Nugget #61 -- Sweet Opportunity

Opportunity is that sweet spot where effective networking

and careful honing of the writing craft meet.

 

Nugget #19: Networking

Want to get published? Learn these 3 skills: networking, 

writing, and networking. No, that's not a typo.

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now #296 -- Greatest Personal Strength

What do you consider your greatest personal strength for becoming the writer you want to be?

I know you'd probably expect me to say something here about use of language or sounds, or maybe a mastery of grammar, or something literary like that, but as much as those help me as a writer, I think there's something that helps me so much more.

Networking. 

I like people, and I make friends easily. Those friends can be editors, fellow writers, publishers, readers, people who hate to read, whatever, but that skill has allowed me to build a personal network that had enabled me to get my stories into places I never would had I tried to operate as a Lone Ranger in my darkened room sending out blind queries. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again here. There are five key skills a writer must master to be successful: Networking, Time Management, Networking, Self-Editing, and Networking. 

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#222) -- Where to Publish

Where do you go to get your stories published? How do you even begin the process? 

Network.

Network. 

Network.

Network with people you know. Network with people you meet online. Network through Facebook groups. Network through Yahoo mail groups. You never know when someone you help or know will be in a position to help you later on with publishing project. Also, network online through blogs or other options. I regularly check for open submissions and post the details here on the blog just as a reference and resource for you, O' Hallowed Reader of This Blog.

Case in point. While I was editor-in-chief at the indie comic book publisher Shooting Star Comics, I (along with the rest of the management team) greenlit a military-horror project by Tom Waltz called Children of the Grave. I had known Tom through my work at iHero Entertainment, and knew he had the goods, and was able to convince the rest of the team to that fact (truth be told, it didn't really take any convincing at all -- it was pretty evident all in itself).

Fast forward a few years to Tom working at IDW as an associate editor looking for a writer for a then unknown project called Gene Simmons Dominatrix (no apostrophe, and no, I don't know why, so don't ask). He called me. Why? Lots of reasons, but it never would have happened without networking.

Another story.

Bobby Nash and I are regular convention travelling companions to cut costs on rooms and gas. So when I started getting back into prose work a few years ago, he was more than happy to introduce me to Ron Fortier and Airship 27 Productions (who have now published several of my stories). In turn, while in a Yahoo group run by Ron, I met Tommy Hancock, who runs Pro Se Productions, and has also published a few of my stories now. And in return, because good networking goes both ways, when IDW was looking for writers for a Zombies vs. Robots prose collection, I recommended Bobby wholeheartedly.

Bottom line, be good at what you do, but never forget that networking is 90 percent of the battle.

Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?

Uh, I think so, Brain, but burlap chafes me so.

Hey folks, to put it simply (and perhaps with great vanity), my goal here at the Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action blog is to have the best darn genre-writing blog on the planet. And I could really use your help to meet that goal.

How can you help?

I'm glad you asked.

1. By doing easy stuff like clicking the share buttons at the end of each post and passing the blog links along to your reading and writing friends, acquaintances, spammers, enemies and dogs pretending to be people on social networks.

2. By sending me suggestions for articles, questions of the day, writers and comic book creators you think I should interview for the blog, and links to other practical and informative articles people need to know about.

3. By just popping in every now and then to leave a comment on a post that particularly resonates with you.

4. By sending me press releases about what you or other creators and publishers are doing in the world of genre work, from pulp to sci-fi to comics to jungle fantasies (and back again around the world in 80 days).

5. And by letting me know what's keeping the blog from being the best darn genre-writing blog on the planet at this moment. I can't make it better until I know what the blanks spots and the gaps are.

Thanks again for all the support you've shown this far (in only the first four months of the blog's life -- yes, only four months and a few days; hard to believe, huh?), and I'm looking forward to continuing my plot to take over the world one post at a time with your help.

[Link] Judy Black on Networking

Networking is one of my favorite topics to talk about, and one of my favorite things to do. No longer can a writer simply lock themselves away into a dark room and type; networking has become a crucial part of any writer’s life.

Networking is a way to find work, to sell your writing, to find readers, fans and friends, it helps create a support base and a sounding board for ideas. Networking is a way to establish yourself as a writer and a way to keep yourself visible.

Now, I could go on forever about networking but I’m going to instead provide 5 tips for networking that anyone can follow.

Continue reading: http://judyblackcloud.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/networking/