The Value of Networking for Writers

Medium and Social Networks are Not Just Places to Write

Photo by Kevin Curtis on Unsplash

Everyday, I see posts on Medium about leaving or staying on this platform, posts about the value (monetarily) of writing for Medium. It makes me think that writers are not seeing the true value of a site like this and others like it.

The best part about being on any social media platforms is the networking opportunities that they afford writers. If writers think only of viewers, number of followers, likes or money, then they are missing out on an important part of publishing on public sites, and that’s networking.

Networking allows us to connect with others and for writers writing in 2021 (soon 2022) writing is about connection. No longer do writers write a book and let it find its audience. Most books on Amazon sell less than 50 books. Depressing, isn’t it? We don’t just write a book and expect readers to find it. And we don’t become hermits who hide behind our computer screen.

Authors in the past were lucky in a sense to be able to do that. An author that I enjoy reading, Philip Roth was known to avoid publicity. He wrote his books and tried to focus only on his writing as he hid away from the world.

. . . you deal with your ensuing notoriety by receding from public view almost entirely, some readers will search forever for the “real” you in every line you write.

— Philip Roth

We, modern writers, do not have that luxury. We must share a bit about ourselves with our readers. We must be easy to find, meaning we should be on social media and have a website. We must have something to say in addition to what we write in our books. And we must say it publicly on social media platforms. Most importantly, we must network with industry professionals. Connection is invaluable and necessary to writers of our time.

Therefore, networking must be a part of our marketing strategy. When we write on Medium and elsewhere, yes, we are sharing our stories, but we are also connecting with other writers as well as readers. We are building relationships, or we should be.