Make writing contacts

Making contact with fellow writers is essential to your growth and development. Non-writer friends can often give valuable and sincere responses to your work, but "colleague" feedback is vital. Sign up for workshops at book festivals. Join or start a writer´s group. Search writing message boards online and initiate correspondence with posters you might click with. Whatever you choose, keep in mind that you can never have too many writer friends and contacts. Even in a small town like I grew up in, literary communities tend to satellite larger ones in cities. Word of mouth and chains of contacts might put you in front of someone who can give your career a real push.