The Whole Networking Thingy

So I've finally gotten around to this networking malarkey that people keep telling me is so important in the frantic state that is Looking For A Publisher. I totally 'get' the process, but I'm not sure how successful I'll be. So far I've been friend requesting (on Facebook) as many authors as I can find - some are 'borrowed' from my current friends' friends lists, while others I have searched for manually. It's hit and miss - you don't always know that the person you're requesting to be friends with is actually the person you want. Like a wise man once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get...."

It's also a bit awkward. I mean, it sort of feels cheeky friend requesting someone you have never met, especially because it sort of looks like you're only doing it to further your own interests. Which, okay, I sort of am, but not in a leechy kind of way. I wouldn't ask or expect anyone to help me hook an agent or a publisher, because at the end of the day that's something only I can do, with maybe a little help from Lady Luck (Say, I wonder if she is on Facebook? *snort*).

What I have already discovered, and this is only day one, is that the majority of authors out there (and not only authors, people in general I guess) are friendly, willing to help, and just basically nice human beings (being human always helps). Everyone starts off somewhere, and the important thing for me (and everyone else like me) to remember is that every published author out there today used to be right where I am now. Another important thing to remember is that in this internet evolved world, there are so many avenues open to aspiring authors than there was twenty or thirty years ago. You can google pretty much anything and everything, and if you research diligently, there is plenty of free help out there for struggling writers. You just need to know where to look.

Getting published will always be difficult, no matter how super-talented you are, or how fabulous your book is. But nobody is going to do it for you. So I'm embracing this networking thingy with open arms and hoping that being in the company of other authors - even if it is only internet-based company - will rub some positive energy onto me. A girl can hope, after all.

Meanwhile, I'm still going to try and find Lady Luck on Facebook though....

P.S. 

I'm not back to blogging every day, but am aiming for three or four times a week. In the interests of sticking to this new goal, I'm bringing back requests (seeing as it worked so well before). Some of you are familiar with the drill, but for those who aren't, the first person to post on today's blog gets to pick the subject for the next one. I figure I'll do five requests altogether, with the same stipulation.: first to post gets to make me blog about whatever they choose....

Try to be nice though. *snort*