As I did last week, on Thursday evening, I’ll be drawing a name from everyone who leaves comments this week for a free 25-page critique of your novel! Comments must be left before midnight the day the post is published in order to count toward the drawing, but each comment gets you another entry in the hat!
Almost everyone I know groans and rolls their eyes whenever I bring up the topic of networking. But it’s one of the best skills I’ve ever learned, and the primary reason I’m now a published author. I’ve mentioned many, many times before about how I knew both my agent and my editor for years and years before submitting to either of them—just through networking with them at conferences and through my position as an officer with ACFW.
This week, two of our guest bloggers will be discussing on-the-fly networking—from impromptu pitching to recognizing and taking care of “God appointments.” Then on Thursday, we’ll start looking at getting spiritually prepared for conference.
And to refresh you on networking, here are the posts from the two series I’ve done already on the blog:
Gas–$3, Book–$12, Networking–Priceless
Networking–What is it, really?
Networking = Name Recognition = Marketing
Networking: Addendum to Building Name Recognition
Networking: Stumbling Block #1–Fear
Networking: Stumbling Block #2–Communication
Networking: Stumbling Block #3—Following Up
Dos and Don’ts of Networking
Networking–A Refresher Course
Networking Refresher–The “Soft Sell”
Networking Refresher–Building Name Recognition
Networking Refresher–Is This Seat Taken?
Networking Refresher–Face-to-face editor/agent meetings
Networking Refresher–When Did We Stop Sending Notes?
5 responses so far ↓
John Robinson // Monday, August 25, 2008 at 11:42 am
Great stuff, Kaye. Thanks so much for doing this for us!
Jess // Monday, August 25, 2008 at 5:56 pm
“Networking” just sounds kind of smarmy, like using people to get what you want. I don’t like the sound of it. But knowing someone for years and years before they read your stuff doesn’t seem that way at all.
Jennifer L. Griffith // Monday, August 25, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Due to the highly competitve nature of the publishing industry, networking is absolutely essential. This is a great topic to explore, especially prior to any writer’s conference. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Kaye!!
Kaye Dacus // Monday, August 25, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Jess–
That’s one of the reasons I’ve spent so much time talking about networking on this blog—to help people get over the idea that networking is “smarmy” and, when done right, is a vital part of being successful in any business venture that depends on knowing the right people and getting our work in front of them.
Sally Bradley // Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Networking is something my non-writing husband just doesn’t understand. And I have a hard time explaining it to him. It’s not smarmy, it’s not using people, it’s–maybe I need to put it in writing since I’m better at communicating that way, lol.