk to people.

Be prepared to share what expertise you have. There’s always someone who needs you, and people who plan to help? They remember people who offer help. Nobody likes someone who is always taking and never giving, although they’ll be patient for a while as you amass enough knowledge and resources to start giving back to newer folks.

 This is also going to sound obvious, but hear me out: get those business cards done. I just got back from a networking event and I liked several people quite a lot, but ask me tomorrow if I remember the name of “the girl with the pink hair who writes supernatural detective stories.” Kidding. I think I already forgot it. But I don’t have to memorize her name, because she gave me an extraordinarily cool business card, and I gave her mine, and I think I’m already on her mailing list! 

Take labeled baggies to events if you need to: “interested in meetups” “writes in my genre” or whatever. Or write what you liked about the person on their card. Nobody’s going to be upset that you want to remember cool stuff about them.

Let me tell you a ridiculous networking story. Once upon a time there was a writer who wrote one chapter of a NaNo novel and quit. She didn’t really think too much more about it: she had a lot going on in her life, and being a novelist just wasn’t in the cards. But she knew a guy who, when he was asked “do you know an author?” answered “yeah, I think [insert distinctive name here] wrote a book.” Now, she absolutely had not written a book, and she admitted as much to the publisher, who responded “but could you?” She’s currently writing the second book of a three book contract and if I didn’t love her so much I’d hate her a little. (Also she’s a past judge of one of the YeahWrite Super Challenges, so I owe her.) If 90% of getting published is having your work in the right place at the right time, the more people who can get it to that place the better, right?

So talk. Talk about what you write. Talk to writers. Writers have agents, and publishers, and if they like your stuff they can recommend it. Talk to editors – first of all you need an editor, but second of all editors know who’s publishing what. Get remembered.

Tips and resources

• Be genuine. Even experts are just humans like you, and they want to see your human side.
• Hang out in places you like with people you respect. If your group members are misogynistic, racist, etc., then probably what they have to offer isn’t worth it.
• Ask questions. In general, people like to talk about themselves, and they like to share knowledge. This is an especially helpful tactic if you’re shy, introverted, or just plain nervous.
• Don’t just push your book (article pitch, services, etc.). Networking is not about making a quick sale; it’s about building relationships.
• Read the room. Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with that agent or author in the buffet line, but pay attention to their energy level. Just like you, they get overwhelmed and tired, and they might need a mental break. 
• Don’t take advantage of your friendships; know where to draw the line. Just because you meet up with the editor of that lit mag every week or two for coffee and exchange pictures of your kids and dogs doesn’t mean that editor is obliged to give you free advice. And vice versa: you’re not obligated to write free stuff for your friend’s travel blog just because you went to Honolulu together that one time. If a friend provides you with a professional service, find a way to compensate them, whether that means cash, barter, or a nice dinner out.

A quick note on ableism and networking

It’s really easy to say “just go meet people.” And it really kind of makes you sound like a jerk. We know we sound like a jerk in this post, and we’d like to clear the record by talking about some of our personal networking challenges, as well as the ways that ableism manifests itself in networking.

Christine is a social, neurotypical, conventionally pretty white extrovert who loves meeting and talking to new people.

Rowan is… one of those things. Hint: it’s the one in her picture.

We’re able to network largely because we work as a team. Rowan meets people online, develops relationships, and offers advice and skills. Then we go to events where those people are, and Christine provides the social face of the partnership. But Christine’s not as good at explaining what we do – she’s just better at making eye contact while doing it. So once the target is talking to us, we hand the conversation back and forth, with Rowan handling the technical “well it’s about what could you be if nobody expected you to be anything… but also it’s Hornblower, in space” aspects of the conversation, and Christine making the “yes, we’d love to meet up for a writing date next Thursday, welcome to town, this is our favorite coffee shop and workspace” dates. One way to get around your networking challenges is to find someone who already likes you and throw them under the bus. Uh. We mean, enlist their help in doing the parts that you find challenging.

This is to say: you may find networking online easier. That’s FINE. You may love networking offline. That’s fine too. Find a style that meets your personal needs. Because if the people you’re trying to network with don’t match your style, you’re going to have a difficult time sustaining a relationship with them anyway.

And that’s not even getting into the issue of accessibility in networking spaces. Many inexpensive meetup venues are not wheelchair accessible. Few conferences (and no local-to-us groups that we know of) offer interpretation services for Deaf people or for people who don’t speak the local dominant language as their primary. Rental chairs are hard and flimsy, posing additional challenges for people of size or people who may have difficulty sitting for long periods of time. Networking poses many extremely real challenges to people who don’t fit the mold. If you’re putting together a networking event, remember that these challenges exist, and contact someone in your community to help you identify and avoid them, ok? You’ll have a better event, and you’ll score tons of points personally.

Another quick note on networking

It would also be incredibly irresponsible of us not to acknowledge the additional networking challenges faced by members of marginalized groups. We know that you are the best judge of your own safety and capacity, and we encourage you to take the steps that are necessary for you to network safely, whether that’s staying online, the buddy system, or some other thing that you’re probably already doing.

Allies and folks putting together networking events, one thing that you can do to encourage diversity and safety at these events is make sure there’s a code of conduct. If there isn’t one? Ask for one. Don’t make marginalized people ask for their own safety, but definitely ask for their input and don’t second-guess them. Don’t know what that looks like? Ask John Scalzi, who’s been leveraging his popularity and influence for years to ensure that he doesn’t attend events that are unsafe for marginalized people. Be Scalzi. Demand diverse events. The bigger and more diverse your network is, the more everyone benefits.

June’s YFW assignment is:

About the authors: