I recently went to an in-person retreat – one of the few I have gone to since COVID-19. I was hesitant about the person-to-person training, but more conferences are dropping the virtual or hybrid model. Sometimes there are perks for those who show up.
And I remembered how much energy can be generated by like-minded people who have made an effort to drive to rural Iowa to learn and share. Plus my list of “writing friends” just got longer!
Q: What brings a group together?
A: Common interests
- sharing groups who write for specific markets exchange ideas and encourage each other
- critique group to discuss and analyze manuscripts
- authors releasing books in the same year who swap launch ideas swapping
- launch groups focus energy on new releases
- authors represented by the same publisher or agency
- subgroups of larger organizations like SCBWI
- librarians of a particular genre
- Teachers of a specific grade
Q: How do you engage?
A: You bring YOU!
- support and contribute first, comment on posts
- build relationships not customers, answer questions, volunteer to help
- be credible, encouraging, supportive
- pick 5 individuals or groups of like-minded people and follow them on every platform
- pick one day a week and comment on every post on one platform
Something new…
I heard about a new group strategy for writers that can assist in publicity and sales but are not with other writers. Since my next book is on trees (specifically the Quaking Aspen), I thought I’d see where the tree lovers are.
Google: Shot in the Dark
I googled: “groups interested in trees”. I had my choice of several umbrella groups, but I chose one that included national forests. I found not only a blog but also a list of grants and partnerships I might explore. I signed up for the newsletter.
I googled “Quaking Aspen” and one of the first hits was our local Morton Arboretum, 20 minutes away! Which has a gift shop. And library story time!
Selecting one platform: Facebook
I am pretty active on Facebook so I tried the same search “groups interested in trees.” This time I found there were more local to the Chicago area and had volunteer opportunities. And a blog.
Word to the wise: I was excited and did a FB search for Quaking Aspen. I scored a rock music group and a family farm. Not every search was a hit!
Hoped for results: By the time my tree book is published in 2026!) I hope my name is familiar to other writers and maybe even local and not-so-local tree lovers. Stick around to see how this plays out!
Multi award winning author Robin Currie led public library children’s departments as a preschool literacy specialist. With more than 1.7 M copies sold of 40 picture books, she writes stories to read and read again! She is pretty bummed the publication date of her next book was pushed back a year but will use the time to build relationships!
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