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The support and friendships I garnered there as well as knowlege about crafting fiction and the publishing industry were absolutely crucial in helping me get to a point of being publishable. Both in the development of my fictional characters and in the betterment of my craft. The forums there are free to join and there are readers and writers alike. It’s a great place for both readers and aspiring writers to interact with their favorite authors.
Another helpful community is
http://www.acfw.com/ (American Christian Fiction Writers) and Romance Writers of America. The dues are well worth it and the conferences are invaluable. Networking in this industry is a must in my opinion. That can happen online, sure, but there’s nothing that beats a face to face meeting with editors, agents and fellow authors. I am a part of the Faith, Hope and Love Chapter as well as a military writer’s group called Romancing the Military Soul. All of these as well as my local writers’ group.I encourage every aspiring author out there to get support from somewhere. It is so important to have people (other than family members) review your work so they can give you an honest, unbiased “cold read.” Meaning your friends and family may love you too much to see errors in your writing. Plus, we are all blind to our own trouble spots.
Another great support group is a blog I contribute to called The Seekers
http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/With that, I’d also like to take a moment to talk about digital marketing.
This group was birthed out of several unpublished authors who, for years, finalled against each other in contest after contest. One of us started contacting the rest of us. We decided to band together and start praying each other into publication. SInce that time, half of us have contracted! So, even if you don’t have time to maintain a blog of your own, you might consider banding together with a few other writers so you each can begin to develope a Web presence, even before you are published. Digital marketing (I believe) is a wave of the future, and it’s important to start getting your name out there and creating buzz. Having a group blog takes the pressure off each individual person to have to come up with three to five blogs a week. One thing you don’t want to do is let that overtake your writing time. I use blogger but there are many other free blog hosting sites.
Publication is HARD! But not impossible. And especially not if you decide early on that you’re not gonna give up for anything. Praying for all you aspiring writers out there. I’m proof that it CAN happen.
Carla here: Cheryl’s second book in her Wings of Refuge series is making a big splash. You can win a copy here by leaving a comment with your contact information. NOTE: Cheryl has graciously agreed that international entrants are welcome!! Woo-hoo! All you readers from Canada, New Zealand, and Timbuktu may now join in the fray! Before you do, I’d like to share a little more about Cheryl and her book, A Soldier’s Family.Or her blog http://www.scrollsquirrel.blogspot.com/
On A Crash Course With Love, she was the woman of pararescue jumper Manny Péna’s dreams. But he’d stuck his foot in his mouth the last time he met Celia Munez. Now, grounded after a parachuting accident, he was desperate to make amends with the beautiful widow. But Celia wasn’t having it. The last thing she needed was another man with a dangerous job—even if he had given his life to God. Yet Manny’s growing commitment to her and her troubled son began to convince her that perhaps she should take her own leap of faith.ISBN: 037387474XPublisher: Steeple HillOrdering Link: Order now!