Don't Make My Mistake, Writers: Your Allied Authors

Author Camaraderie
I graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design back in '09. Throughout my entire college career, I was told just how competitive the graphic design field can be. The jobs are scarce, but the payment is good when you can finally get in the cut, but just about everyone else is hunting for the same gig that you're looking at too. So, needless to say, I took this sort of logic when I got more serious about my writing career. Here was my thought process:


"Authors in a shared genre tend to seek out the same readers, editors, agents, and publishers. It has to be an every man (or girl) for himself sort of principal, right?"


 Hmm, well I learned otherwise when I met my PEERS at the Superstars Writing Seminar. 


NOTE THAT I DID NOT SAY "MY COMPETITION." And don't get me wrong. Writers are still trying to go for the same sources that you might be looking at, but they're not the enemy, here. No one is (Even though some might speculate that many agents and publishing houses are). Fellow writers are our brothers and sisters in arms! They're our weapon, as we are theirs! Writers, unite! Now! Take the hill!


. . .  >.>


"Ahem." Fellow authors have learned, or are learning the same useful information that we're coming upon as well. The good ones will share with us some things that are either yay or nay in our industry, and we should be willing to return the favor by sharing what we know as well. Together, we can:

• Tell each other who to talk to for editing
• Where to find a designer to do the cover art
• Which agent to write to or stay away from
• Bring attention to major writing competitions or projects that might get overlooked 

Why, some of them might be willing to step away from their own story to help us with ours, or even buy a copy of our book for the mere sake of showing support. Authors aren't our adversaries. They're our friends. Comrades digging in the trenches beside us. ^_^


Being a writer is a hard line of work, in spite of the glamour that the public makes it out to be. Most people will never understand the toil put into our projects, and how much we give up in order to make them a success. That being the case, instead of us trying to fight our way to the front, why not help each other out to the finish line? Honestly, there's plenty of room. Readers don't care about whose great story they got to read first as long as they get to read it. ^_^