Finding Your “People” Online

As promised in my previous post, I’m rolling out a brief (and profoundly incomplete) survey of online writer’s networks, social networks and resources. Browse the list, check out the sites, then run your own searches and see if you can do better.

No matter how far down the long tail your interests lie, you'll probably find a network (hopefully, more than one) that seems like a gathering of long lost friends. And after you and your friends bond, come back here and tell us about the group so the rest of us can join the party.

Fiction & Poetry Resources
Writers-Network is a free creative writing community for writers and poets. You can post poems and short-stories, read the work of other writers. “We welcome writers and poets of all levels, from all backgrounds.”

Fiction Factor is a portal covering a wide variety of genres (with spinoff sites dedicated to Romance, Horror, Sci-Fi, and other popular categories). Billed as an ezine, articles address topics from the nuts and bolts of writing fiction to publication & marketing strategies. They have an active writer’s forum with thousands of members.

Freelance Writer's Resource
Freelance Writing Jobs is a fabulous resource and community for current and aspiring freelancers. The awards say it best: Top 10 Blogs for Writers: Top 5 finisher for all four years, SOB: Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Award, Preditors & Editors Truly Useful Site Awards, Writers Digest 101 Best Sites for Writers, 2006, 2007, 2008. ‘Nuff said. Go there!

Screenwriting Resources
The Scriptwriters Network (founded 1986) is a non-profit run by a community of writers and industry professionals. Their worthy mission: “The Network serves its members by enhancing their awareness of the realities of the business, providing access and opportunity through alliances with industry professionals, and furthering the cause and quality of writing in the entertainment industry.”

InkTip is a portal that links entertainment industry buyers with writers. They claim an average of 1 script produced (not optioned) per month. This is the real deal and it gives writers who don’t live in L.A. the chance to get their work in front of producers and directors. It’s worth a look.

Other Resources
The Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network (SPAWN) is a resource site for publishers, artists and writers.

WritersNet is a community-driven reference site for writers. Very much a work-in-progress, it has some useful directories of writers, publishers, literary agents, and editors.

Duotrope’s Digest is a writer’s resource site, featuring a free membership and online submissions tracking service, updated weekly with new information from publishers seeking a broad spectrum of fiction pieces.

Preditors & Editors is a site devoted to listings of links to a wide range of sites covering fiction writing. They also provide “buyer beware” warnings about agents, publishers and others out to separate desperate writers from their hard-earned money. The site is truly and ugly baby (it harkens back to the bad HTML smash-ups of the early ‘90s), but the service they provide to the writing community is invaluable.

Enhance Your Social Skills
Social Networking is an enormous phenomenon online. Think LinkedIn, Facebook, and Ning. Ning is the brainchild of the co-inventor of the first web browser, Marc Andreessen. Quoting their site promo: “Ning is the social platform for the world’s interests and passions online.” Browse Ning and you’ll find fan-generated communities covering sports, politics, hobbies, and the arts. And among all these wonderful groups, you'll find writers gathering as well.

First, check out Writer’s Café, a community for writers who want to share their work with readers and writers. It must be working pretty well because there are over 50,000 members according to the site administrator. Then go to Ning’s top site, click on “Discover Ning Networks You’ll Love” and start browsing for more writers groups or even a knitting community if you feel a need to purl. Better yet, pick the writing topic you’re passionate about and start your own network.

Make contact. Just Think Differently.

Networking for Newbies

Search engines are like shotguns, you can cover a lot of territory with them but the results can be indiscriminate. Bah-dum! Thank you, thank you, we’ll be here all week. Be sure to try the buffet.

My quest for online writers' communities confirmed that just because you build a resource site for writers does not mean anyone will be able to find it. Bottom line: I need better search terms or writers' site owners need some lessons in SEO.

A few of the search terms I used (with and without apostrophes in various locations): writer's networks, writing networks, writers social networks, writers online groups, fiction, freelance writers and freelance writing. It would be an understatement to say that finding the right search terms is challenging. Wading valiantly through a plethora of sites pitching writing seminars, online degrees, and vanity publication (yawn!) I found my way to some gems that made the journey worthwhile.

I will admit that I have a bias toward sites that appeal to my personal and professional interests. So take a look at some of the sites I recommend and then pull on your waders and go searching for yourself. It may take some time, but don’t give up. Even a couple of great sites can inspire and invigorate you. They might even provide pointers to put money in your pocket. Stay tuned.

Find them and bookmark them. Just Think Differently.

Are You a Cyber-Savvy Writer?

Writers are by nature people who live inside their own heads. It's a very comfortable place to hang out. You can imagine all things are possible and you don't have to talk to anyone. I have the writer's studio in my head nicely furnished with everything I could want, including a cozy fireplace and a bottomless cup of java.

However, if you are serious about your writing business you're going to have come out of that room sometime and TALK to somebody. Doing this face to face may seem daunting (I sure think it is), so I'm offering a way to ease into this whole networking thing without breaking a sweat. Oh yeah, now I've got your attention.

The title of this piece poses a question to which most of us would reply in the affirmative. After all, we e-mail our friends and business associates, Google for information, read blogs (perhaps even follow some), and Amazon is our favorite marketplace. That's great, but lurking does not a network make. Can you honestly say you post regularly?

I personally love the idea of online networking. I have a full-time job, a family, and I'm working to build a writing business. I don't have time to go hang out in a coffee shop and chit-chat. I need to be selective about how I use my valuable networking time. The other advantage of networking with people online is that I can not only laser-focus on topics of interest to me, but I gain access to resources (experts) all over the country and the world. That's the beauty of the web; the global village is rife with opportunity.

This is the challenge I have posed for myself: find five online writers networks or groups that cover topics of interest to me, join them and take an active part in the discussions. That's right; I have to join the dialogue.

And lucky you, you get to follow my progress through the course of this year. Win or lose, I'll share my experiences with you. I am hoping that the irresistible lure of your innate curiosity will lead you to check out some of the resources I locate, take advantage of them and prosper. Join me in exploring the online writer's community and let's see what riches we may find.

Just Think Differently.

Getting Down to Business: A Serious Writers' Series

This is the official kickoff of our series, which will focus on topics for writers who are serious about the writing business. We have chosen six themes that are central to the success of a business and we will tailor our research and articles to address its unique (or not so much) aspects.

Getting Down to Business Series Themes:

1. Business Basics (business & marketing plans, goals and performance measures)
2. Marketing (Web presence, contests, submissions, PR)
3. Networking (Online networks, writer & publishing organizations, conferences & events)
4. Writing Categories (Fiction, non-fiction, freelance & copywriting, blogging)
5. Tools of the Trade (hardware and software for writers, books & articles, project tools)
6. Publishing (traditional publishing-agent/editor, self-publishing, e-publishing)

We intend to cover topics relevant to our themes, but not in linear order. After all, life doesn't happen that way. Rather, the story will unfold as episodes from each of the six story lines, providing readers with a variety of interesting perspectives to consider.

Karen will lead off with the first shocking article on a hidden truth she discovered in the local Pacific Northwest writing community. You won't want to miss it!

Just Think Differently.