Thanks to Steve Grove for his question:

"Almost every author starting out has no connections nor influence on the industry on either side of the border. They also have no marketing ability nor understanding of an industry that changes from year to year….How important is the networking – about getting to know the right people?!"

Steve, I believe networking is absolutely vital for several reasons. The bottom line is that no matter what field we might be in, none of us ever know what we don’t know. Think of a scientist working away in his own little laboratory thinking he’s making huge progress, while other scientists are actually light years ahead of him. The same is true for writers.

We need to be connected with other writers and editors, too. Preferably working with them – bouncing ideas off each other and challenging each other. That’s why I belong to a number of writers organization and I’ve attended quite a few conferences and conventions.

But you want to be with writers who know more than you do, and not only in a group where you may be the wisest one. Ideally, have more than one groups – one where you’re primarily  a learner, one with people at about the same level as you, and one where you can pass on what you’ve learned to newer writers.

What I feel many newer writers are missing is an objective, professional reader who can advise them about their writing and about what they need to do next. They’ve probably gone as far as they can go on their own, and their peers, or perhaps their family and friends, are telling them their work is wonderful, but they really need the opinion of someone who is a few steps ahead of them. Someone who can tell them what they don’t know. It might be something related to the actual writing or it might be related to getting published or promoting yourself. None of us know everything we need to know – especially if we haven’t had contacts in the writing field. Even if you have to pay for that advice, it’s usually worth it. The trick is to find the right person. And networking will help you do that.

There’s always more you can learn. My first book was published in 1991, and when I went to edit it in 1999, I was appalled that it had actually been published as it was. I’m sure if I edited it today I’d be once more appalled by all the work needed – because of everything I’ve learned since 1999.

And then there’s the need to have relationships with editors, agents, etc. Not because you need something from them, but because they’re people who have similar interests. And you want to be included in the group if possible, preferably participating, but even sitting on the fringes learning all you can is better than not being included at all. (As an introvert, I find this the most difficult part of writing. I so don’t do small talk!) 

So, yes, you totally need to be involved with other people in the same field. Although writing may seem like a solitary occupation, it really isn’t. Networking plays a huge role.

networking · what new writers need to know · writers learning from others

I discovered yesterday that two of my books have been nominated for the Church Library Association of Ontario's "One Book/ One Conference" discussion, which will be held at their Fall Conference on October 3rd at Tyndale University and Seminary in Toronto. The conference will celebrate CLAO's 40th anniversary. Dr. James Beverly, author and professor, will be the keynote speaker.

There will also be workshops, including a panel with at least 4 Canadian authors.

And there will be a discussion time focused on one book, by a Canadian author, that all participants are to have read prior to the conference.

Books nominated for this honour include: 

The Shack (William P. Young)

Christianus Sum (Shawn J. Pollett)

Hot Apple Cider (edited by N. J. Lindquist and Wendy Elaine Nelles)

Broken Angel (Sigmund Brouwer)

Love Comes Softly (Janette Oke)

One Smooth Stone (Marcia Lee Laycock)

Cibou (Susan Young de Biagi)

Shaded Light (N. J. Lindquist)

Mohamed’s Moon (Keith Clemons)

Vengeance (Donna Dawson)

The Book of Negroes (Lawrence Hill)
 
The Cellist of Sarajevo (Steven Galloway)
 

More details about the books and the conference.

No matter which book wins, I think this is a super idea, and I commend the CLAO committee for their efforts to support Canadian authors.

Broken Angel · Canadian authors · Christianus Sum · Cibou · CLAO · Donna Dawson · Fall conference · Hot Apple Cider · Janette Oke · Keith Clemmons · Keith Clemons · Lawrence Hill · Love Comes Softly · Marcia Lee Laycock · Mohamed’s Moon · N. J. Lindquist · One Smooth Stone · Shaded Light · Shawn J. Pollett · Sigmund Brouwer · Steven Galloway · Susan Young de Biagi · The Book of Negroes · The Cellist of Sarajevo · The Shack · Vengeance · Wendy Elaine Nelles · William P. Young

Although my choice of reading material is normally mysteries, I’ve been reading books on writing memoir and memoirs lately, trying to get a feel for what is acceptable or perhaps desirable.

Just finished Who Do You Think You Are? by Alyse Myers. A difficult story of a young girl growing up in a dysfunctional, somewhat abusive home. The greatest strength of the book is the author’s ability to show the complicated nature of perception, and how despite lacking adequate information to make accurate judgments, children are a product of their environment as well as their genes.

Before that, I read the Pulitzer Prize winning Growing Up by Russell Baker. I’d read Russell’s chapter in Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir, edited by William Zinsser, and been impressed with it. I found the story interesting, and the way he told it very enlightening, though the writing felt very plain and easy-to-follow. I guess I expected more literary styling in a Pulitzer winner. Not that I wanted literary stuff – that’s not my cup of tea. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book was very readable.

My choice of these two memoirs was also impacted by the complex relationships each author had with his or her families, in particular the mother. Since my own memoir will definitely have some of that, it’s good to see how other people handled it.

Just before these two books, I read Inventing the truth, edited by Zinsser, and very helpful; and The Joy of Writing by Pierre Berton, which was also quite helpful and ought to be mandatory reading for all Canadian writers, regardless of genre.

I have about five other books to read before I think I’ll be ready to start working on my memoir. Next up is Lawrence Block’s new memoir, Step By Step: A Pedestrian Memoir, which promises an interesting metaphor.

Alyse Myers Who do you think you are? · books about memoir writing · Gowing up · inventing the truth · Lawrence Block · Russell baker · Step by Step · william zinsser · writing memoir

This is our first video, so it may need some work. It shows me taking our 17-year-old miniature poodle Silx for a walk.

The interesting this is that Silx is pretty well blind and deaf. But she still asks to go for walks by going in circles in the hallway near our front door – especially on warm days.

While it looks as though I’m pulling Silx, she’s actually on a leash that expands. So she’s going pretty well wherever she wants to go. She used to like to lead me by the full length of the leash; now she seems to prefer to walk about 3 feet behind me. If I go too slowly, she bumps into my legs, so I have to try to keep to her pace.

I also have to watch she doesn’t bump into the rocks and other barriers our neighbours seem to like.

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It’s always nice to have Google tell you there’s a new link with your name on it, and to discover that there’s a new review posted for one of your books. This one is about Glitter of Diamonds. You can read it here in the Seattle Examiner.

Actually, Glitter of Diamonds was probably the most fun to write of any of my books thus far. I do like baseball.

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Other than the fact that she’s sold more books than I have, and made a lot more money, I totally get what "Jane Austen Doe" is saying in this article, and I most definitely feel the same pain. "Confessions of a semi-successful author".

She alludes to but doesn’t specifically say that part of the problem is that if you really want to have a career as an author, you are highly encouraged to compromise your muse (i. e. write what "they" want.) In other words, picture someone standing over Van Gogh’s shoulder saying, "No, nobody will buy that. What the people want is more velvet Elvis pictures."

There’s a reason for the cliche about starving artists. When the desire to paint what you want to paint, or write what you want to write, is stronger than the desire to make money, unless you have a second income, you well may starve.

My favourite point in this article, by the way, is the line about how the author is frequently the only one who suffers for a book’s failure to sell, even though the real culprit may have been the firm’s publicist, the cover designer, etc. So true.

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