60: 8 Ways to Make Author Connections

True story. When I started thinking about this episode, I

was wearing a t shirt with the motto. I'm not antisocial. I

just prefer to stay at home. It featured a turtle on the front

and turtles are my spirit animal because they can always draw

into their shells and be at home. The Myers Briggs test says

I am an INTJ, which stands for the introverted intuitive

thinking and judging personality type, the architect or if you

prefer the evil mastermind, the evil mastermind part is not a

term put forward by the Myers Briggs folks, but it seems to

fit, especially when you know Professor Moriarty and Elon Musk

are supposedly INTJ is one study I found estimates that female

INTJ is makeup only 0.5% of the population. Yay, me! I'm a

unicorn. What it really adds up to in my case, is someone who

always, always feel socially awkward, no matter how well I

fit in. But I'm also an intuitive thinking sort of

person who is hyper self aware. That means I know I need to make

connections, no matter how much I want to be alone. So today, we

are going to talk about writers making connections, because it's

important and whether or not you are also an INTJ. There are

plenty of authors who are introverts. So I hope this

episode will help you come out of your shell. To make

connections a writing precedes authors. Welcome back to the

podcast. To those of you who are new, I want to extend a special

welcome. My name is Kathrese McKee. And I'm glad you're here.

If you are a writer seeking encouragement, information and

inspiration, this podcast is for you. Let's get to it. Let's

start by figuring out why making connections is important for

writers. First, if you don't connect with readers, there's

really no reason to publish your writing. You need to understand

their needs, wants and desires, you need to understand what they

want to read. Once you have a set of readers, you need to

nurture your relationship with your readers if you want to sell

more books. Second, you need connections to competent

editors, cover designers and other service providers to

produce the best products possible. Third, you need to

connect with other writers because other writers are the

only folks who will fully understand your daily struggles

with words and other writerly chores. Your spouse won't get it

unless they write to your kids won't get it. Face it, the

majority of your family won't even read your books. You need

other writers to support you. Through it all. let me commend

this, you really really need to connect with other writers in

your genre, you can enjoy meeting a romance writer. But if

you write hard science fiction, that connection is unlikely to

help your writing business find folks, let's call them

coopetition, who cooperate with you to cross promote and

critique and create great books. Fourth, you need to connect with

agents and publishers, if you are not interested in being an

indie author. Fifth, it's a good idea to make connections with

library staff members and bookstore owners, no matter if

you are an indie author or traditionally published. And did

I mention connecting with readers? That's the most

important thing. Okay, so making connections is important. But

how do you go about leaving your shell to make those connections?

We could spend an episode on each of these tips. But as an

overview, here are eight ways to make connections for authors,

one, writing communities if you live near a city, then more than

likely there's at least one chapter of a writing

organization that has regular meetings where you can meet

other authors if you live in a rural area. They may not

however, there is nothing to stop you from joining a national

authors Association like our RWA (Romance Writers of America), or

SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers) of America or

the Mystery Writers of America or the like these associations

have online forums. Tune in to your genre. Get to know your

peers. Two, conferences and workshops. Even if you can't

find a writing community. You can attend conferences and

workshops. Usually these are not free, but I have never been

sorry that I paid to attend. Here's a chance to meet authors

you have heard of editors, agents and future collaborators.

Some conferences, offer pitch sessions and mentoring. All

workshops and conferences give you the opportunity to meet

people with similar interests. Make sure you get contact

information for people you meet, and then follow up three social

media. Find author groups on Facebook and search for authors

on Instagram and Tiktok interact on

Mind for groups be sure to read and follow group guidelines. No

spamming and self promotion, get in there and interact. Try to

contribute and be sociable and respectful. If possible, create

posts yourself. When someone follows me on Instagram, I pop

over to see their posts. If it's nothing besides sale sale sale,

I don't follow back, it is entirely possible to strike up

virtual friendships and get to know your peers long before you

have an opportunity to meet them in real life. Four - literary

events and readings, check out meetup.com and Eventbrite, and

count library calendars and bookstore announcements to find

local events where you can meet other authors. Also, there's

nothing stopping you from scheduling an event of your own

to connect with local authors five critique groups, my first

critique group had about seven authors from all over the United

States and Canada, we found each other through an online message

board, made available through our mutual Writers Association.

My second critique group was established the same way, you

need critique partners, especially when you're starting

out, take every piece of advice with a grain of salt. It helps

to find authors at or above your level. But honest, thoughtful

critique from any serious reader is worth its weight in gold.

Take the advice you can use and ignore the rest. critique groups

help you forge long lasting relationships with your peers.

connections that are meaningful. Make sure your critique group

has clear guidelines and expectations before you join.

Writing pursuits is run by Kathrese. McKee, who has been

new level of excellence. Kathrese is a three story

methods certified editor who specializes in story

diagnostics, coaching and line editing to help you prepare your

story for the journey ahead. For more information, go to writing

pursuits.com. The link is in the show notes. And now back to the podcast.

Six collaborations okay, this is definitely something I have not

done. Personally, I don't think editing a couple of anthologies

counts, but finding a collaborative partner is a great

way to advance and challenge your writing skills.

Collaborating is something I want to do. Once I find the

right partner, check out a couple of resources before you

get started. Collaboration for authors A Complete Guide to

collaborating finding a partner and accelerating your author

career by Daniel Wilcox and Jay Thorne, and also co writing a

book collaboration and co creation for authors, Vijay

Thorn and Joanna pen. I will put links to these in the show

notes. Seven mentors. I mentioned finding mentors at

conferences but of course, you can find them other places. If

you find a mentor or take part in a mentoring group or

mastermind group, you will progress more quickly than you

would on your own. When you find people who suit you these

connections can last a lifetime. Eight, your newsletter

subscribers. The moment you finish your first best short

story or novella put it out there and collect email

subscribers seriously. Before you publish your first book

published a lead magnet, set up a free Miller Lite account. And

the moment you get a subscriber start sending out a monthly

newsletter. A newsletter is your best way to forge personal

connections with your readers, your tribe, your niche, whatever

you want to call them. You need to connect with your readers and

keep the connection fresh. entertain them, inform them info

obtain them. Every once in a while send your readers and

exclusive chapter or short story it is never too late to do this.

If you haven't started a newsletter, put it on your

calendar and set to work. If someone writes back, make sure

you respond. And guess what? You never have to leave your house

to send out a newsletter. What a great deal. In conclusion, I'm

certain I haven't covered every method for writers to make

meaningful connections. Today we've discussed why you need to

make the effort to come out of your shell to make connections

with other writers and readers. And we covered eight ways to

increase your odds. Writing communities conferences and

workshops, social media, literary events and meetings,

critique groups, collaborations, mentors and last but not least,

your newsletter subscribers. If you would like to connect with

me, find me on Instagram at writing pursuits podcast. How do

you make writing related connections? Leave your answers

at writing proceeds.com forward slash podcast forward slash 60.

That's all I have for today. Until next time, keep writing my

friends keep writing. Thank you for listening to the podcast.

Today if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a star

rating and follow the podcast. If you're new around here, I

hope you will sign up for writing pursuits tips for

authors, my newsletter that comes out most Thursdays when

health and life permit that link and all the links mentioned in

today's episode are in the shownotes and writing

pursuits.com. Please join us on Wednesdays for new episodes and

keep writing my friends. Keep writing