Reliance On The Internet May Not Be The Right Choice

We all love our computers. We love the connections we make through the Internet and social media. It's awesome. We don't have to spend countless hours as well as our hard-earned money putting together those submission packets to send out to editors and agents. Heck, we don't even need to attend conferences any more. We can get everything from the Internet and do it all from our homes sitting in our bunny slippers.

Ummm, not so fast there! While this image if kicking back with our laptop, drinking coffee and getting all of the information out there sounds great, we might not be getting everything we thought we were.

We have to remember, the power of the computer and the Internet is only as good as the person working on it. If you are not a computer genius, able to sort through all of Internet and information traveling at warp speed, the odds are you are not going to be as "in the know" as you thought you were. There's simply a lot of information out there that doesn't make it to the Internet, and, if and when it does, the opportunity may be lost.

I would also add that, although taking courses, and getting your information sounds appealing, you are also missing out on that human interaction with other authors, and yes, the editors and agents. Attending those conferences in a face-to-face setting is going to offer you so many more chances to learn and grow as an author. These settings will also provide for you opportunities that simply are not there on the Internet.

For example, can you casually be sitting next to an editor during lunch and discuss a book, which turns into an impromptu pitch session, but do this from your house? Nope.

Can you be sitting at home and "over-hear" editors or agents answering questions during a pitch session? You might IF you happen to be in that chat room at that exact time. But you still might not be getting everything.

This is not to say that gaining information and networking through the Internet is a bad thing. But you might want to consider attending those conferences, working with your local writing group and seeing people. You know, they might even say it is OK to wear your bunny slippers if that makes you comfortable!