Writing can be a lonely old pastime, spending hours and hours with your characters, who are great (of course they are, you created them!), but not, of course, real people. One of the things I’ve learnt as both author and editor, is that writing friends are invaluable. 

Before I was published, I met lots of other unpublished authors on a variety of courses, including the Curtis Brown Creative Edit and Pitch your Novel course, and the Writing a Romance course with Jenny Colgan. I’ve also met lots of other writers through RNA Learning courses – and the support and cheerleading is incredible. And so, we’ve kept in touch, by email, through Discord and on social media. What makes it even more wonderful is that we all have the same dream, and as time has gone by, many of us have made it and we’ve turned into the most wonderful cheerleaders for one another.

One of the benefits of writer friends is not only the support you get from one another when dealing with rejection, writer’s block and any number of tough times encountered as a writer, but within my writing friends circles, we now have a shared knowledge. As we learn things, we share it. When people spot opportunities, they send them through Discord or tag each other on social media. They comment on and like everything on social media, so it’s like you have your own personal publicity team. The benefits of writer friends are endless!

There’s no real competition in the writing world – at least that’s what I’ve found. There’s always room for another book. So, what I’ve discovered, is that while it sometimes stings to see other’s success as you open another rejection email, that ultimately, we cheer each other on relentlessly. And although many (if not all!) of my writer friends are out there somewhere in the social media matrix, I know that they will be friends for life, having gone through and as we continue to go through the same wonderful writer’s journey.

If you want to broaden your writing circles:

• Make connections on social media. I’ve found Twitter is best for UK romance writers; Instagram is growing for me in this area and I’m currently trying to navigate TikTok (although this feels more international for me at the moment)
• Take part in writing classes and courses, and make a conscious effort to keep in touch with writers who you click with – especially those who write in a similar genre to you
• Offer to beta read for other authors. This kind of working relationship can help improve your writing and save you money!