Networking

[Hymera]

Wasn't quite sure where to put this but here seemed the most sensible.

I understand networking is extremely important especially if you would like to have something published but my question is how do you do this? How does someone like myself build up a network of links and acquaintances at such an early stage?

[Mikal]

Great question! I have a few thoughts.

First, as a shameless self-plug, I think forums like WritAnon are a great place to start. You can start finding out more about people, and as you get to know people better, they're more likely to want to help you succeed.

Next, blogging is a good way to build a following, BUT you have to have a purpose with your blog. There are too many blogs that are unfocused out there, so you want to ensure you're blogging for a purpose.

What do I mean by a purpose? Perhaps your purpose is to blog using short stories to establish yourself as an author in a particular genre. Perhaps you want to share some area of expertise you have that others do not (I blog about robotics, volunteering, and my family life in addition to running the blog here at WritAnon). Each blog as its own purpose, and I try to write articles that are interesting and focused on the audience for my blog.

If you want to build followers relatively quickly, Twitter is an awesome tool. However, you have to keep using it regularly (at least once a day), or your follower counts will start to drop.

Lastly, creating your own website that you update often (at least once a week) is useful, especially if you want people to find you by searching on your real name. You can check out my personal site in my signature if you want to see how I do it. I'll be posting something tomorrow or Saturday for a new article. You then want to sprinkle it here and there on the Internet so people have a higher chance of finding the real you.

Hopefully this helps get you started!

[Mikal]

Oh, and as an aside, don't try to do too much networking at once. It can easily become a full-time job if you let it.

[Hymera]

Thank you for the advice its good to get sound pointers from someone who is doing it themselves. Lately I have decided I am going to be very serious about my writing, for 10 years now I have been dreaming about writing a book but never got around to it. I am going to get a large portion of my work done before starting to network but its good to get a heads up now.