Facebook Groups: An Author's Bread and Butter

I cannot emphasize to you how much connection with other authors and readers on a daily basis truly helps to keep me motivated. From group deadlines, critique circles, conference help, or just a bit of silliness, joining a group that you feel comfortable with is a key part of staying engaged with both your readers and the industry.

I am a part of the Knights of the SciFi Roundtable and though we are both science fiction and fantasy, there is a lot of crossover in terms of advice and world building. I find that joining a group that is specific to your genre really helps to make connections.

I've been able to join co-op giveaways and contests where I learned so much. A fellow Roundtable Knight walked me through setting up a landing page and newsletter on MailChimp...on her own time...over a couple of days.  Talk about really helping out a fellow word-slinger!

Not to mention anthologies and conference booth opportunities. But it also helps you to keep your finger on the pulse of what is going on in the publishing world

This month, I have joined a multi-author giveaway. SciFi Roundtable partnered with Art of the Arcane to put together an unprecedented event with so many authors and contests and giveaways.  I am so excited to see how it turns out as it is my first one of this magnitude.

But more than the technical and business of writing, groups often provide something no one else can. Fellow authors can understand your struggles, your weird sense of humor, and often your doubt like no one else is able.

The Write Life posted a wonderful list of 20 Facebook Groups for Writers You Don't Want to Miss and let me tell you, it is awesome. From motivation to calls for submissions, these groups truly tether an author to the publishing world via a supportive community.

What types of things have you found that truly help your writing journey?  Do you have any suggestions for all of us?

Tuesday Time Wasters

A great deal of my research for my books is done online. As a result, I often come across some really interesting sites that serve absolutely no other purpose than to waste time. I love them...but they throw me off my schedule so I decided to give myself permission to tool around on them for the purpose of blogging. Pretty slick, huh?

One that may be of interest to writers out there is called, I Write Like. I ran into it from someone tweeting about it earlier in the week and thought it looked fun. You paste a section of your tweets, blogs entries, or facebook posts onto their site and a statistical analysis tool tells you what famous writer your style resembles. I'm apparently a Stephen King clone which doesn't bode well for me since I write Romance. Yikes!

For those of you not into web time wasting...here is a fun project you can do at your desk with minimal supplies! I personally like the idea of being useful when I'm procrastinating. It makes me feel like I have an actual goal other than avoidance. --->

This guy does the most amazing paper crafts ever! He made a self portrait and used computer engineering to make a fold and paste, 360 degree mask of his own head. Its amazing! This next site may actually be helpful to writers using daylight as a plot device...so vampire and werewolf authors, take note. 

Finally, I leave you with a site that is both beautiful and useful. The New York Public Library has digital images of vintage maps you can use to enhance your story accuracy. Find out where stuff was back when. Cool, huh?

So now you're equipped with some fun and maybe helpful links...Go Write!

Z is for Zai Gezunt - Be Well

So I'm not a big user of Yiddish, although my husband's family is from New York - The Bronx and Yonkers...so I have heard it a lot.  Zai Gezunt means, Good bye and Be Well.  And I wish that to all of you.

Since this is the last day of the A-Z Blogging Challenge I wanted to say that I have had such a wonderful time getting to know each of you, learning about your passions, and hoping with you for your hard work to pay off.

I look forward to the updates as I am following you all, and the May 3rd Mega-Post...over at Arlee Bird's Tossing It Out.  I know that a few of you are on upcoming Blogfests and I can't wait to read all of your entries. I'll be looking for ya!  Until next time...Ah...You know.

N is for Networking

One of the hardest things about writing for me is the glaze that falls over people's eyes when I start to talk shop.  Somewhere between talking about story blocking and mentioning conferences, they seem to always need to be somewhere else...like, now.  Ah, the solitary life of a writer, right?  Not necessarily.

I've come a cross some wonderful networking sites for writers over the past few years. Some of which I'll share with you. Ning is a site that allows you to create your own social network. I'm part of a group of called Scribblerati; a collection of writers that share their work and post informative articles. Another relatively new site is called Writeropia they have progress charts, market listings, lots of great stuff. Its still under construction, but what I see so far is great.

I know a lot of you participated in National Novel Writing Month or Nanowrimo's Script Frenzy. I've made some great connections signing up to buddy with another writer for encouragement.   Or better yet, join a national writers association like RWA, Writers Guild of America, or American Christian Fiction Writers.  They have forums where you can connect with writers by genre, ask questions of "experts", or just chat.  WGA has a great article on how stupid serial killers actually are in their Murder 101 article. It was fascinating. And of course, I can't forget all of the great poets we have on the challenge.  Writers-Network is a huge site for poetry. They have reviews, spotlights, even a forum.

The way to network that is the most fun though, is the writer's conference. There are so many to choose from. Whether you write paranormal fantasy, Christian romance, or you're a travel writer...there is a conference for you.  Two places to look for a conference worth your time and money are, Terry Whalin's Blog and Shaw Guides.  The reviews are honest and informative and will help you find the right conference to meet your needs. 

I hope you all have fun perusing the links and making connections. Its always nice to find a group of people that share your passion and insanity as an author.

Until next time...Go Write! 

Photograph by scragz, Uploaded on January 25, 2006. Photograph by Grzegorz Lobinski, Uploaded on May 9, 2009.