Mixing business with pleasure
By Amanda J. Clay
Writing is a solitary pursuit, it’s true. It’s a task done mostly in your head, locked away in a dark room or in coffee shop corners,
headphones on and literally having conversations with yourself. People usually look at me like I’m half mad when I’m working out in public.
Unlike 90% of the rest of the working world, we don’t have co-workers (at least not in the traditional sense). Before I had my daughter and when my husband would travel for work, I could spend literal DAYS lost in my work, not even speaking to another human.
Now, I’ve always been fortunate to have a solid network of friends and family in my life. But since I began my writing journey, I’ve realized that this industry is so specific, fraught with challenges unique to this world, outsiders just don’t always get you. In my early days, I would try to talk about my writing process and experience with friends and I was met with a lot of blank stares and “Oh, that’s nice. So anyway, did you hear about…”
(I love them, but the truth is until you’ve got some publishing creds under your belt, most people in your life really don’t care that you’re trying to write a book, ha!)
This is why I think building a network of writerly friends is so important. I would go so far as to say for most people, it’s an essential part of your writing business.
I got serious about writing professionally in 2013–that was when I finished my first manuscript (well, the first one I knew was worth anything), started attending writing events and joined my first writing group. Since then I have made friends from every corner of the Earth. Literally, I have writerly friends everywhere from Australia to Nova Scotia, not to mention a vast network here in the U.S. that I’m lucky enough to talk to on a weekly, if not daily, basis. They’re there to offer advice, to read draft pages, to listen, to share ideas, to drink wine. I couldn’t run my author business without these precious gems.
For the longest time, my husband–who’s in the business side of healthcare–could not for the life of him understand why I would fly across the country and attend writing conferences on my own dime. In his mind, conferences were boring, mandatory schmooze-fests his company made him do. To me? Four days of hanging out with my best friends, talking about books with people who love them as much as I do! And it’s those connections you make over a cup of coffee or at the bar that could also be life changing for your career.
Wherever you are on your writing journey, I encourage you to cultivate a quality network of writers and publishing pros who can support you in your work. And don’t be afraid to mix it up with people in different stages of the journey. Find someone a little ahead of where you want to be to offer you some insight. Get dirty in the trenches with someone right in step with you. Offer a hand back to someone just getting started.
Because no one will ever understand your journey like another writer!
As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out or connect.
Amanda J. Clay writes gripping mysteries and twisty domestic thrillers with complex, kick-butt female leads designed to keep you up all night, including the twisty Pt. Redwood mystery series. When she’s not staring at a computer screen, she is part of the fabulous team that puts on the San Francisco Writers Conference. She currently lives in Nashville, TN with her dashing, real-life hero of a husband, who inspires her villains and heroes alike, and their hellion of a daughter.
