This week we’re chatting about our support systems, so I paused for a moment and thought about who I’ve chatted with in the past few days. I texted my two IRL bffs to finalize a date for a summer BBQ. But besides those two lovely ladies, and of course interacting with my family, my week has been mostly bookish encounters.
I DM’ed with my mentee from Pitch Wars 2016 as she went through the process of which agent offer to accept (yay for her!). Sidenote: Pitch Wars 2017 will be accepting submissions in August.
I texted about book life with a fellow Pitch Wars mentor who has become someone I talk to quite readily.
I emailed and texted with my book bestie, and also opened my mailbox to find a sweet, sweet card from her because of some IRL personal stuff I recently had going on. As I write this, I got an update from her that she has notes for me on a chapter in my WIP.
I slacked with the other Deb gals multiple times through the day, and um, night. No lie, I sent them all a message at 3am because of some industry nerves that woke me up/kept me up.
I chatted with people in various groups I’m in: 17Scribes (a debut adult/NA author group), Pitch Wars mentors, Electric 18s (a debut mg/ya author group), and a kidlit author group.
I sent a thank you to a blogger on Facebook for a lovely review, ‘liked’ a post from an Reading Group that mentioned BECOMING BONNIE, and responded to a message from a book club asking me to Skype during their next meeting.
And of course, there’s my personal Twitter and Facebook where I’m so fortunate to follow and be followed by some awesome folks.
All in all, so much of my daily life is spent communicating with the fabulous people within our book industry. And, with all of these people, I find so much support and love. I like to give to the community, but I also receive so much in return. I’m very grateful for that.
Of course, having the time to be active in the book community wouldn’t be possible without my husband, and also my mom. Most days of the week I’m limited to book-life when my kiddos are napping or after they’re down for the count at night. But on Wednesdays my mom usually swoops in and watches the kids, giving me a full day to work. Then, there’s my husband, who gives me as much time to ‘book’ as humanly possible. Right now, I’m especially reminded of their support of my dreams, as both of them are unavailable. My mom’s off galavanting with my dad on vacation for the entire month of June. My husband is away this week for a business trip. So it’s just me. With a 1 yo and a 3yo. And deadlines. And a slew of book people who I know will be there (and have been there) when I need them <3
