The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
I’ve been around a while, and outside of a handful of
authors, I’ve not made lasting friends. I accept the reason for this lies
mostly with me. It’s difficult to work full time and have a writing career. No,
I’m not whining. It is what it is. But something else it is rings just as true,
at least for me.
Back in the day I wrote a book and made the mistake of
telling people about it. “Get it published!” they said. So I set about to
finding out how to go about it. Fast forward to joining the RWA and an online
paranormal chapter.
I asked a simple question. Many, many, many of those
“mentors” told me where I could to buy a copy of their book, which, they
assured me, held the answer. That’s not mentoring. That’s hawking your wares.
(Funny how so many of them had a book on the topic of my question, which happened to be non-writing related.) To this day there's one woman whose books I will not purchase because of her cavalier attitude toward a newbie.
As writers, we might think we don’t owe another like-wise
engaged individuals a thing. They’re taking sales away from us. Why should we
help them do that?
It goes a lot deeper than being a writer. We owe each other
common courtesy and kindness, especially to someone who is floundering along
the side of the road. It’s never in our best interest to bolster ourselves and
our bottom line at the expense of another.
So here’s my kernel of wisdom for this IWSG post: Pick your friends carefully. Remember
the Golden Rule and treat others the way you want to be treated. That newbie you can help might be able to do a good turn for you one day.
Rayne Forrest
www.twitter.com/rayneforrest
