Crossing the Streams

I’ve blogged and podcast and Tweeted many times about networking and the importance of reaching out to meet new people. It is always very rewarding to meet new people and build those online relationships.

It is even more cool (for me, anyway) when someone reaches out to me. For example, a few weeks back, K_A_Dewberry contacted me and told me she had found my podcast (Get Published) recently and had downloaded all the episodes and listened to them. She said she loved the show.

Hearing that someone likes my podcast is very gratifying. Learning that they downloaded all fifty-four (at the time, I think) episodes and had done a marathon listen to them was outright stunning. I mean, the episodes average something in excess of fifty minutes each. That is a HUGE commitment to the show and an amazing display of stamina.

When she asked me if I’d like to do a blog interview, I jumped at the chance. I am a strong believer in cross-promotion, after all.

The questions arrived in my email inbox and I was delighted with them. They made me think and really look back at why I do many of the things I do. It reminded me that writing isn’t a competition to see who can outdo whom and get the biggest, best and most book contracts.

It is, as I’ve said many times before, about community and helping your fellow writers to succeed. After all, readers are always looking for new stuff to read. If you happen to have some affiliation with a writer someone enjoys, they might just try your work out too. Helping others doesn’t have to be totally selfless.

Now, before you start to think I only agreed to do the blog interview out of ego and self-interest, let me say this: it was extremely flattering to be asked and I always do my best to help out wherever I can. I don’t know if anyone will read the post except Ms. Dewberry. If she gets something out of it, the effort was worthwhile.

I know, I got a great deal out of answering the questions. As I said before, it reminded me of why I do many of the things I’m doing today. To move forward, you must know where you’ve been. To improve, you must remember the mistakes. To help others in their writing journeys, you need to shine the light on what worked and what didn’t.

I hope I can be a light through my answers.

You can see K.A.Dewberry’s site at: http://kadewberry-author.blogspot.com/. Drop by and say ‘hello’ if you get the chance.