Finding Time and Community

If my office were a cave in the highlands or a windowless cubicle in Manhattan, I would find time to be part of a community. When one of the companies I worked for launched the Hubble, I celebrated with the engineering department. Later, when I created my own company, I celebrated the books launched by my clients. We seek a community of colleagues and friends. It’s a natural function of our humanity. So when a group of authors and emerging writers celebrated the holidays this week, something wonderful happened. We celebrated. Not just the holidays, but we celebrated our achievements as writers, as published authors, and as emerging writers.

And after the wine was sipped and the last skewer of mozzarella and tomato was nibbled on, the questions began in earnest. How do I find a literary agent? What available help is there for navigating social media, including Goodreads and Twitter? What happens to an author’s copyright when a publisher goes out of business?

The conversation and the community, stimulating, brought us all closer together when we each recognized that we not only share common goals, but moreover, common concerns. For those who missed this event (December 6) and who want to join this community, visit our host’s site to sign up for our February event. Hosted by AuthorsGuild.org with the Florida Chapter Ambassador, Kate Sullivan, moderating the community’s events, along with Julieanna Blackwell, the upcoming event continues to celebrate the written word and those creative individuals who are gifted writers. Step out of the cave and away from the cubicle to discover the professional world of craft and community.

Happy Holidays - Kate Sullivan, Executive Editor, WordSmitten Media, Inc., and Authors Guild Ambassador (AuthorsGuild.org)