Morgan MacDonald : Welcome to the replay. This is the special guest mentioned in the above title, and today we’re going to be talking about the power of connecting with other authors, and how to DO that, and the possibilities.
So welcome everyone as you’re joining. So Friday is now a workday for me. I am a Monday through Thursday entrepreneur, and Friday is “fun day”.
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Hey Morgan!
Morgan MacDonald : … Hey Ron… And usually this one go down for a nap [with her?] older brother, right around 1:00pm. So I have been waiting for 32 minutes for this one to fall asleep, [but] she’s just not interested [laughter].
Darnell Cureton (https://twitter.com/DarnellCureton ) : Hi Morgan.
Morgan MacDonald : … Hey Darnell. Welcome… All right, so we are talking about the power of connecting with other authors.
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Not today.
Morgan MacDonald : …Yes, I know… So I was like, “You know what? We’re just going to embrace the fact that I wear a lot of hats…”
Charles Bazerra ( https://twitter.com/charlinho_kr ) : Hello!
Morgan MacDonald : … Hey Charles… I’m a mom, an entrepreneur, a writer, a writing coach, and sometimes we just juggle. I mean, I’m not literally going to juggle this one right now, but she can hang out for a bit. Anyway, I’m going to try to keep a steady and logical train of thought for the moment. But how are you guys doing?
Darnell Cureton (https://twitter.com/DarnellCureton ) : You go girl.
Morgan MacDonald : … Thanks Darnell. Yeah… How are yáll doing? What are you doing this weekend? It’s a holiday in the states. I know not all of you are in the states. But are yáll doing anything fun? We are going to my husband’s parent’s lake house, which will be very fun.
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Writing.
Morgan MacDonald : …You are writing. That’s what I like to hear Ron… So I’m going to take you guys along. I’m going to do at least one Scope from the lake. It will be fun. I will try to do some writing as well.
For better or worse, I’m pretty much the only one who gets up early in that family, so it’s me and the kids hanging out, usually, in the mornings. So that’s good writing time, [while I] let the kids run around.
Charles Bazerra ( https://twitter.com/charlinho_kr ) : I gotta go.
Morgan MacDonald : …All right Charles. Catch the replay…
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : No rest for the wicked.
Morgan MacDonald : … No rest for the wicked [laughter]. Alrighty. So today…
Darnell Cureton (https://twitter.com/DarnellCureton ) : Can’t wait.
Morgan MacDonald : … Can’t wait. Thanks Darnell…All right, the power of connecting with other authors…
Charles Bazerra ( https://twitter.com/charlinho_kr ) : Bye.
Morgan MacDonald : …All right Charles. See you later. Catch the replay : http://www.paperravenbooks.com/periscope …So this week we’ve been talking a lot about motivation, [and] staying motivated in your writing. One of the best ways to actually maintain motivation is to seek out connections with other authors. This is somewhat counterintuitive for authors. We tend to be pretty introverted, and we LIKE it that way, and don’t particularly want to change. We are content to sit and read books and be inspired. But that is ignoring the fact that we’re human [laughter]. You know? There’s only so many words you can read on a page before you need some human interaction. We’re wired for connection. We just ARE…. [irrelevant comment] This is exactly why people are terrified of live streaming, because they’re like, “Oh know! What if something goes wrong while I’m on Periscope?” Yes, well, [this is a] living example.
So my real question to us introverts is, “Why would we NOT want to seek out people who are interested in the same things we are?”
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Talk about her while she’s gone.
Morgan MacDonald : … [laughter] Talk about her while she’s gone. I watch the replays, Ron. I would see eventually [laughter] … Why would we NOT want to connect with people who are interested in the same things? This week I’ve been doing a lot of brainstorming about just different business ideas, really. I am a typical entrepreneur. I’ve always got a dozen ideas and not enough time to do them. But as I generate ideas – and writers are the same way, really. We have dozens of ideas for BOOKS, and only enough hours in the day to actually write them.
But part of the power of connecting….Oh, thanks for the hearts… is that you begin to realize you don’t have to do every single thing yourself. Have any of you ever co-authored? I think I heard Ron talking about co-authoring at one point. Have you ever co-authored a book? I would love to hear about YOUR experience working with other writers. Did it go well? Did it NOT go well?
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Yes.
Morgan MacDonald : … Ron. Okay, yes. You did co-author. If you can just give me – I know you only get like 140 characters down there..
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Oh, don’t.
Morgan MacDonald : … Oh, don’t? Don’t co-author. Really?… I guess, you do fiction, right? Which is very character and plot driven. So maybe if you and your co-author end up not having the same idea. The “Self-Publishing Podcast” guys, Johnny and Sean, do a lot of co-authoring. But maybe it’s, kind of, like finding someone that you want to marry.
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : We never agreed on anything.
Morgan MacDonald : [laughter] You never agreed on anything…. Yeah, maybe it’s, kind of, like finding someone that you’re going to marry, right? You want to make sure that you have the same kind of vision for your project – your life [laughter]. Then if you agree enough then it can work really well.
But even if you’re not working with other authors. Even if you’re working with editors, or literary agents, or writing coaches, or whoever — like there are lots of types of people in the writing world, and you can’t write a book… Okay, back up. You can WRITE a book by yourself, but you can’t get anyone to READ it by yourself. Not really. You need designers, and editors, and literary agents, and publicists, and all sorts of stuff, to get your book out there. And as much as people these days tout the power of a solopreneur who can do it all themselves, it’s just not the best way to go. The best way to go is to bring… [irrelevant comment] … people on board onto your project to see your vision. Because your vision, your book, your writing, is bigger than you. Okay? If you’re going to impact, hopefully, thousands – heck MILLIONS – of lives…It’s going to take more than just you to create that ripple effect in the world. And that’s a good thing, because every time I bring someone into my business, or when I put out my book and was bringing people in [for] editing, and designing, and all of that stuff, the project got better. It just did. Even though in my little brain, when I was writing I thought, “This is as good as it will ever be.”, every time I let someone else into the project it got better,.. Oh, Thanks Darnell for inviting, too… That’s because as creatives, and as humans, we just do well in groups – selective groups. So pick your people wisely. You know? But DO seek out people to work with.
Okay. How do you find people to work with? That is the big question. Well “Ä” you’ve got to try. “Have you really tried?” [laughter] That would be my first question. But “B”… [irrelevant comment] … Yes, I think Periscope is the perfect place to connect with other authors. So you guys who are in here [are] writers. Go ahead right now [and] post in the comments : your name, what you write, and a web address, if you want. I mean, there are only five of you actually in the room. Usually I have other people watching live on the web too. You guys on the web, sorry you can’t do this. Maybe you should hop on Periscope [laughter]. But you guys who are actually in the room, type in the comments. Type your name, type what you write, and type a place where people can find and connect with you later.
This is the power of Periscope, and this is only the BEGINNING of Periscope. I mean, we are the early, early adopters, and six months from now we’re going to be dang glad that we DID early adopt, because it’s going to blow up. It just really is. But where else? I’m serious guys. Type in.
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Ronestradabooks.com ( http://www.ronestradabooks.com )
Morgan MacDonald : …Ron, Youth Paranormal, Ronestradabooks.com [laughter] There you go. Thank you… LinkedIn [or] any of the social networks. You’ve just got to go to them. LinkedIn has groups. Facebook has groups – Twitter has hashtags, TONS of hashtags – where you can find other user profiles. On Periscope we use the hashtag #periscopewriters ( https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&q=%23periscopewriters )
You know where else I found other authors? Paid courses. For instance, Jeff Goins has a course called “Tribe Writers”. I joined that a couple of years ago, and it has an attached private Facebook community. The people in those types of groups are committed, because they PAID for something to get there. And they are really interested in their craft, and connecting with other people. So, I don’t like to shell out money unnecessarily, but if you can find a course that really, really resonates with you, and have a community attached to it, that could be worth gold right there. So think about it. The two that I’ve joined have been Jeff Goins’ “Tribe Writers”, and Chandler Bolt’s “Self Publishing School”. “Self Publishing School” is good for the marketing end of a book. It also teaches you how to write, but you guys are already self-identified writers. I’m actually working on a course that focuses on the writing part, so that will be fun. But those are really worth investing in in order to make these sort of connections. But you can make free connections too. But heck, you should already be keeping tabs on other authors in your genre. Make friends with them! Don’t just keep tabs on them. Don’t just do Google Alerts. Don’t just do Twitter alerts, or whatever. Send them an email, and say, “Hey, I found you on Twitter. We write the same kind of stuff. [Do you] want to have a Skype call?” Like whatever. Take it somewhere where you’re actually connected and talking to each other.
When you do join one of these groups, don’t just sit and observe. You might as well not have paid any money, or even bothered to join the free group, because there’s no point in just sitting and observing. As comfortable as that may feel, what you really need to do is introduce yourself. I mean, come on, we’re back in like elementary school. Like say “Hi!”. Tell people where you’re from and what you do. And when other people are replying in the group, add your comments to the thread consistently, so people start to recognize your name. Then, like I said, offer to take your conversation elsewhere. You know? “Hey, let’s go over to THIS place so that we can talk, and brainstorm, and think about ideas.” Because you just never know what kinds of ideas are going to pop up.
If you can really even find ONE other person who gets you, that could make your life feel more worth living – I mean, maybe that’s taking it too far. But if you can find someone who inspired you, and motivates you, and helps you want to BE the writer you really want to be, then that person’s irreplaceable. But you’ve got to FIND that person. That person may not necessarily just land in your lap. You’ve got to put yourself out there. And I get that’s, kind of, scary, but this would be my challenge to you for the weekend. Even if you just want to find a free group, go to LinkedIn, or Facebook, or start searching Twitter hashtags, or start Googling, and find five people… [irrelevant comment] … Find five people, and write down…
Darnell Cureton (https://twitter.com/DarnellCureton ) : Darnell – science fiction, ( http://darnellcureton.com/ )
Morgan MacDonald : … Darnell – science fiction, http://darnellcureton.com/ . Thank you Darnell. I keep a spreadsheet. Okay, maybe this is OCD, and a little crazy. I have a spreadsheet of people that I either AM connected with, or WANT to connect with. That sounds a little stalker-ish, but there are people who are currently beyond my reach who I WANT to be friends with, NOT ONLY because they would benefit me, but because I think they’re cool people and I would like to be friends with them. I think that is totally okay. I’m going to put that out there. Make a spreadsheet – a “stalker spreadsheet” – of people you would love to connect with someday. But have the spreadsheet be [composed of] people who are, kind of, at your level, AND people who ABOVE your level. You never know what could happen. So it’s like a dream contact list. I have big plans, people. I’m going to need some MAJOR connections to pull off the kind of shenanigans I intend to pull off in the next five years, so [laughter] we’ll see. But you guys are going to be along for the ride.
Let me see if I had any other thing. Okay. That’s pretty much it for today. I’m a little distracted, because this munchkin is now crawling towards the trashcans, which is her favorite thing to play with. Plus I’m packing to go to the lake. So that’s it for me guys. I appreciate you hanging in with me. This week has been a week of … [irrelevant comment] … Okay. We’re going to wrap up. Thank you guys. I appreciate you hanging in with me. It’s been a great week. We’re going do some casual Scoping at the lake over the weekend, and then next week we’re going to jump in…
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Seeya Morgan!
Morgan MacDonald : …Bye Ron… And do some nitty-gritty writing stuff. We’re going to talk about how you go from idea to first draft, and we’re going to hit it next week. So if you’re not following me, hit that “Peri Buddy” down there, change that plus to a check, and follow. Next week is going to be fun. We’re going to be doing nitty-gritty writing, because that’s my kind of shindig. All right guys, have a good weekend. See you soon. Bye.
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