Networking at it's finest

I've been focusing on networking heavily for the past two weeks.  In retrospect, maybe this is something that I should have done rather early on in my writing career.  It never occurred to me that networking with other people in the industry would be crucial to my development as an author.  Initially, I thought that either my publisher or my publicist would take charge and help me to form those relationships that would enrich my writing career.  It wasn't until I learned this valuable lesson about a month ago that forced the light bulb to go off in my head.

After not being able to sell that many books at local area bookstores, I realized that no one knew who I was.  My name meant nothing.  I had a quality product, but without having enough reviews behind me and no platform to brand myself, I suddenly realized that what I needed to do was to get out and introduce myself to the world.  I had to brand myself and remain true to my principles as both an author and a human being.

It should be just as important to me to help others as it is myself, because ultimately, that is what people will remember.  People will remember anything that isn't the norm.  There are so many people that have talent in this industry, but oftentimes, the same person that has so much talent is often preoccupied with uplifting themselves as opposed to uplifting anyone else.  Now I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that.  That behavior in this dog-eat-dog world is expected.  What isn't expected is that sometimes, you have to uplift other folks to get noticed.  You just have to be careful who you uplift since there are so many people that will take what you have to offer and leave without giving you a second thought.  Remember, so many folks will always think that it is all about them and will do anything to further their personal cause.

Now that I understand this, I can network properly without any expectation.  I will receive, even if its in the form of someone just remembering my name.  You can't know too many people and there is no such thing as too much exposure.  But I'm learning now that you have to form those business relationships because you never know who has the key that will open the door to take you to the next level in your career.

So for those of you whom I have just met...welcome to my network and thank you for allowing me access to yours.  And for those of you whom I haven't met...I can't wait to meet you!!