It Takes a Writing Village
It Takes a Writing Village
Densie Webb
“It takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb that quite literally means it takes an entire community of people to get the job done and to get it done with loving care. In today’s world, I think that’s more aspirational than actionable, but when it comes to creating a novel, a writing village is not aspirational; it’s essential in order to write, edit, publish, and promote a book.
My 3rd novel, “When Robins Appear,” is out in the world as of October 20th, but it was made possible thanks to an amazing community of (mostly) women who had, and continue to have, my back, lending a helping hand, a critical eye, a word suggestion or two or, let’s be honest—tons of words, sentences, and plot suggestions that always made my work better. And now that the book is out, I find my village reaching out to offer advice on how to spread the word beyond our insular writing village.
Creating your own village means joining local Meet-up groups and attending conferences (pre- and post-pandemic); Zoom meet-ups for now; joining Facebook groups; following other writers, agents, and book bloggers on Twitter, on BookBub, on Goodreads, and on Instagram. It can be overwhelming and, yes, it’s a pain. But it takes time and effort to populate your village and create a supportive community.
To wit:
My long-time crit partner has been there since day 1 of this story. She must have read my novel ten times over. And with every iteration she offered enthusiastic feedback as if it were the first time she had seen those words.
There were beta readers who offered up their precious time to do a read and give me feedback on how the story was going.
There was a doc in Houston, who squeezed me into his busy schedule and took the time to answer questions that were germane to my story. (I can’t offer up any specifics here without dishing up a major spoiler.) He didn’t know me, so I was especially grateful for his input.
My wonderful community at Women’s Fiction Writers Association has been a deep community well, from offering webinars, workshops, newsletters, ezines and Zoom calls that helped keep me motivated and kept me up to date on how my fellow writers are doing. And my co-conspirators at WFWA always, always offer encouragement or empathy, as the occasion calls for.
Then there was my Writer Unboxed crew, who were there when I got the call a year ago, and the support the organization has offered has been so important. I’m looking forward to the next Writer Unboxed Unconference, where I get to talk about writing ad nauseum with other writers.
When I turned in my manuscript for editing, my editors at Red Adept Publishing were as invested in the story as I was, and they made wonderful suggestions for me to kick it up a notch. Even after the content editor’s job was done, I reached out months later to ask her opinion on something in the story and she was on it, responding right away to help me make the right call. Then my line editor dug even deeper, making me think and rethink every word. I never interacted with the copy editor, but they too, played an important role in my community.
And, oh the title. I had a working title for a couple of years, but the publisher suggested very nicely, after a focus group fiasco, that it could be better. I posted surveys in my Facebook writers groups with possible titles and the winner was “When Robins Appear.” Another community effort.
When it came time for the cover to be designed, I was given an information sheet to fill out. You know the drill—tell me what you want; tell me what you don’t want; what’s your story about; show me some covers you like. After that, it is often out of the author’s hands. However, the graphic designer captured the feel of my story perfectly. I’ll never meet this person, but I want to hug them. Maybe give them a scented candle or bake them a batch of chocolate chip cookies—something to show my appreciation.
The week of publication, 3 of my closest friends arranged for a Zoom call just to say “congratulations” and have me do a short reading. They all bought the ebook and the paperback. Just because. They didn’t need both.
Recently an author friend sent 8, count them 8, beautiful graphics featuring my novel for me to use in promotion. I was gobsmacked. (I’m not English, I just love that word.)
Another writer friend offered for me to join her monthly Zoom call to do a 5-minute reading. Then she sent me a link to a British radio talk show to see if I could get an interview. (She actually is British.)
My hair stylist, whom I haven’t seen in 7 months (yes, I have COVID hair), texted me to ask when my book was coming out. It had just been released the day before and, when I told her, she responded with lots of exclamation marks and said she was going to buy it.
A local artist/writer friend creates beautiful handmade notebooks. I had bought one from her Etsy site as a birthday gift for a friend and it was a hit. I reached out and asked her if she could create a notebook that I could include in a book giveaway. She was excited about the prospect and sent me several examples to choose from before getting down to work. It’s lovely.
An online writer friend shared with me a list of Instagrammers who read and review books. Another sent me her list of book bloggers, along with tips on how to request a book review. My book blog tour, which begins this month, is the result of recommendations from my writing villagers.
Several authors, including bestselling authors, most of whom are incredibly busy and overbooked, agreed to read and offer up a blurb for my story to post on Amazon. Gobsmacked again.
For my WIP, I have an Irish character. I’ve never been to Ireland, so I turned to my writer village for help. They have connected me with some Irish folk, who are willing to help me get the words and the tone right. Invaluable.
And, of course, I would be remiss without acknowledging Women Writers, Women’s Books for inviting me to write blogs like this one, starting with my first novel, “You’ll Be Thinking of Me” back in 2015.
The bottom line? Writers are an incredibly generous, open, sharing, and noncompetitive bunch. Try to go it alone and you’ll create a much steeper hill than you’ll want to climb. The whole process, whether you’re an indie, you’re with a small-to-medium-sized publisher, or with one of the Big 5, is really, really hard. No one person can do it all. You just can’t. You’ll need the support of a writer village to get it done. My advice? Seek and accept all the help you can, even before you begin writing that award-winning novel.
And when your book is out in the world, then you’ll be in a position to pay it forward and help the next one in line, who will then help you with your next book, and so on and so on. That’s what success looks like, no matter how you define it.
Who populates your village?
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The fiction bug bit her several years ago and she now has three novels, You’ll Be Thinking of Me, Le Reméde and When and Robins Appear. She also recently had her essay: “Boob Job Regrets: In Appreciation of Your Previously Small Chest,” included in an anthology compiled by Randy Susan Meyers, titled Women Under Scrutiny: An Anthology of Truths, Essays, Poems, Stories & Art. All proceeds from the anthology go to Rosie’s Place in Boston, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women. And her flash fiction piece, The Prank, was in the top ten finalists for Women on Writing’s Summer 2019 Flash Fiction contest.
Website: www.densiewebb.com
Facebook: Densie L. Webb
Twitter: @dlwebb
With a lucrative freelance career and a loving family, Deborah Earle has a life many women would envy. But her daughter, Amanda, is heading to college soon, and Deborah worries about having an empty nest. She thinks another child might be the answer. Her husband, Richard, however, may not be willing to start over so late in life.
Amanda is excited about attending NYU next year, but she meets Graham, a handsome older boy, falls hard, and considers postponing her education to stay close to him. Her mother takes an instant dislike to Graham, but Amanda refuses to let her keep them apart.
As Deborah watches her daughter rush headlong toward heartache on an all-too-familiar path, the secrets lurking in Deborah’s past continue to echo in her present. When tragedy strikes, Deborah faces a future she could never have imagined.
Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips
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