Social Networks and your fellow Authors

Over the last few months I’ve had the pleasure of talking to a lot of  fellow authors in the virtual world of social networks. It’s scary to know the number of people in the same game as you are. We all have access to a computer, years of exposure to reading and life. We all feel capable and empowered to say what we see.

The only problem is that the demand isn’t necessarily growing but the supply is. The economics tell us that we are in the wrong market to achieve anything.

The last few weeks have shown me that actually that view is wrong, and we should think differently.

Previously I felt as if I was competing with fellow authors, and with some on a playing field that wasn’t level. Through various social media campaigns I’ve actually exchanged details with numerous authors in various genres and what I’ve learnt is that we all need each other.

Twitter has been at the heart of this and in about 2 weeks I’ve found nearly 400 contacts in the writing business, and all are happy to share and help each other. There are also numerous sites promoting Independent Authors for free or little money.

What I’ve learnt from all this is that collectively we can achieve more than individually. We are all looking for the same thing.

So why not work together, collaborate for events, joint marketing projects, look for economies of scales. Every one of us knows how much marketing costs but not if we work together.

The indie book sites are the start of it, but there are other things as well. I know some writer colleagues who have done some online interactive sessions on chat sites. Take it a step further and we could have Independent book festivals. A bit like a farmers market we could have a once a month book market where all local authors come out of the woodwork to sell their wares.

I will have a further think about some ideas but the key thing is that we don’t have to compete to succeed but perhaps work together instead.

© S.G.Norris