Blogging is a great opportunity for me, but before my blog plan hatched, I was really trying to nurture those local relationships I'd made over the last year. I've dreamed of working in "the book business" in some way pretty much since I can remember (this was after, of course, the unfortunate age when I really believed I wanted to be a Major League Baseball Player; my dreams were dashed when someone tenderly informed me that only boys play baseball... *sigh*). Sadly, my dreams didn't start to become reality until about six months ago (the book dreams, not the baseball dreams) and I've been socializing like it was my superpower since!
Friends and Colleagues I've met fellow classmates with publishing aspirations similar to my own and we've started a club of sorts discussing and sharing news, ideas, books, people, and just about every other publishing topic you can think of. You can check out their blogs here/here, here, and here. Keeping each other updated via Twitter, Facebook, text, e-mail, and just about every form of communication minus carrier pigeon (although, we'd probably use that if we could, too) has been a really valuable way for us to become closer friends even when we're not wallowing in the library. I like to keep these relationships alive and active because I hope one day we'll be more than just classmates and friends but business associates as well!
New Artists A great thing about being a graduate student in American Literature is the sister MFA program and all the aspiring talent you get to share classrooms with. It's great getting to meet and drink with the future generation of great writers. I think the best way to really nurture these relationships has been to really support the artists by attending their live reading events and buying the chapbook of their latest work. I also like to blog about my encounters with these authors: Literature in Action
Mentors This has been a new one for me because I can be timid sometimes in nurturing those relationships where it's obvious that I probably have more to gain from the friendship than my more experienced partner. And yet this is probably the most important and valuable relationship I've garnered just a few short months ago. As an intern, you assume your duties will include stuffing envelopes, delivering coffee, filing boring financial documents, and generally looking lost and frenzied. And sometimes those are your duties but then sometimes you get really lucky and have the fortunate opportunity to work with people who really care about where your career is going and making your time as an intern the best possible experience. I could not be more grateful to these amazing individuals for introducing me to new, talented authors, the world of children's literature I could not have discovered on my own, and for being generally encouraging and helpful when it comes to my future.
Overall, each of these relationships has been kept constant through online social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, etc. But I think the most valuable and meaningful connection is the personal touch: a friendly conversation at a social gathering, a handwritten note, a coffee date, a warm handshake, sharing in the excitement over a good book. It's the personal touch that turns handy connections into friends and neighbors that will stick by you when it really counts. And what better way to live and work in the book world than with all your best friends?!
4 comments:
Speaking of women and baseball, I highly recommend Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace. I just reviewed it on my blog earlier this week.
Rather than talk about bookstores, publishers or bloggers, I'm talking about volunteering. Come see what I mean.
I agree with pussreboots that Diamond Ruby was a great book, and one it sounds as if your might enjoy.
The Saturday Review of Books each Saturday at Semicolon http://www.semicolonblog.com/ is another good way to nurture relationships and connect with other bloggers and with books, which is what we're all about, right?
Keep working on those dreams!
It's so cool that you've connected with other people interested in publishing. I wish I had gotten into it when I was younger.
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