One of the things 4th Street Fantasy Con did this year was a workshop on writers’ support systems, which I participated in. I did a lot of thinking about the topic, and it occurred to me that most of my blog readers probably weren’t there and could use the information (and besides, it means I have another three days before I have to come up with another blog topic). So here’s the quick summary version of what I had to say.

Everybody needs support systems. There’s simply too much to do for any one person to be able to take care of all of it, all the time. Most of the writers I know think of their support systems in terms of their friends and families, and pretty much take whatever comes, but I think there are more effective ways of looking at it.

First off, there are multiple levels of support systems, and they exist on both professional and non-professional, formal and informal areas. Too many people don’t look at their whole support system, or they look at various pieces of it in isolation; as a result, they don’t get maximum benefit from whatever they’ve put together.

The other thing to remember is that no one piece of any support system is absolutely necessary in all cases. For instance, most authors consider an agent essential, but there are still some who handle their own contracts and negotiations. Nobody I know of does it all, but everyone I know has a different subset of the possible support network. In other words, you have to build your support system according to what you, personally, need other people to help you do.

The most obvious component of a writing support system is the professional one. By this I mean the group of paid professionals who handle various aspects of the writer’s business; editor, agent, accountant, publicist, lawyer, webmaster/tech support, and personal assistant being the obvious possibilities. Some, like the editor, are usually paid by the publisher and can change without notice; others, like the writer’s agent and accountant, are people the writer has to hire for him/herself. Hardly anyone I know has all these people working for them, though nearly all have the first three. One or two have substituted “lawyer + personal expertise” for “agent.” There are noticeably more writers who’ve hired a personal publicist these days than there were when I was starting out, but I don’t think it’s to the point yet where a majority of lead writers have them, let alone the folks who’re still in the midlist.

A key consideration for paid professional support is, of course, how much a writer can afford. Another is what the writer’s personal skills and interests are like. I know several writers who love doing self-promotion (and who are very good at it), but who would never even consider doing their own contract negotiations; I also know writers who would far rather pay a publicist than an agent. It depends on what one is good at.

Paid professionals are obviously part of a writer’s formal support system, but writers often have a lot of unpaid support that I’d call formal but not professional (at least, not professional in quite the same sense). I’d put critique groups in this class; they come in varying degrees of formality, but it is rare (in my experience) for a group to be composed of professional critics, or even teachers. Writers’ organizations like SFWA and the Author’s Guild also go here (yes, they’re made up of professional writers, largely, but the members don’t join in order to write; they join to find out what’s going on in publishing and maybe do some lobbying or put pressure on publishers to give writers a better deal…and most members aren’t professional lobbyists or lawyers), and maybe things like workshops or writer’s retreats.

Then there’s the informal support system, which is what most people think of first when I bring up this subject. These are the friends who volunteer to help figure out what’s wrong with the computer software, who willingly provide in-depth knowledge of Russian sleigh construction or Babylonian history or the development of hieroglyphics, who cat-sit, who drag the writer out on sanity breaks, who offer rides when the writer’s car breaks down, and who listen patiently to endless complaints about insensitive editors and unperceptive readers. These are the family members who take an extra turn making dinner or doing laundry or running household errands when the writer is working against deadline.

But there is also an informal support system composed of one’s fellow writers. This is the classic “networking” beloved of big corporations and career counselors. Among professional writers, it is sometimes very difficult to distinguish from gossip. These are the people you call when you are faced with some professional task you have never done before, like giving a speech or putting on a writing workshop, and you are desperate for someone to tell you what to expect. They’re the people you ask when you get an out-of-the-blue proposal from a publisher or other company you’ve never heard of before, for something your agent won’t handle, and you want to know whether it’s legitimate and/or a good idea. They’re the folks you take out to dinner when you’re having trouble with first-person viewpoint or with the plot twist in Chapter 13, and you need a new-but-well-informed alternate perspective.

The informal support systems, professional or not, generally work on a reciprocal basis: you feed my cats when I’m out of town, and I’ll mow your lawn when you go on vacation next month. You listen to me whinge about viewpoint, and I’ll listen to your complaints about plot. You give me advice about hiring an agent or running a panel at a convention, and I’ll tell you about the nifty new service the library just started or give you a referral to the tax accountant I just found. It isn’t quite that tit-for-tat, of course; sometimes I’ll have to rely very heavily on my informal support without giving much back, while other times I’ll be the one helping everyone else out without much in the way of return. Over the years, it averages out…and if it doesn’t, the folks who take, demand, or expect support without ever giving anything back eventually discover that their informal support system has withered away.

8 Comments
  1. There’s a difference between a writer and someone who writes a book, just like there’s a difference between a pianist and someone who plays the piano.

    How does this apply to someone who just plans to write a book?

    • Nct2 – What part of “you have to build your support system according to what you, personally, need other people to help you do” was unclear?

      Someone who plans to write a book and DO NOTHING with it other than stick it in a drawer or lose it on their hard drive obviously doesn’t need the same kind of support as someone who intends to break into traditional publishing, much less someone who intends to self-publish (electronically or otherwise). If one writes as a hobby, then the sort of support one needs is likely to be strictly the informal friends-and-family sort; agents and publicists and so on really don’t have anything to do for someone who’s not looking for publication. Folks who aspire to be Emily Dickenson still frequently require support, but it’s the leave-me-alone-so-I-can-write sort.

      Katya – Yes. It can also be helpful for people who are friends of writers to consider. Because if the writers or would-be writers don’t have people to do some of this stuff, they’re going to have to do it themselves, which takes time and energy away from the rest of their lives (including from writing).

  2. This is quite useful information if you are someone who is first getting started writing. It’s also interesting if, like me, you don’t ever plan on writing professionally but are curious about the people who do.

  3. Could I put in a request for a post about finding the right agent as a first time author, and/or whether self-publishing electronically is a bad idea? Any pointers you have would be much appreciated.

  4. Oops. Looks like I wasn’t clear enough.

    I think my real question is closer to Julie D.’s. I would like to break into traditional publishing, but it’s likely to be just one book, since I don’t have a bunch of stories in my head or in a drawer somewhere. Does that make a difference in finding an agent, or things like that?

    Sorry for the confusion.

    • Julie – Sure. Soon.

      nct2 – Most people start with just one book, though having one that has the potential for sequels never hurts. The agents and editors I know generally assume that if you can do it once, you can do it again. If you only ever want to write one book, and you already know that, it might be more difficult, but really, it still depends on the book you write. Also, it is not unheard of for writers to get one idea at a time – I know I keep saying that ideas are the easy part, and they are, for a lot of writers, but I do know a couple who’ve been writing and publishing for years without ever developing a backlog. In other words, it’s quite possible to work one idea or story at a time, and that’s not going to make much difference to editors or agents because they already know people like that. It won’t stop them from trying to talk you into signing up for a trilogy or series, if they think you are a “hot item” and want to get you nailed down ASAP, but you just have to say No if they do that (and anyway, you probably don’t have to worry about that until you’ve sold a book or two).

  5. Sorry for the mixup. Thanks for the response. 🙂
    I’m looking forward to your blog post for Julie.

  6. I hear the word “networking” and cringe. I’m great at broadcasting (one to many) and I love talking to people one on one, but the many-to-many of networking overwhelms me, drains me and sucks away my energy to write or do anything creative.

    Fortunately I have a great set of support systems so when I do have to network I recharge through my various friends, family and people who know to leave me alone. 😉