  Noticing Newbies
This week: Edited by: Puditat  
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 Welcome to the Noticing Newbies Newsletter!
Our goal is to showcase some of our newest Writing.Com Authors and their items. From poetry and stories to creative polls and interactives, we'll bring you a wide variety of items to enjoy. We will also feature "how to" advice and items that will help to jump start the creation process on Writing.com
We hope all members of the site will take the time to read, rate, review and welcome our new authors. By introducing ourselves, reviewing items and reaching out, we will not only make them feel at home within our community, we just might make new friends!
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~N~E~T~W~O~R~K~I~N~G~
Networking is quite the buzz word for career-minded people. It's about meeting and connecting with people who can help you in your career path. It is often taken as an instrument for climbing the corporate ladder, but its uses are so much more broad, and less 'power-seeking'. Networking in the writing world is as crucial as it is in any other field of business. Networking is invaluable whether you are new or experienced in your career.
So what is networking? It is simply meeting people in the industry and talking with them - building a professional, and sometimes personal, relationship. An exchange of names and 'small talk' is the beginning of the process. The networking base should be broad, including journalists, publishers, agents, other writers (both published and unpublished), book artists, publicists, critics, freelancers, poets, novellists, and short story writers. Every single person you meet and chat with provides a chance.
A chance for what? Well, here we come to the meaning. What is the purpose of networking? Yes, it can be a chance to advance in your career, but this should not be the sole focus. The other benefits are much more rewarding and personally satisfying. You learn things! Your confidence increases - knowledge grows - abilities develop and stretch. You will be introduced to new possibilities and as you watch how people interact and speak you can find material/ideas to include in stories.
How does one network? Make the most of opportunities afforded. Attend book signings, go to courses and seminars. Develop dialogue with people and see where it leads. Being shy and reserved will not help, but neither will being overly bold, pushy or fawning. Be civil, show interest in their experiences. If you are able to learn about attendees prior to the event, the research will give you some intelligent questions should the opportunity arise to ask them. Don't overlook the other people present by focussing only on the famous or well-known, although grasp at the opportunity with both hands if it presents itself.
I attended a friend's wedding two years ago, just a short while after I left my job to become a full-time writer. Through the course of innocent conversation I met a person who has a magazine publisher friend. I also met a woman who aspires to write a novel, and is interested in the process and my experiences. Both presented quite different opportunities for me.
One of the best things you can do this very minute is utilise Writing.com. This site offers numerous ways to network. Groups / Forums / Contests / Reviewing - just to name a few. My own networking on here, by reading and reviewing numerous individuals' work, has provided me a very dear friend who is a published author - an experience I would not enjoy today if I had failed to get out amongst the community. Without her coaching I would never have written a complete novel and would still be dabbling with thousands of 'starts' and 'possible ideas', of which none would ever see an end. Our meeting came about when we both participated in a writing challenge (and it wasn't at all related to reviewing!).
Most networking will happen passively, it will develop naturally. If someone is deliberately seeking out only those who can help them advance in their career, then they are effectively 'climbing the ladder'. Networking is a two-way enterprise. We should be seeking not only to grow ourselves, but to help others grow.
So when I am faced with the common question of how to get their items read, I always think about what that person is willing to offer. Like a friendship, if it is one-sided it will be neither fulfilling or lasting. Sure, not everyone a person reviews will be kind enough to return the favour, but is that all it's about? How about the knowledge and entertainment received by reviewing others? The potential to connect and form a friendship. The possibility of running into someone who can help a career develop.
To date, Writing.com has been my single-most successful and rewarding networking tool. I encourage all to step in and try it. Focus on learning and enjoying the experience and you never know what will come from it.
Thanks for reading.
Puditat
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
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Hello,
Thank you very much for including my Learn & Earn contest in this newsletter.
Newbies need all the help they can get, and you're doing a great job.
Sincerely,
butterfly388
You're very welcome, and thank you. 
Thank you so much for featuring my poem Trees Scream in the newsletter! It is a great
feeling to know that someone enjoyed your work enough to ask other people to read it. I
love the newsletter and all the helpfull ideas. Becoming a memeber is a lot like meeting
someone..it takes a while to really get to know them. :)
God bless,
Kaya
You are very welcome. I'm please you're finding the newsletters helpful. 
I just want to thank you Puditat for including my poem in this newsletter. It is very encouraging to see my item listed here. This newsletter is great for Newbies and the links are very helpful. Yes, the site is huge and has many offerings (which is great I might add), but Writing.com offers so much support, encouragement, and direction to help everyone. I am very glad I discovered this site! :o)
cashworth
 Great!
Good newsletter, Puditat!
darkin
Thanks! 
although I have been a member of this group for over 2 years, I still feel like a newbie, very few people have actually stopped off and dropped a comment on any of my works, the site is very difficult to find my way around. I have left comments on other peoples woks but it feels like a vey incestuous community to be honest, merit badges going to the same people all the time.
Sorry if this upsets anybody but just go look at my table of work and exactly how long they have been posted and the ratio of hits to comments. Please bear in mind I have swapped and changed singular items over the time.
Paulreyno
Writing.com is far from incestuous, but it does reward those who make an effort to get involved. Those you see getting the most merit badges is really because of the amount of time they spend around the site. You will find they are all dedicated individuals, involved in numerous aspects of the site, not just writing or reviewing. If you've not had any joy in receiving the feedback you require, may I suggest finding a group to join. Search through the Groups link or use the Power Search feature to refine your search. Finding a group that deals with the type of writing you do can establish a good symbiotic relationship (you review theirs and they review yours). Really, the site can provide as much as you want to go out and grab. My very best wishes for success.
I haven't had time for commenting on newsletters in a while, but as usual -- AWESOME job you do!!
PastVoices
I wondered where you'd wandered to.  Great to hear from you! 
I have entered the plug pages, won an auction for reviews, paid for reviews, and listed in every review forum I can find. As far as reviewing, I was number three for the month of May. Why exactly is it so hard to get return reviews? I want the imput and I want to take a beating. I need these things because I actually want to write and appreciate anything that leads me in the direction needed for improvement. To be honest, it seems a bit frustrating trying to get any kind of notice, bad or good. I post other writer's work in my own portfolio and I use the highlighted items. I have started only reading newbies and cleaning out their portfolios because I am becoming jaded. Any suggestions on how to save me?
teihzbael 
Firstly, congratulations on your placing in the reviewer's list and for being such an invaluable member. It can be very frustrating not receiving the quantity in return, and that is where one must focus on the other benefits of reviewing. It truly does help your own writing grow, and I can say that with absolute certainty through my own experience. It sounds like you're pretty much doing all the right things, but maybe you've not struck the right people. Developing a deeper relationship with some would help. Also you could consider hosting a contest where the object is to review your portfolio and offer suitable rewards for the most items reviewed/best reviews received.
The only other thing I would suggest is to explore the other features of the site. Contests, forums, groups, In and Outs, Interactives, Word Searches, Polls etc. The more your name is around the site, the more chance someone will randomly review your items. You'll also have a lot of fun getting out and enjoying some of the less-serious aspects of the site. Very best wishes.
tis palce is really confusing but lyk when you are new at school your teacher or your seniors are soo kind to you and show you around and tll u the do's and don't itz just lyk that but a lil bit virtual! :D
n.uma
It's wonderful to hear back that members are being helpful. We all know what it's like to wander into a new place. Have fun with your continued exploration.
Any queries, problems, praise, or advice?
Send it to one of the Editors via the feedback form on this newsletter,
or direct to their email by clicking the wee envelope after their handle.
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Noticing Newbies: July 04, 2007 Issue [#1809]
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