Collaboration as Writers - Ruth L. Snyder

I recently had the opportunity to participate in the 5th Annual Book Marketing Conference, an online program put together by D'vorah Lansky, author of Book Marketing Made Easy. The theme of this year's conference was eBook Publishing Boot Camp. The sessions included in the program were:

• Four ways to write your non-fiction book or eBook to publish and sell on Amazon Kindle in 7 days or less, presented by Jim Edwards
• eBook editing for maximum profits, presented by David Perdew
• How to prepare and publish your books for Amazon's Kindle, present by Val Waldeck
• Successful eBook publishing using Barnes and Noble, Kobo, & Smashwords (for Apple), presented by David Wogahn
• The print-on-demand revolution, presented by John S. Rhodes
• Turn your eBook into a print book, presented by Kristen Eckstein
• Build buzz for your eBook, presented by Sandra Beckwith
• Leveraging influencers, presented by Susan Baroncini-Moe
• Google hangouts for authors, presented by Jason Matthews
• Create a course with Udemy & earn, presented by Alex Mozes
• Magnify your message with powerpoint, presented by Dr. Jeanette Cates
• Grow your business with teleseminars, presented by Bob Jenkins
• Become a Kindle bestseller, presented by Connie Ragen Green
• Successful book launch strategies, presented by Shelley Hitz and Heather Hart

As you can see, I received a lot of useful information. However, as I reviewed the online learning opportunity, I thought about how collaboration with other writers is both necessary and helpful. Why?

1. Our time is limited - We all have responsibilities other than writing. Quality writing takes time. Once the writing is done, we have editing, publishing, and marketing to think about. Then there's blog posts, creating and updating your website, and interacting with people on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Linked In. Whew!
2. We can't be experts at everything - God has given each one of us different skills or gifts (see I Corinthians 12). Each of us has a unique part to play in the body of Christ. Not everyone can write non-fiction books in an orderly, clear manner. Neither can everyone write fiction that grips the reader from the first page to the last and encourages personal growth in the process. Some people are good at selling. Other people are more skilled at speaking. Some do well on social media. Others do better face to face. We all need to figure out what we are good at and what "energizes" us. Then, we need to surround ourselves with people who are good at doing the tasks that we are not so good at.
3. Working with other people gives us exposure to a broader range of people. Networking is a word we hear often these days. Working together enables us to broaden our network by getting to know people that our friends know. For example, if five people each have 100 unique contacts, by working together, they have increased their contacts to 500. 

This brings me to InScribe Christian Writers' Fellowship. There are many things we are doing well:

-FellowScript provides information and helps writers develop skills

-Satellite InSpiration groups enable writers to learn and grow together

-Members only contests provide opportunities to get feedback on writing

-InScribe Writers Online (this blog) gives members the opportunity to showcase their writing

-The InScribe website provides a venue to share information

-The InScribe professional blog is another opportunity for members to share their writing expertise and to attract new members to InScribe.

There are many other things we could be doing. However, for this to work, we need more volunteers who are willing to share their gifts. Do you have some time you could donate? What other directions do you think InScribe should pursue? 

www.trusteesnyder.blogspot.com
(Education information)
www.ruthlsnyder.com
(Ruth's writing and family life) 
www.earlyyearssuccess.com
(Information for caregivers of children ages 0-5)
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