Seriously

One of my early blog posts asked the question are you serious about writing. By that I meant are meant are you willing to do what it takes to write and publish your work. My view at the time was that writing is for sharing -- something I still believe -- and that in order to share a story or poem or written piece, you must publish it.

However, I'm not sure how many other writers share that view. I say this because I've begun to research out to many area writing groups looking for people with published work like me. I am looking for them because I manage to convince my local library to host an author event in the spring. So now I need about five people to come and talk about their work.

So far the results from reaching out to writing groups has been a bust. No one has expressed interest. So I began to suspect that writers in writing groups are not serious. They are writing for themselves or perhaps are few others. But they don't ever plan to publish. That's fine, of course, and confirms my view that belonging to a writing group is not for me.

Ironically, however, I've had to join several groups so I could advertise the author event coming next spring, not that this has done me much good...

And it still leaves me with the issue of finding writers with published books who want to participate in the author event I'm trying to get off the ground. 

I suppose this time of year people aren't thinking about the spring; they are thinking about the end of the year, holidays, family, presents, food, and all that stuff. That doesn't make my job any easier but might explain why I've gotten no response.

Perhaps a more direct approach is in order. I can use social media to find people ask them directly. I also plan to post a notice in the library hoping that any writers that use the institution will see the notice and respond.

And in the meantime, I'm planning to attend local gatherings put on by others to research how I might attend them in the future as a seller and not a buyer. I went to a book fair in Groton, MA last week, for example and gave my information to the organizer in case they want to do another fair in the future.

And amidst all they I've got novels and stories to write and revise. No wonder I'm tried.