A Not So Solitary Life

You may think writing is the life for you if you are shy and prefer to work alone. Many speakers will tell you that writing is a solitary profession. Plus, you get to wear your house shoes while at work. Writing, if you intend to actually make money, is not the solitary life you might imagine.

As your writing success increases, the time you spend alone will shrink.

Some writers are drawn to the profession because they are shy. Public speaking terrifies most people. Writers must build the skills to over come the fear of public speaking if they intend to make a career of writing.

At this point in your career, networking, cultivating contacts, finding support and knowledge from fellow writers in a writers group will help build your confidence and keep you away from the refrigerator and the television. Attend regular Missouri Writers Guild chapter meetings. Or, start a new chapter. Visit the MWG online writers group. Your writing will benefit from any of these important networking opportunities offered by Missouri Writers Guild. The more you contribute, the more you benefit.

While you are writing, you must also set aside time for reading. Learn from other writers.
Once I became a writer I began to read differently. Every book became a lesson. Writers learn about writing by reading great writing. If I pick up a book by Joyce Carol Oates or Tennessee Williams, I’m going to enjoy the prose, but I’ll also learn something about style and technique.

John le Carre said, “A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world”.

It is important to have contact with the world away from you computer. Stay in contact with the readers who will buy your work. Go to a book store, see what’s on the self. Learn what’s selling, who’s buying books, find out if your story, book, article has just been published. Get out of the house, look around. Story ideas aren’t delivered to your desk with a neat outline, marketing plan and a contract.

Your reputation as an authority will grow along with the your list of publications. Not only do you have to ask someone to publish your work, now that you are “in print”, novice writers will ask you how to jump the hurdle from writer wanna be to published writer. The more you write, the more people will seek your advice and opinion.

Fear will end your career as a writer before you are published. If you remain a solitary writer, you are journaling. Keeping a diary is a lot easier than being a writer. Being a writer requires putting yourself in the public eye. Here are some of the most effective ways to get your writing in print.

Writers conferences are good place to meet agents, publishers and experienced authors who can offer advice. Sign up for a pitch session, introduce yourself. Consider a pitch session as a job interview. “We met at the Missouri Writers Guild Conference” will grab an agents attention and save your email query from the slush pile.

You can not return to that solitary life once your are published. Marketing yourself and your publications demands visibility. There are loads of web sites and books to help you with marketing. Networking, writers groups and professional organizations like Missouri Writers’ Guild are a resource pool of the latest and most effective marketing techniques.

Garrison Keillor offered advice for writers and praise for a famous columnist at the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop in Dayton, Ohio.

“My advice to writers is to get out,” Garrison Keillor said. “Writing is an obsessive activity. Walk for two or three miles everyday -- rapidly if necessary -- and get out and look at the world. When writing loses touch with the beautiful surface of the world, it loses its way.”

Writing, I think, is the easy part. Putting your work before the public requires help from agents, editors, buyers, readers, reviewers and friends. Writing may be a solitary job. Making a living as writer requires that you step out of that isolated life and into the public. Marketing your writing is a very hard thing for a reclusive writer.

Statistics show that people fear speaking in public more than they do death. Jerry Seinfeld joked about our fear of public speaking. He said that if we are at a funeral, most of us would prefer to be in the casket rather than delivering the eulogy.

Here are some tips to help boost your confidence.

Improve Your Skills
There is no better place to develop public speaking skills than Toastmasters. Find a small and supportive group near your home at http://www.toastmasters.org What a painless and proven way to build confidence, practice communication skills and overcome the fear of public speaking.
No one can see your knees shaking, hear you heart pounding, knows your armpits are sweating. Toastmasters is a safe place and friendly place. No one has ever been eaten alive at a Toastmasters meeting.

Be A Host
Next time you attend a conference, or any meeting, look around for some one who appears nervous or uncomfortable being there. Introduce yourself, assume a helpful role. Try to help reduce their nervousness. Helping others, who are obviously feeling the same anxiety you are, will instantly reduce your own fears and feelings of isolation.

Think About It
Editors and agents are always looking for good writers. Let them know you the best writer for the job. Publishers need writers. Introduce yourself, pitch you writing, keep as many editors and publishers employed as you possibly can. It’s good for the economy.

We have instant access to information and people through the Internet. Not only does the Internet provide writers with a powerful research tool, it also connects them with other people through email, instant messaging, chat rooms, e-mail lists and online bulletin boards. And, if that weren't enough, we have a fast growing world of online social networks. You have opportunities to share your writing with more readers than ever before.

Writing and being published is not easy. You may have heard about the writer who is greeted by St Peter when he dies. “First, let’s take a tour of heaven and hell,” St Peter says to the writer.

In hell they see thousand of writers starring at keyboards, mumbling to themselves, writing furiously, completely oblivious, sweating, swearing and exhausted.

St Peter and the writer return to heaven. The writer is ready to enter the gates of paradise until he sees the same scene. All the writers are bent over their keyboards, mumbling to themselves, writing furiously, completely oblivious, sweating, swearing, and exhausted.

Confused, the writer asks, “ What’s the difference between heaven and hell?”

St. Peter says, “In heaven you get published.!”

Writing may seem like a solitary profession, but in order to be successful writers, we must get our words out. Chapter meetings and the conference are places for encouragement and sharing our passion for writing. If you are interested in starting a chapter, please send me an email president@missouriwritersguild.org. The board will help you in whatever way we can. See you at the conference April 3-5, 2009.

Patsy Bell Hobson
president,
Missouri Writers' Guild

7 Ways To Make The Most of a Conference

7 Ways To Make The Most of a Conference
Get your moneys worth

1. Just say “Hi!” and smile. It’s a “Hi” that flashes a message in neon lights: “I feel great about meeting you, and I’d like to talk with you.” It’s inviting and energizing and relaxing at the same time.

2. Give yourself a job. You don’t have to wait to be elected to the board. Just look around and be helpful. Greet newcomers. Doing something will make you comfortable and give you a reason for starting conversations.

3. Check in with acquaintances. Meeting new people may actually be easier than beginning a conversation with a person you see only rarely and know only slightly. It’s easy to put your foot in your mouth inadvertently when you begin a conversation with someone you haven’t talked with recently. Assume that the person’s life has changed. It probably has. To avoid a slip-up ask general questions rather than specific ones.

4. Say what you see. Another way to begin is to look around and be interested and inventive as you react to your surroundings.

5. Introduce yourself to the leaders. You can spot the leaders; they’re the ones rushing around. Don’t be intimidated; walk right up and say “Hi!” If you’re considering joining, make an appointment to talk with a leader after the meeting.

6. Talk and sit with people you don’t know. Nearly 75% of people who attend networking events end up sitting next to the people they came with. Your job at a networking meeting is to make contact with people you don’t know or don’t know well.

7. Come with a purpose. More than 85% of people who attend networking events have no specific purpose in mind, nothing they want to find or connect with, or learn, no one they particularly want to meet. Know what you want and ask for it. Before you arrive, set goals for yourself and know what you want out of the conference.

Conference Confidence
Just remember, no one can see your knees shaking or your pits sweating. It is a long-standing tradition to never eat newbies alive. They may go on to serve on the board.