A new-to-me writer
reached out to me.
She told me
my stories were worth reading,
unlike XXX’s
who was clearly just churning
books out,
writing for the cash.
XXX is a good friend of mine.
The new writer
who was trying to get on
my good side
is a complete stranger.
The Romance Novel Writing Industry
seems huge
from afar.
The reality is
many writers have 3 or 4 pen names (brands)
and the industry is quite small.
Most of us know each other.
“How big does
a body of water
have to be
before we forget that
we’re swimming in it?
That it all comes around…
Why are we are okay
at yelling at a stranger,
but not our neighbor?
We will abuse
the department
in the other building,
but not down the hall…
It turns out that
the pool/river/tub
that we live in
is far smaller than it seems.
The culture of the place we work,
the vibe of the community
where we live.
It’s all more connected
than we realize.”
Assume everyone in your industry
knows everyone else.
Don’t bad talk others
unless you want everyone,
including those others,
to know you’re bad talking them.