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How Your Writing Posse Helps Now 

There’s lots of talk in writing circles, and rightly so, about the value of a writing posse, tribe, or group to help you generate high-quality work, and finish your projects. Hopefully, you’re familiar with the encouragement, accountability, and critique these groups can offer, and you’ve explored both local and online groups to assist in powering your writing forward.

However, today I’d like to remind you of the incredible potential of your writing tribe, far beyond the stage where your manuscript feels complete. If you’re seeking publication, typing The End is far from it!

I don’t want to discourage you, but even after you declare your work to be complete, you still have a long road ahead.

How Your Posse Helps Later

• If you’re not sure your work is ready, or you’re nervous about the exposure of taking the next step, your writing buddies can assure you it’s time to make the leap.
• Your tribe can put you in touch with industry professionals: agents, editors, proofreaders, cover designers, bloggers and reviewers, to name a few.
• A little healthy comparison with others can give you the nudge you need, to seek attention for your own book.
• Especially if you’re connected to other writers and authors in your genre, you’ll get the inside scoop on how to squeeze the best value from your marketing budget. I doubt I would have had the courage, for example, to invest in a BookBub promotion, without reassurance from other authors that this was well worth pursuing.
• Your writing friends can be amazingly generous at sharing what didn’t work for them, in terms of paid promotions, seeking reviews, pre-orders, collaborative projects, and more.
• Other authors truly understand how vital it is to leave reviews for books they’ve read. While you should never trade reviews, or seek to acquire reviews through non-authentic methods, if an author friend enjoys your book, they are far more likely to review it than other types of readers.
• Particularly early in your career, publication day on social media can feel like you’re a tiny voice in the wilderness. Seeing a few cheerful tweets, likes and comments about your new release from your author tribe can reassure you that you’re both visible, and relevant.
• If – or perhaps I should say when – you experience the wobble in confidence which leads you to question your writing career, turning to your tribe will likely save your sanity and give you just enough of a boost to carry on.

I trust it goes without saying that your tribe will be stronger, and your karma so much healthier, if you help other writers and authors in exactly these ways too!

Where To Find Your Posse

Clearly, local and online writing groups are a key way to find like-minded souls. Be sure to look out for groups which focus on your genre, as the shared learning here can be gold dust. However, I’ve also made wonderfully effective connections – some of which have grown into true friendships – through these methods:

• Staying connected with fellow participants from a 10-week online writing course.
• Remaining interested in people I met during former careers.
• Attending writing conferences, both with a paid ticket and as a volunteer.
• Continuing visits and comments at the site of a book blogger who was kind enough to review my book. She is now one of my closest author friends.
• Offering free phone mentoring and/or in-person technical help to other authors.
• Getting curious about an author who was enthusiastic about my book online.
• And even, in one case, keeping in touch with someone I initially met when she was my fitness instructor.

I didn’t set out to network with these people, and I certainly didn’t have profit in mind for the majority of these interactions. But an attitude of curiosity, plus a genuine willingness to help others in small ways, has repaid me many times over.

So, it’s my firm belief that building and nurturing your writing posse will certainly help your productivity and promotional efforts. But it goes way beyond that too, as a vital factor in boosting your grit, enjoyment and long-term author career.

Have you found your own author posse? Please share your experiences below!

Pauline Wiles…

…is the author of three light-hearted novels as well as Indie With Ease, which helps self-published authors conquer stress. She believes pragmatic self-care is the foundation of a long and happy writing career. Her own version of this includes plentiful tea, cake, and running. Get more tips on purposeful productivity for writers and a free mini-course, Focus for Writers, at https://www.paulinewiles.com/writers

Find Pauline on her website, Twitter, and her Purposeful Productivity Facebook Group

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