Benefits of Having Author Friends
As I have been accused of being too altruistic by some people, this blog is written specifically to dismiss those rumours. Sure, I write a lot of free things on the internet so that those who want to improve themselves may borrow some of my wisdom. Yes, I do not charge anything for sharing what I know either. Yet, I've had people generally accusing me of being too nice and they want to know what I gain from doing all this.
I shall clarify that in today's blog. Who knows, maybe after reading it all you would come to change your opinion about me. Maybe I'm secretly just someone who enjoys all that attention by doing good deeds. Muhaha!
Patreons to credit: -This could be you. Join now.-
Before I start, I would like to mention that I at no point in time forced any of these authors to become friends with me. It's just something that happened naturally. Of course, not all of them I contact daily or even weekly. We're reclusive creatures so contacting them once a month means we're already on very friendly terms. In fact, you might know some of them because of how they've appeared in my blogs or Youtube channel before. I talk about them often enough but there's more than dropping their names and works from time to time that you won't know unless I tell you.
Today, I will cover the reasons why it is awesome to have writer friends and why it is a good thing to feature them in my content. #freecontent #bookpromo #whatarefriendsfor
#1: Your Readers are My Readers Now
Sometimes, just sometimes my author friends will put my name in the author notes just like how I sometimes mention them in my blogs and Youtube streams. When this happens, some readers will cross that bridge of curiosity and end up supporting the friend of their favourite author.
Although money and chapter votes cannot be shared, love can.
#2: Learning From Your Mistakes so I Don't Need to Make Them
In the vast and dangerous world of writing, writers often walk alone. However, on the rare occasion our paths cross and we can travel together, we have many stories to tell. I learned so much from other writers as much as they have learned from me.
A good instance is how I joined Stary Writing's competition and wrote a blog to share my experience. Another instance is my more popular videos talking about the pros and cons of joining the Webnovel Spirity Award Writing Competition. It helps new writers learn from my mistakes so they don't have to go through the misery I did.
Likewise, I learned from Aimee Lynn about her traditional publishing journey. Listening to other people's stories is sometimes better than telling mine. It presents to me many more options that I previously never knew about. Although sometimes the paths that they described worked for them, it does not always mean it would work for me. Yet, it is still worth a shot in my opinion. Thanks to Sunscar, I wrote my first and hopefully last CEO Werewolf romance on Goodnovel.
#3: Checking if the Grass is Really Greener
The writing journey is most unfulfilling at the start full of toxic writers, depression and poverty. Often we are told that it would be worth it and there would be better opportunities but it really isn't the case. Unless we sieze that opportunity or create our own, it rarely ever happens.
Hence, when such an opportunity comes our way, many of us on my discord server will share the news and double-check if someone else heard of such a lucrative offer. It's safer to get the opinion of others than be blinded by false hopes. More often than not, someone else had already fallen into that hole in a leap of faith to tell you the truth and spare you some misery.
#4: Using Their Complaints for Content Fuel
We all have that one or two friends who always talk about their troubles 90% of the time whenever you meet up. It's usually annoying. However, with writers, things can be slightly different.
More times than not, you'd find the complaints of writers more amusing and interesting than the average friend who would complain over things like being broke from buying too many video games or chipping their newly manicured nails an hour after a new coating was done. If anything, writers complain about situations you thought could only happen in fiction and fantasy, giving you the perfect content inspiration when you find yourself in a writing rut!
#5: Complaining to them for Better Mental Health
Shit hits the fan for everyone at some point of time in their life. It is no exception. When this happens, it is usually my habit to go to several online writer friends to ask a hypothetical question. It's usually more interesting to talk to writers about your problems because they won't be the kind of people to tell you to 'deal with it', 'suck it up', 'endure it' or even 'I feel so sorry for you" kind of crap.
If anything, I get to hear new ways of getting rid of bodies or even a mind-boggling theory about time travel and doppelganger cloning technology to reverse Uno the crappy situation. Although it does not solve my immediate real-world problem, it often makes me feel a lot better and more powerful knowing that if I wanted to, I can end anyone with my knowledge anytime.
#6: Sprinting Together and Overcoming Eternal Procrastination
Let's admit it. Procrastination is part of the human DNA. Everybody does it, some just more than others. However, writers and creative individuals, in general, have it worse than other types of humans. We don't just procrastinate, we are pros at self-sabotaging.
Writers can drag ourselves to the computer and open up a new document but