I've been told that networking is the key to a successful book, but while that is all well and good, it's not easy for a shy person like me. I want to be able to network and all that but I honestly don't know how to go about it. I'm not very good at putting myself out there, however I do understand that I do need to get over that hurdle for the sake of my book. Does anyone have any tips on how to do this?
You need to have social media ( I don't like it but I use it), such as Facebook, Linkedin or Instagram. Also posting on forums like here should help.
Maybe think of it as 'making friends' or 'meeting friendly people'? I'm also shy and an introvert to boot. It's difficult for me to make myself stand out, and I'm not too good at it. I tend to divert attention to someone else as soon as may be, which kind of defeats the purpose . Take this forum, for instance. I've been around a long time (four years, more or less), but I'm not posting as often as I could or should in terms of 'networking'. There are only a handful of people that I've more than a passing acquaintance with; though the ones that have tend to stay around for the long term. If you want success for your book then yes: It helps if you can focus attention on it and you. The more people and the more curious they are about the content of your book, the more will buy it. My advice, such as it is: Remind yourself often that posting is something that helps your book; that it's necessary and will bring results in the long term. You are not in for instant gratification, but the long haul. Don't pay attention to short-term statistics like how many followers you have but only track stats in terms of months, so you'll not get discouraged as easily. Good luck.
When I think of networking I think of crashing the right parties with the right people where I drink too much gin and make a fool of myself, not once but many times over the course of the night until I pass out on some great, big-time editor's coat and he has no choice but to wake me to get me off his coat. That forces a face-to-face meeting where I hold his coat hostage until he agrees to read my work. Sometimes editors will give you their card. Other times they'll just decide it's easier to get a new coat. Feel free to try my strategy. This is networking.
