Are You Crowdsourcing Or Wasting Your Time?

The line between seeking constructive advice online and procrastinating is a fine one. Here's how to make the most of crowdsourcing.

The line between seeking constructive advice online and procrastinating is a fine one. Here's how to make the most of crowdsourcing.

A few years ago I joined a private Facebook group for writers and journalists. The payoffs were immediate: The members were professional and generous with advice, whether I was looking for editors' email addresses or ideas for places to pitch stories. But what I also loved about the group was that it was a virtual watercooler, which was missing from my freelance life. I could now ask questions like, "How do you get out of the house but not spend a ton of money on coffee and scones?" or "Do you guys also feel irrationally sad after an editor gives you harsh feedback?"

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