Do you belong to a “list” or an online discussion group? Many people subscribe to lists related to their interests or profession. There are Google groups, Yahoo groups, Microsoft groups and others. You can go to these sites and find a list of “groups” on practically any topic—science, animal communication, ferrets, senior issues, comic animation, gardening, genealogy, astronomy, parenting twins and even writing and publishing. You can join a group or start your own group.
Some groups are open to anyone and others are closed. SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) has a discussion group through Yahoo and it is open to members of SPAWN only. SPAWN members can sign up to belong to the group and then communicate with other members through email.
It’s as simple as sending an email. Your email is forwarded to a server where it is moderated. When approved, it is then sent to everyone on the list. Most groups have rules—no comments off topic, for example, no off-color or mean-spirited comments and so forth.
Are you a member of a discussion group—what type/topic? How do you feel this experience serves you? I know authors who have found collaboration partners through discussion groups—book designers or editors for their manuscripts, for example. We receive heads-up warnings before diving into bad situations, learn about new opportunities for getting published or promoting your book and engage in discussions on all sorts of writing/publishing subjects.
You may be an expert in your field—that’s why you wrote a book. But there’s always more to learn, which is why, even after being involved in publishing for 35 years, I keep my ear to the ground through discussion groups. I moderate the SPAWN Discussion Group and I also participate in the Cat Writers Association Pro-list Discussion Group.
If you are interested in finding a discussion group or starting one, here are two links to help you get started:
http://groups.google.com
http://groups.yahoo.com
If you would like to be a part of the lively SPAWN Discuss discussion group, join SPAWN at http://www.spawn.org