Networking

What it is:
1. Meeting people who are interesting.
2. Meeting people you like and who like you.
3. Meeting people who have similar passions.
4. Hanging out with people you have met before, at the bar, at the pool, or wherever you are.
5. Asking people to do you a favor, like writing a blurb or coming to a conference you are in charge of.
6. Asking for advice from friends who are further along in the business than you are.
7. Allowing friends to introduce you to their contacts, and doing the same for others when it is appropriate.
What it isn’t:
1. Pressuring people because they “owe you.”
2. Thinking that every person you meet must have an immediate, visible in to something that you want to do with your career.
3. Scoping out a room and seeing who the “important” people are, surrounded by others, and targeting them.
4. Interrupting conversations already in progress with people you feel like you “need” to talk to.
5. Buying drinks or bringing/sending gifts to people you want to impress. (This is so tacky, and borders on the creepy).
How it works for you:
1. Things happen. The stars align. I literally do not understand this, but it has happened to me twice now and resulted in book contracts. I didn’t push it. People came to me and asked me to write something, and I did, and it sold.
2. People remember you. They think of you when opportunities come up.
3. Don’t push it. The more you push, the more the possibilities will slide away.
How it doesn’t work for you:
1. Someone owes you a favor and you demand it right now.
2. You end up getting a blurb for your book that sounds good but is actually a hidden zinger or has no substance.
3. People realize that you give blurbs to anyone who asks, so they mean nothing and your name becomes associated with poor quality.
4. You become known as a jerk in the business.