Book Review: Networking for Writers

Networking for Writers is a practical, guided workbook to help you create, strengthen or revamp your current network—whether that’s because your current network is not the supportive community you need, or you haven’t found your community yet, or because the hoped-for income, sales, and opportunities that a network can provide hasn’t shown up the way you expected them to. It’s also a book for those looking to create a self-publishing team they can work with and rely on now, and in the future.

This book will help you create a networking practice that works for you—one that incorporates your goals, your communication style, the activities you enjoy, and the tools and resources that are available to you today. If you intend to be profitable and make a living off your writing, then organizing your thoughts and goals as a writer will help you achieve that success much faster. You can still be wildly creative and efficient and productive at the same time.

Networking for Writers by Linda Ruggeri was published on May 13, 2024. A galley was provided by the author for review.

Very often, the writing books I look to are focused on the creative side. However, for those serious about their writing and hoping to take it to the next level of getting their work out into the world, networking is key. Ruggeri recognizes that and, through this workbook, offers steps and exercises meant to help you build that network. The book's approach is cordial and interactive; the author tries to make these processes easy to understand and follow. As writers, we just have to put in that work.

Drawing upon my time in software, I found the discussion about the importance of one's website to be of interest. The author keeps this to the level of the what and the why; the how can be a much more complicated endeavor depending upon whether you do-it-yourself or work with one of your connections to get it made. Also, the chapter discussing the important role of social media was of interest as well. This is very much a tool that writers need to harness for their self-promotion and networking.