Networking Goals

You can’t reach your goals on your own … you need your community of resources, clients/prospects, and advocates. 

On a recent episode of #GoalChatLive, I talked about Networking with Julie Migliacci, Director of Special Events, Revent Consulting; Janice Porter, Relationship Marketing Consultant & LinkedIn Trainer; and Stan Robinson, Jr., LinkedIn Trainer & Digital Selling Consultant. 

Julie, Janice, and Stan shared their thoughts on the value of networking and the challenges people have with it, as well as recommendations for networking, LinkedIn engagement, relationship development, and more. 

Networking Goals 

• Julie: Track your networking – who, where, follow-up, etc. You can use a CRM like Hubspot, or OneNote, a simple spreadsheet, notebook, or your electronic address book 
• Stan: Before an event, be clear about who can help you and how, and who you can help and how.
• Janice: Schedule time to follow-up 

Final Thoughts 

• Janice: People like to do business with people they know, like, and trust. Be authentic, have genuine conversations. Become someone people know, like, and trust 
• Stan: For the messages you need to send repeatedly, try text shortener FlyMSG.io It will save you time … and you can spend that time networking 
• Julie: Have fun! 

Networking works best when you approach it with a plan. Who do you want to meet? Who do you need to meet? Find like minds, make an impression, and follow up. You never know what great opportunities a new connection can bring.

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For more inspiration and motivation, follow @TheDEBMethod on Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin! 

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What is your best networking tip? Please share in the comments. 

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Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals and founder of the D*E*B METHOD, which is her system for goal-setting simplified. A goal-strategist, corporate consultant, and project catalyst, Debra offers personal and professional planning, event strategy, and team building for individuals, businesses, and teams. She is also the author of Write On Blogging and Purple Pencil Adventures; founder of Write On Online; host of the #GoalChat Twitter Chat, #GoalChatLive on Facebook and LinkedIn, and The DEB Show podcast. She speaks on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

Featured Productivity Tool: Networking Goals

I know what you are thinking: Networking is a tool? Yes, it is. You see, you can't reach your goals on your own. You need your community of resources, champions, and connections. Your friends may not always be your ideal reader or client. But everyone has their own circle. Your community grows multi-fold every time you grow your community. 

The challenge with networking is it takes time and energy. The best way to stay on top of networking is to set networking goals.

Here Are Networking Goals You Can Set Each Day, Week, Month, Quarter, and Year

1. Each Day: Set a 15-Minute Active Networking Appointment. During this time:

- Connect on LinkedIn with new friends

- Send an email or message to check in on a friend or peer   

- Post, comment, and reply on social media

2. Each Week: Attend 3 Events 

- One mixer

- One education event (Workshop or CE)

- One one-on-one with someone you met at one of the first two events to continue the conversation

3. Each Month: Create New Content

- Post on your blog. Ideally, you want to do this at least once a week, but better to aim for something feasible and achieve that goal

- Guest on Someone Else's Platform. It could be a blog guest post or interview, live show, or podcast 

4. Each Quarter: Refresh Your Online Presence

- Make sure your website bio and LinkedIn profile are up-to-date

- Make sure your profile photo still looks like you

- Bonus points for updating your banner image

5. Each Year: Attend at least one Live or Virtual Industry Conference

- It's one of the best ways to make new connections, solidify relationships, and learn new things in your area of expertise

Final Thoughts 

Until you prioritize networking - and focus on making real general connections - you never know what good will come of it!

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For more inspiration and motivation, follow @TheDEBMethod on Twitter and Linkedin! 

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What's your best networking tip? Please share in the comments. 

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Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals and founder of the D*E*B METHOD, which is her system for goal-setting simplified. A goal-strategist, corporate consultant, and project catalyst, Debra offers personal and professional planning, event strategy, and team building for individuals, businesses, and teams. She is also the author of Write On Blogging and Purple Pencil Adventures; founder of Write On Online; Vice President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Women's National Book Association; host of the #GoalChat Twitter Chat, #GoalChatLive on Facebook and LinkedIn, and The DEB Show podcast. She speaks on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

5 Steps for Creating Virtual Events

Even before COVID-19 kept us "safer at home," virtual events were an important part of your business' networking strategy. You could meet new people, learn new things, and develop relationships with others from anywhere in the world.

Now more than ever, virtual events are essential for staying connected, generating business, and having some semblance of a social life. While it's fun and often educational to attend events, organizing virtual gatherings is an even better way to up your visibility, showcase your authority in your industry or niche, and make new friends.   

Here are the basics of producing a successful virtual event:

1. Determine the Purpose. Before you jump ahead to planning the event itself, decide your reason for having it. Is it a mixer to reconnect with friends, family, or colleagues? Do you want to host a webinar to share your expertise and promote your product or  service? Is it a party to celebrate your book's release, a holiday, or other significant event?

2. Decide the Details. Once you know the "why," the rest of the details will fall into place. Choose a date, time, and platform. The top choices are Zoom (for activity and interaction), a webinar solution (like WebEx), or Facebook, where you broadcast a livestream to a group or business page. Another option is to do a virtual party on Facebook and mix up short videos with conversation-starter posts and interactive activities.

You may want to create a panel or conference, and invite other speakers. Or start an ongoing podcast or video show. I will go into that in a later post.

3. Plan and Invite. Once you have your concept, plan it out. Make a short outline of what will happen and when. If you need a script for your event itself, that's fine, but remember to stick with bullet points. When presenting, casual is much more effective. 

Create a Facebook event, a meeting in Zoom, and/or an Eventbrite invite, whatever is appropriate. Then, write up your event and post it on your blog, which you - and others - can share via social media. Invite your friends, community, etc., via Facebook, through email, and in social media posts. 

4. Produce. If you've done all the planning, your event itself should be a snap.  Show up a little early. Greet your guests. And - especially in those mixer situations - keep the conversation going. And remember to have fun!

5. Follow Up. After your event, send a follow-up email to all of your attendees. Thank them for joining you, and also share a little more about who you are, what you do, and how they can connect with you to follow up and/or be notified for future events.

One more thing: After your event, take some time to review what went right and what could have been done better. That way, you can make changes accordingly and plan an even better event in the future.

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Are virtual events one of your 2020 goals? Have you already planned virtual events? Please share your thoughts and experience in the comments.

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Join  my virtual half-birthday party for Your Goal Guide on July 14 on Facebook. Details are here.

Debra Eckerling is the author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals. A writer, editor and project catalyst, as well as founder of the D*E*B METHOD and Write On Online, Deb works with individuals and businesses to set goals and manage their projects through one-on-one coaching, workshops, and online support. She is also the author of Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog and Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages, host of the #GoalChat Twitter Chat and #GoalChatLive on Facebook, and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

LinkedIn for Writers

"What social media platforms should I be on?"

I get that question a lot.

Want to know what I get even more often? Looks of surprise, when I say the first place you should be on is LinkedIn.

As an author, entrepreneur, or marketer, you really need to be where your people are. Your fans and followers may be on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and/or YouTube.

Your associates, peers, mentors, potential partners, and other resources are definitely on LinkedIn.

Since LinkedIn is a business-focused network, it's frequently the first place someone looks for you when you meet, whether it's through a referral or at a live or virtual event. It gives you validity, as you showcase your specialty or expertise. It's also your hub of contacts. If you want to target a new connection - whether it's an agent, a source, or a service-provider - you can look to your network and see who can introduce you.

LinkedIn Basics

Whatever the primary function of your LinkedIn profile, you want to put your best foot forward to your connections.

Your LinkedIn profile offers a snapshot of who you are. It should include:

- Your Profile Photo. This should be a professional (or at least professional-looking) picture, so others have a face to put with a name. This also helps when you meet someone online leading up to a conference. You've already developed a familiarity, so when you meet in person, the connection is even stronger.

- Your Background or Header Image.  This visual branding should match your website/blog. In your header you may want to include images of your published books, your logo, your website, or perhaps a special offer.

- Your Headline. This is the first thing people read about you. It should reflect who you are, what you do, and how you help others. Even as a author of fiction author, you can find value to highlight, such as entertainment or education. If there's room, include a quirky or obscure detail about you. That makes you memorable.

- Featured Content. Under your summary section, as well as the work experiences, there's space to add links and multimedia documents. (There's also a section for Publications and another for Projects.) Any content you have that illustrates who you are, what you stand for, and some of the work you've done deserves to be highlighted. This is also an excellent place to feature your book trailer or any author readings.

- Work Experience. Highlight your job responsibilities and major accomplishments.

- Background and Accomplishments. This ranges from volunteering and education to language and certifications

- Skills. These keywords are what you want to be associated with. Find the best fit for what you are doing and what you want to be endorsed for.

- Updates. Post updates on a regular basis to stay top of mind. This can be general comments, replies, long-form, links, photo, or video. And some users already have the ability to go Live on LinkedIn.

You can post about:

- Your author journey

- Your favorite resources

- Upcoming events

Since LinkedIn is less cluttered that the other networks, there's a bonus reason to interact on the platform: your activity is more likely to be seen.

Other Sites

Beyond LinkedIn you should definitely have business personas on the primary social networks. That means a Facebook Page (and possibly Group), as well as Twitter and Instagram Profiles. If you are visually inclined, you may also want to try Pinterest. And for those into video, YouTube is a must!

The time and energy you put into those networks is an article for another time. What I will tell you is this: whether you're preparing to launch a new website, book, or article series, you need to have your branding on all the social platforms.

- Go to Namechk.com and search for profile names consistent with your company name or branding

- Create Pages/Profiles on each of the main networks.

- Choose one or two social networks to amp up; go into maintenance mode (weekly posting) on the others.

The aforementioned should be in tandem with your activities on Linkedn.

A social media plan helps readers know when to expect content and it helps you to put your best foot forward in the right place!

This is only the tip of the LinkedIn iceberg. Stay tuned for more articles on ways to make LinkedIn work for you as an author.

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How do you feel about LinkedIn? What tips do you have for making the most out of the network? Please share in the comments.

And connect with me on LinkedIn.

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Read last month's post on 5 networking goals you can pursue from home.

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Debra Eckerling is the author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals. A writer, editor and project catalyst, as well as founder of the D*E*B METHOD and Write On Online, Deb works with individuals and businesses to set goals and manage their projects through one-on-one coaching, workshops, and online support. She is also the author of Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog and Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages, host of the #GoalChat Twitter Chat and #GoalChat Live on Facebook, and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

5 Networking Goals You Can Pursue from Home

Personal and professional goals work together.

Improve your professional life, and you will be happier in your personal life. Set and pursue goals for yourself, your relationships, and your home. The positive changes you make will impact your career.

One goal that fits into both categories is networking. When you attend events - online or in real life, personal and professional - you meet new people. When you increase your circle, you have connections to additional resources, prospects, and community.

The people you meet may not be your ideal client or resource. However, they know others, which gives you greater access to the things and people you do need. Plus, you have more people to connect to your community.

You may be stuck inside - sheltering at home - but you can still spend time networking.

Here are 5 networking goals you can set and achieve from home.

1. Refresh Your Social Media Profiles. Your online persona is many people's first impression of you. Set aside time to review and refresh your social media profiles.

Start with LinkedIn, as that is the primary network for business - and the first place most people look for you after you meet. Make sure all of your experience is up-to-date, add multimedia to your summary and work sections, and update your profile pic and banner image.

While you are at it, take a look at your pictures and short bios for Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

2. Join Groups. ... and Interact. There are groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, and even more niche media sites. Find your people, join groups, and engage. Remember, these are networking opportunity, so you are not there to promote or sell. (Most groups have rules against it.) Introduce yourself, ask and answer questions, reply to posts, and meet new people.

3. Find Events and Attend Them. With the world at large staying in, many people are creating online opportunities to connect with friends and make new ones.

Look for Twitter chats, Facebook and Instagram Live interviews, and Zoom mixers. Ask your friends for recommendations or do a search for online events in your niche. You can also check local libraries and bookstores, chambers of commerce, and live meetup groups to see what online events they have planned.

In real life, I would recommend attending one event per week. Since there is no commute time, why not try two? Aim for one personal networking experience per week, and one professional. These could be fitness, book clubs, mixers, workshops, whatever suits your interests and personality.

4. Connect. At online events and through groups, you are bound to meet like minds. Start by following their professional profiles on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Check out their websites and blogs; make sure they are legit.

Then, connect with those whose values, interest, and personality align with yours. Find them on LinkedIn, write a personal note, and connect. Be sure to mention how you met, so they connect the dots.

5. Follow Up. Once you develop a rapport with someone, take the conversation up a notch. Send an email, invite them for virtual coffee, or send them links to other events. You never know what path a relationship will take. As you would in real life, start by getting to know one another, and then see where the conversation goes. You never know when - or how - you might meet a new referral partner, prospect, or friend.

Treat networking from home the same way you would off-line networking. Find new opportunities, meet new people, and learn new things. And have fun!

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What tips do you have for networking from home? Please share in the comments.

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Read last month's post on 5 things you can do when you are stuck inside.

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Debra Eckerling is the author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals. A writer, editor and project catalyst, as well as founder of the D*E*B METHOD and Write On Online, Deb works with individuals and businesses to set goals and manage their projects through one-on-one coaching, workshops, and online support. She is also the author of Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog and Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages, host of the #GoalChat Twitter Chat and #GoalChat Live on Facebook, and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

Why I "Fish" Every Day (And You Should Too)

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It takes great practiced skill to fish successfully. While some people fish for a hobby, the seasoned fisherman knows he has to fish many times to gain skill and also to catch fish.

To be honest, it has been years since I've been fishing but I “fish” every day. A fisherman puts his line into the water and is positioned to catch a fish. I put quotations around the word “fish” in the headline since I'm using fish for the word networking or connections. You have to be in the market talking and connecting with others every day to make a difference with your writing. Yes you need to craft an excellent book and good storytelling. I always encourage writers to learn that skill but you need something more than good writing. You need the right connection.

Much of publishing (and any business) is a matter of making the right connection with the right person at the right time at the right place. You can't make that connection working alone in your office at your computer or curled up with your legal pad writing your story.

What steps are you taking today to “fish” or network with others? It begins with your goals for your writing. Do you want to sell more books? Do you want a traditional publishing deal or are you going to self-publish? Do you want to build your platform or group of readers? Do you want more people to know who you are and what you ar doing? Then you have to make a conscious effort every day to reach out and touch other people.

Some of us reach out to others through Twitter.  I tweet frequently—like 12 to 15 times each day. To post frequently is one of the dynamics of Twitter. To be effective on it, you have to tweet often. I use Hootsuite to diversity and schedule my tweets. Look for tools to help you with social media.

Also I dig into my network of friends and connections. I pick up the phone and call people leaving little messages or connecting with them for a few minutes. On a regular basis, I speak with several literary agent friends. Why? Because these agents represent numerous authors who they want to get published.  Those agents need to be reminded that I'm constantly looking for great authors to publish through Morgan James. Our publishing program will not be right for every one of their authors. Yet it will be perfect for some of them. I'm looking for the right author—every day.

I have authors who have submitted their manuscripts and I'm scheduling calls with them to see if Morgan James is the right fit for these authors. I spend a great deal of time on the phone and answering my email but it's part of my daily work. Your daily work will be different but are you working every day at expanding your connections? I hope so.

I think about activity in the past which has been productive for me. For example, I've made terrific connections speaking at conferences. I'd like to do more speaking next year. It will not happen if I don't take any action. Instead, I'm making a list of conferences where I'd like to speak and conscious of who runs these conferences. Can I fill a need for this event with a workshop or keynote? There are numerous conferences and events where I can help others—but I have to be proactive to get on their radar.

My newest book, 10 Publishing Myths released in mid-December. I'm continuing to work to find people willing to read and review the book. It means I am looking for ways to promote it. 

It's not just with my new book but with older books. I continue to promote my Billy Graham and Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams books (as well as other books that I've written or been involved with). Can I book a radio show or podcast or do a guest blog post or some other event to get in front of a new audience? The answer is yes but from my experience it does not happen without my initiative (sometimes but rarely). Most of the time these opportunities come through proactive pitching and follow-up work. Are you building this type of fishing into your daily schedule?

Throughout today I will be emailing and calling people. You have to have a line in the water to catch fish. What steps are you taking? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

This prolific editor and author will be “fishing” today and believes you should too. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)
 
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W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. His work contact information is on the bottom of the second page (follow this link).  One of his books for writers is Book Proposals That $ell. One of Terry's most popular free ebooks is Straight Talk From the Editor, 18 Keys to a Rejection-Proof Submission. He lives in Colorado and has over 200,000 twitter followers. 

Your Networking Challenge

Last month, I challenged you to try a new marketing initiative. Now, I have a networking challenge for you. This networking blitz is a great way to expand your network, find prospects, and gain new business.

Here are five days of options. However, you don't need to do everything. Pick two or three things to do regularly, and choose the day that works best for each task.

1. Message. You may be connected with lots of peers and friends on social media, but when was the last time you had a one-on-one communication? Send a Facebook or LinkedIn message to three people you haven’t heard from in a while. These should be simple, “Hi. How are you?” notes, and see where the conversation leads.

2. Meet. Do a different IRL (in real life) outreach each week. Meet an old colleague for lunch, go to a networking event, have dinner out with a friend, attend an event where you know no one … except for perhaps a friend who is acting as wing-man/wing-woman. You won't meet new people unless you put yourself in a position to do so.

3. Post. Share an update on LinkedIn. It could be your own image and link, letting people know what you have been up to, or a link to a resource your network might find valuable. Be sure to add a comment to anything you post, in order to personalize it. The idea is to show up in the news feed of others, and remind them of you and your business.

4. Comment. Another way to show up in the feed on LinkedIn is to comment on the posts and milestones of friends. This is another opportunity to reconnect with someone with whom you've lost touch.

5. Plan. I know I said you can move these dates around, but Friday is a great day for planning. You can also consider it as a day off of networking for good behavior. Go through your friends’ list on Facebook and LinkedIn, and target who to reach out to the next week. When you do the prep-work, it makes options 1 through 4 much easier.

Use this networking experiment to shake things up, reconnect with old friends, and meet new people,. Then see what comes from it, because you never know ... Good luck and remember to have fun!

What is your favorite way to network, either in person or online? Please share what works for you in the comments.

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Debra Eckerling is a writer, editor and project catalyst, as well as founder of Write On Online, a live and online writers’ support group. Like the Write On Online Facebook Page and join the Facebook Group.  She is author of Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog and Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages, and host of the Guided Goals Podcast and the #GoalChat Twitter Chat. Debra is an editor at Social Media Examiner and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

Tips for Building Your Community

Writing is a solitary occupation, hence we must find our community. It has been quite a journey to find where I fit, with the common ups and downs. I do know now where I fit and can settle into my writing practice and getting my work “out there”.

I am reading Jordan Rosenfeld’s A Writer’s Guide to Persistence, and in Chapter 2, Create a Practice she presents our need to develop our creative support team. Identify your one Champion who is a non-writer, your comrade writers, your trusted mentor, and your critique partner(s). Excellent! I appreciate her step-by-step breakdowns. Do check it out!

Gabriela Pereira is big on community as you will note in Chapters 21-27 of her diyMFA book and website (see link). She uses a learning-based approach focused on the big picture—what you need and why you build connections.
Building your community by Gabriela Pereira
https://diymfa.com/category/community
https://diymfa.com/

I’ve searched for a writing mentor for a few years. The ones I wanted to work with, because I love their books, turned out to be way too busy to mentor anyone. Another author I searched out as a possibility was busy working a publishing deadline—however, her website is so full of mentoring posts, well organized by subject, that I downloaded them and created a notebook for my study.

Then a friend of mine posted a link to a podcast for Mastermind Groups. After several discussion, we started our own mastermind group that is now two months old, has grown to four members and is building momentum. A mastermind group has a super networking strategy with six or seven members that are compatible but not the same. Listen to the podcast and see if it might work for you.
Mastermind Groups, Community of Writers - give you an edge
http://www.novelmarketing.com/101/  (Podcast and transcript notes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUXdq_KRiA4 (YouTube presentation 7Min)

We need readers and feedback for our work. I’ve been burned by a critiquing instructor but thankfully, after a “pause”, I didn’t give up. I eventually found a good environment for reading, and critique feedback. In addition, I found a group online that you might be interested in checking out. It is free to join and get acquainted. It is:
Critique Group Online Community 
https://www.critiquecircle.com/Default.asp
Deborah Lyn Stanley is a writer, artist, and editor.  She is a retired project manager who now devotes her time to writing, art and caregiving mentally impaired seniors.  Deborah writes articles, essays and stories. She has published a collection of 24 artists’ interviews entitled the Artists Interview Series.  Careful editing preserves each artist’s voice as they share their journey. The series published as monthly articles for an online news network, can also be found on her web-blog: Deborah Lyn Stanley : My Writer's Life .  Her “How-To” articles have appeared in magazines.
“Write your best, in your voice, your way!”

Does Your Business Card Include the Basics?

By W. Terry Whalin

Because of my years in publishing and attending many conferences, I've become an expert at skimming business cards on the spot with writers. My actions spring from my own frustration with missing information. Over the years, I've exchanged thousands of cards with people at writer's conferences. When I did not glance at the card on the spot, I would tuck it into my pocket, take it home, then discover missing information like a phone number or email or mailing address. As an editor, it would force me to email this person and gather the missing information (wasting time and energy).

The best time to gather this missing information is when you are meeting face to face with this person. Recently I was in Nashville for a Morgan James Publishing author event. I met a number of authors at this event and exchanged business cards. One of these authors, a medical doctor-turned-writer-podcaster, lived nearby in Boulder, Colorado. When we exchanged cards, I glanced at the information and it only contained his website. There was no email address nor phone number. He said, “My email address is on my website and I want people to go to my website.” It was good to know he had a rationale for the missing information—but I still collected it on the spot and wrote his email and phone on his business card. Others might not have his information from his business card but I gathered this important data on the spot.

When I attend events, my business card is one of the key tools that I use. Some of my long-term friends are amused at the changes in my business card over the years. I've added and improved my cards. Each time I reprint, I evaluate the information to see if it contains what I need. Because I work for a New York publisher, I have a business card which contains my photo, direct dial phone number, work email, and other information. Here's my Morgan James business card:

Whalin Morgan James business card - front

Whalin Morgan James business card - back

Yet I live in Colorado and I'm also an author with my own blog, local mailing address and books. In recent years, I've been carrying two business cards. The local card shows off this information. Here's my personal business card:

Whalin Personal business card - front

Whalin Personal business card - back

Since I've shown you what I'm using for my business card. Now take a minute to review your card and make sure it includes the basics:

*a current photo

*your phone and email address

*your physical address (or at least your city to give the receiver your time zone)

*twitter name

*blog website

*giveaway to build your email list (one of the most important author tools)

How did you do on the basics? Are you missing something? The most difficult element to proofread is something that is missing. That's why we need a checklist to make sure you cover everything. If you are missing some element maybe it's time to reprint your business cards.

Let me know your experience with business cards in the comments below.

Tweetable:

Business card basics. Get the details to make sure you aren't missing something here.  (ClickToTweet)
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W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 books including his latest, Billy Graham, A Biography of America's Greatest Evangelist. Also Terry has written for more than 50 magazines and lives in Colorado. Follow him on Twitter where he has over 214,000 followers.
 

More ABCs for New Writers; K-O

K is for kindred.

Joining a writing group is encouraging, educational, and fun. 

Just make sure your fellow writers are of a kindred spirit. 

This simply means: not any writing group will work for you. 

"Finding a writing group or partner is a lot like dating. There’s an element of searching and an element of matching. You’re looking for people you can share a piece of your creative self with, for people you want to spend time on, for people who can help you become a stronger writer ... " Jane Friedman

L is for lucky break.

Yes, those lucky breaks do come along but don't just sit back and wait for them.

I am a firm believer in hard work, but I also believe life mysteriously unfolds in ways that surprises us. Those moments that come out of nowhere are encouraging. 

Being "discovered" is always possible and it does happen. But if you are not consistently working at your craft, your name and your work will not be visible. 

Bottom line: if you've been working your tail off and making little progress, don't give up. In time a connection somewhere may come out of the blue giving you that lucky break you deserve.

M is for momentum.

There's nothing like it! Churning out submissions or landing regular assignments keeps you feeling successful. 

This happens when you have a schedule. It takes discipline and consistency. Keep at it.

Sometimes that momentum comes to a screeching halt because life happens. Don't get discouraged. See it as a season and get back on track.

N is for networking.

Access to the internet gives any new writer a chance to network with other writers. 

My very first step in becoming a writer was taking an affordable online writing course.  This led me to an online writing coach, which led me to joining her website, which led me to knowing other writers on that site, which gave me a foundation to begin building on. 

It can be daunting to join with seasoned writers and authors, yet, I have found it to be a very friendly, helpful environment. You will, too.

O is for opportunities.

Where do I begin? The opportunities are endless.

Whatever you like to write, you can be sure there is room for you. If you love writing and you are serious about freelancing or writing a book, make it happen. 

One way to begin looking for opportunities may be in your own backyard. Christina Katz has some great advice to write for regional parenting magazines in your area. If you live near colleges (or not!), consider writing resumes for prospective career minded students. 

Keep your eyes open and look for those opportunities. They are all around you!

See you next month, More ABCs for New Writers; P - T. 

Photo Credit: interphasesolution

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After raising and homeschooling her 8 children and teaching art classes for 10 years, Kathy has found time to pursue freelance writing. She enjoys writing magazine articles and more recently had her story, "One of a Kind", published in The Kids' Ark. You can find her passion to bring encouragement and hope to people of all ages at When It Hurts - http://kathleenmoulton.com