Finding Readers

I won't bore you with the inspiration for this story; you only need to know that it exists.  I am five months into this journey and learned many helpful tips along the way from other writers.  I have only just started blogging the progress because we are getting closer to the *fingers crossed* time of publication and I want to be able to show a publisher some online guerrilla marketing.

After writing in solitaire for a few weeks, I had this dreadful doubt that perhaps I'm wasting my time.  I have been writing in conversational style for such a long time and  I found myself getting hung up on the basics of decent, long-form writing.  The Rules of Grammar, per se.

I haven't lived with my parents for years (many, many years) so my mother, the cheerleader, is now far away.  Plus, I'm a realist.  I'm not like that guy on American Idol who knows he is destined to become a singer, despite monkeys in the crowd flinging poo at him.  I know I'm a writer, but if no one publishes my work, what does it matter?  I'm not trying to be a millionaire (though that would be nice).  I've read plenty of crappy books; surely my words are worth something.  So, I needed feedback.  Quickly.

A few books I have read over the years have mentioned "writer groups".  I wasn't sure how to find one, so I did what any good American would- I googled it.  I found a website, www.meetup.com, that has meeting info for various groups of people based on location and interest.  It was a gold mine.  I found a local group and they were meeting that Saturday at a coffee shop (how cliche).

I loved it.  What wonderful souls- a small group of ten that meets monthly.  I had been working in the cold-blooded business world for so long I forgot how truly wonderful people can be.  They encouraged each other, offered great advice and even good criticism.  I'm a "choose a handshake over a hug" kind of person, and it was great.  I brought something to read and to my surprise found the encouragement to do so, and to continue moving forward with my dream to write.

So my advice- find a writer group near you.  Google it.  Try meetup.com.  Just find others to read your work who won't say they love it despite the fork in their eye.  Even if you don't read your work at first, keep going.  You'll be surrounded by like-minded writers and will make some great contacts.

S.C. Rood