Networking

Two Writing-Roads followers suggested where to find more information on networking. Pat Stoltey suggested the following article, www.bethgroundwater.com/Top_Ten_Rules.html. She also said Google "Facebook for Writers," "Twitter for Writers," or LinkedIn for Writers" to identify articles on networking through social media. So far, the articles I found didn't lay out a guide for marketing/promoting on social networks. I want to know which groups I should join. How to join them. Basic information. Perhaps you'll be able to find better information than I did.

ProBlogger as suggested by Charmaine Clancy requires paying a fee - something like $5.95 a month. Her profile on her Wagging Tails blog/website lists hundreds of blogs to consider. The link is on this page.

One article on networking I read said not to discuss business at a cocktail party. I disagree. Granted, pitches are not appropriate if not requested and when in a group. However, finding out if an editor is open for submissions is a perfectly good question to ask. In talking with Ben Barnhart of Milkweed Editions, he volunteered information about Milkweed's submission manager and said he was open to submissions. Needless to say, I sent a query/chapters right after the conference.

Use good taste when approaching editors whether it be at lunch or a cocktail party. I sat with an editor from Fulcrum one year at a conference. She asked what I write. I explained it wasn't something her publisher did but she didn't care. She asked again what I write. The next year when I attended her presentation, she commented that she remembered me. Later that day I pitched to her. She gave me extra attention and tried hard to get the manuscript accepted. Eventually it was rejected. But I appreciated her extra effort and told her so.

I've also attended conferences where one person monopolized the luncheon conversation with their pitch. I wonder if the editor felt it was as rude as I considered it. Lunch is a good time to find out more about the editor/agent, not only what they like to read but personal information which makes us writers more comfortable talking to them. We discover they are people just like us.

Even though I've said how hard it is for me to approach editors/writers/agents, I try to remember they are people like me. They have a job to do and are, most often, willing to talk to you. Force yourself to approach them but do it respectfully and with concern for those around you. Pitches are for one on one.