Jan Morrison

 Here it is! Another meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Well I'm writing this on the Monday before so I don't go and forget because I'm forgetful. I was going to say that I'm old but truthfully I've always been a bit scatter-brained. Such an excellent word - my brain, or mind as I like to call it, is all over the place. Working on a novel (Tales of the Dispossessed), flogging the older ones (The Crooked Knife, Little Birds), hand-piecing a quilt for one of my grandkids, getting out to my painting shed, trying to train a new dog, doing something with harvest from garden while planning next year's, and keeping up with appointments and so on.

So on with the meeting!  Sign up on this page - IWSG

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The awesome co-hosts for the October 7 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Liza at Middle Passages, JH Moncrieff, and Jemima Pett!

What I'd like to write about today is local writer's organizations. I belong to three writer's organizations  -one provincial, one regional, and one national. I believe in belonging to professional groups to a point but I do get cranky when I'm asked for my dues but not my opinion on how they are doing. Maybe that is the problem - me. I want to belong so I can enter competitions and take advantage of other offerings, but I don't go to the meetings and make my opinion known on what else is or isn't on offer. This is maybe because of the issue I discussed in the first paragraph of this post - I'm quite busy enough. Lately, mostly in my personal dealings, I've tried not to ask what people can do for me, but what I can do for people (thankyou dear JFK), because I realized I was becoming a somewhat cranky and bitter individual. So instead of wondering why I wasn't seeing a friend or family member very often and making up stories about it, I have simply made arrangements to see them without waiting for them to make a move. 

I think it is time for me to do the same with these groups.

I was at an event this weekend which was to be a place to sell books. I found it quite frustrating because the organization had left it entirely (it seemed to me) up to us to promote it. They provided the badges etc. . . and there were some press there but nothing that I could see otherwise. I heard from other writers there that this was usually a zero-sum game for them. Every writer (around 60 of them) would get a few people to come who had undoubtedly already bought their friend's book, and the booksellers might sell one or two to the small crowd that showed up, but it seemed we mostly sold to each other. I sold six books - three to the crowd, and three to other writers that I knew. I bought five. 

I would've felt bad but I checked around - it was pretty much the same for all of us. One of the other writers and I talked about how they could follow the model of a folk festival perhaps - promote to lovers of the music but also make it somewhat like a convention, with meetings for the writers to come to - workshops on the biz perhaps. 

So I'm going to get involved instead of bitching behind the association's back.

Any thoughts on this fellow writers?

How welcome do you feel you are made by professional organizations you belong to? Is it you or is it them? In my case I think it is probably a bit of each. I don't feel particularly welcome but I haven't pushed against that at all.

I have finished all the events that I had organized for my new book - now it is time to get a move on for more. I'm thinking that I wouldn't mind being part of craft markets or even regular markets. Think I'll look into this.

This is a photo of the beach in North West River, Labrador, for those of you who have read either or both of my Nell Munro mysteries!