Networking

I am finally learning to take advantage of every situation to network my book no matter what the circumstance. For instance: this past weekend. As a volunteer at the Loveland Museum/Gallery in Loveland, Colorado, and serving as one of two Volunteer Coordinators, the museum paid for the two of us to attend a symposium at the Denver Art Museum. I'd served as a docent there from 1985-89. Saw lots of people I knew including Melora McDermott-Lewis.

Melora is now the Education Director of the museum. When I reintroduced myself, she remembered me before I finished my sentence. Course, we'd worked together developing tours, etc., in that four year time period when she was an intern/assistant and I was a docent. I took that opportunity to mention my "looking at art" Charles Russell book. She commented she always wished a docent who knew art and how to deal with children would write a book. She asked that I send her one, let her know when it comes out and she'd place it in the study room of the Western Art Gallery. Also she'd talk to the museum shop.

Talk about networking. What more could I ask?

Then at the cocktail party, I met the Wichita Art Museum Director of Education. She'd attended the afternoon meeting with me but sat on the opposite side of the room. She commented that her museum displayed American art. I asked if she had any Charles Russell. "Oh, yes." That's all I needed. Our conversation led to her giving me her card and my promise to let her know when the book is released.

I never dreamed networking could be so easy! I've actually learned to mention the new book at every function I attend. My husband even mentioned it at a candidate fundraiser.

More networking came about at my critique meeting. A fellow attendee suggested she's learned a lot about marketing plans. She offered to meet with me to form a marketing plan the publisher will love! I'm researching marketing plans so I'm not a dummy when we meet in a couple of weeks.

The moral: take advantage of every opportunity to mention your new book. You'll be surprised at the numbers of people who'll be interested.