Write F*cking Words Now

The Procrastination Station - Networking

You've likely heard the phrase 'Building your author brand'. For those of you who aren't familiar, basically in this day and age, you have to sell yourself as a writer just as much as your books. We're all so connected via technology that it's really hard to get noticed. It's not just sending off a query to a publisher anymore. And a lot of agents and people in the industry will tell you that if you don't have some kind of social media presence, then they might not even look at your manuscript.

So part of selling your book, be it through traditional publishing or self publishing, is building your author brand. This is basically treating your author name as your business. Treat it like it's the company you own, and you need to market it to as many people as possible. How does one do this? Networking.

Now, I'm going to tell you a story. I loathe marketing. I'm not terrible at it. I've worked in retail, customer service, and real estate, so I have had some experience in jobs that require me to be salesy. My customer service face is actually pretty inviting. But behind that mask, I am skewering my eyeballs out because I hate it. I hate the customer-is-always-right-upsell-market-to-their-needs-fuck-my-life type of work. I hate being pushy. I hate trying to sell stuff to people. Even if they're already interested in the product. Still hate it.

Networking, however, is a whole different ball game. I adore networking. This is kind of strange because I am an extroverted introvert, which means I have fun in social situations but really I hate people and would rather be at home eating chocolate on my couch. So one would think that I would despise networking as well.

But beneath it all, beneath all the sales speak, what networking really is at its core is chatting with people about common interests. And guess what all writers have in common? We love to write. And we also love to read.

So what does this big long diatribe have to do with building a brand?

Well, the goal of building an author brand is to get your name out there. You want people to see that you exist. So you create social media accounts. You get Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Goodreads. Then you sit back and watch the readers flock to you!

Haha, just kidding. You need to socialize. It is social media, after all.

The beauty of the writer's community is that wherever you go, it's a symbiotic relationship. Writers come together over their love of the craft, and their love of the product, and in building friendships with each other, build love for each other's books. It's a really beautiful way to network, and one that I absolutely adore.

I didn't set out to build a brand. I started a Wattpad account to get some smutty fanfiction out of my head. And then I somehow got some readers. And made some friends. And read some stories. And chatted with those writers. And joined a book club. And started an Instagram sharing sexy quotes that horny people like. And hung out on Twitter chatting writing and reading with other writers and readers. And now I'm finding myself in the warm embrace of the Writer's Community, with people to talk to and inspire me every day.

So how is this productive to my writing?

See that last bit, people that inspire me every day? Accountability can be the most important tool in building ambition to do something. If you've started a story on Wattpad and nobody is poking you going Hey, you writing a new chapter or what? then it's easy to lose motivation. If you hop onto Twitter and put out a call with the #writerscommunity hashtag telling people you're having a hard time getting those words out today, you'll have an outpouring of support!

Everyone's been there. Everyone's had those days. Know that you're never alone.

So for one, networking will help build a group of people that will kick your ass, or at the very least offer a solidarity salute so that you don't feel alone in your procrastination.