Surfing the Network – Part Three

If you missed part one or two of this article series you can read them here:

Part One: http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/surfing-the-network-part-one
Part Two: http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/surfing-the-network

Many a traveller will tell you that an amazing part of any journey is the people you meet along the way. It’s kind of comforting to know that I’m far from alone on my trek up Mount Publication.

Now if this was a mountain of solid rock I would only meet the occasional climber and they might warn me about a slippery bit coming up, or of the rabid mountain goat that has turned carnivore that is guarding the cairn at the top. But it isn’t all solid. We’ve already looked at the softer side of networking, some of the ways that we can find people that we can be inspired by, learn from or, of course, simply enjoy their company.

It’s often said that writing is a lonely past-time but how true is that? Where have you had your best ideas? No. Scratch that. Where did your best ideas originate? Have a little think about it. Try to track back. You can almost guarantee that somewhere along the line something was done by someone and it left a mark. The mark took root and developed. It grew and became a spark and the spark ignited a flame and that became the idea that is burning away at you until you get it all written down.

So there you are, scribbling or typing away and bang! There it is. The moment that the idea kicks back and you’re stuck. What do you do? Keep writing and hope for the best or take a break and chat with someone? Perhaps you spent half an hour on Twitter and a few others jumped in and joined the conversation. Maybe you picked up a retweet and found a website that gave you a fresh flash of inspiration. You’re off again, scribbling or typing away and all’s right with the world.

Guess what? You just did a bit of networking.

When I was first building my non-writing career I read an article that told me that everyone you ever meet, however briefly, is a contact. The great thing about the digital age is that you can create new opportunities to meet people, either as a result of online conversations, invites to events or even from research. Sometimes such meetings lead to great friendships, sometimes you become occasional friends who have a great time when you do meet, and ultimately, you never know in the instant that you meet someone where the connection might take you.

If you are lucky enough to be a confident, bubbly person you will probably find that you meet people easily and don’t have to work too hard. If you are shy, don’t worry, it comes with practice. I am incredibly shy naturally but getting involved with organising a writing conference has helped me change all that. Helping to drum up ticket sales, finding people to help out, and now that I am the main organiser I am in the process of finding speakers, experts to run workshops and editors and agents to run pitch sessions. Suddenly I had to face my fears and network with gusto.

Here’s a few little tips, some learnt the hard way. First of all, a very important point if you go to an event with the intention of meeting people. Standing at the edge of the room nursing a pint won’t work. Bite the bullet and say hello to someone. If they say hello back, great, you’re on your way! If you’ve picked an event rather than just a random social occasion then you already have common ground. Pick a topic and talk. If it’s a society or club, ask how long they’ve been a member. More often than not you’ll find that they were hoping someone would chat to them too. Sometimes you won’t get a response. Never mind. Move on and say hello to someone else. By the end of an evening you could have spoken to lots of new people and had much more fun than staring into that pint.

If you are hoping to meet someone in particular then do your homework. You will need to know where they will be and when. Don’t turn up somewhere that could make them feel uncomfortable. If you haven’t previously met, stick to planned events where they will be expecting to meet people, you may be able to arrange further meetings if things go well.

I recently hoped to meet an author with the intention of inviting him to the conference and spent the whole evening asking if anyone knew who he was because I hadn’t thought to look for publicity photos of him. I failed miserably that evening. In this case I managed to meet him at a different event a few weeks later having made contact online but it’s a lesson I shall remember.

When you do manage to meet someone well known, particularly at a public event, be considerate. Remember that there will be other people wanting to meet them so be gracious and allow them to move on. If you are organised you could leave them with contact details, perhaps on a business card or even a bookmark, we are fantasy writers after all! Alternatively you can arrange to swap Twitter or Facebook details.

Always be polite and friendly, you will find that if you smile most people naturally smile back. Having said that, don’t be fake, people see straight through someone just pretending to be ‘nice’. After you’ve met, follow up on any promises you made. Always make contact as soon as possible afterwards, within 24 hours if you can. If the meeting was brief a simple message reminding them who you are and where you met is useful, remember, they may have met thirty other people that evening.

Ultimately remember that you are who you are. Networking isn’t about trying to be something else; it’s about having new experiences, making new friends and learning new things. Sometimes the result is that you become someone else but that is all part of the journey. Above all, remember that you probably have something to offer other people too, even if you don’t realise it yet.

Finally, don’t stress about networking, if you try too hard you won’t enjoy it, you won’t benefit from it and you’ll miss out on the fun side of it all. Laugh at your failures, smile at your successes and before long you’ll find you are the one introducing people. Oh and for the record, remember the rabid goat that had turned carnivorous? He wasn’t half as bad as he’d been made out to be. Rather like networking really, funny that!

Next month we’ll take a look at The Spark – the thing that makes your work unique.

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