Ideas for Networking Locally and Globally

Poet Carl Scharwath shares suggestions for building your literary network

Welcome to our weekly column offering perspectives on lit mag publishing, with contributions from readers, writers and editors all over the world. This week’s post is from poet and photographer Carl Scharwath.

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Writing can be a lonely enterprise. Like a friend who left long ago the blank page stares at you with no emotion. One day, that and many future pages were filled with your words and now you have been published multiple times. Sitting in your chair you reflect; other than your friends no one really knows you are a writer and that’s where networking opens a whole new world to you.

This new world can be local or global, however the best is a combination of both. As a local writer there are endless opportunities. Search for a local mic and spend time talking to the other poets afterwards. This can be rewarding as you might discover if there is a writing club in your hometown to join. If not here is your chance to start one and you already have the poets at the open mic who might be interested. Some other ideas are contact your library and offer a free writing class or reach out to a local high school offering the same. You will gain valuable skills in teaching your art as well as be looked upon as an expert in your town.

Going global is my favorite as you can learn about different countries, cultures and make many new loyal friends. I love Facebook as the networking Holy Grail. Sure, the food pics, cat videos, exotic vacations, and endless selfies will greet you, but I only use Facebook for my writing and art. All my friends are artists or writers and that is the first step. Build your friend base. Find other writers and a wonderful place to start is by joining a few Facebook writer Groups. Be an active participant and congratulate others on their publications and start to make additional friends. This is also a fantastic way to help the group if you have ideas.

One idea I came up with in one of my groups was a virtual monthly Zoom open Mic. Another idea is to reach out to your group founder and tell them you would like to interview other writers. I find this to be the most rewarding and have made many writer friends this way. Finally, once you are known in the group, volunteer to be a moderator which is another chance to make new friends as they join.

Ok, I have a friend list, now what? Champion your friends, offer to help them either to get published or volunteer to read the book they might be working on. When you are published, share your success and let your friends know the publication is a suitable place to submit to.

I like to ask a new writer if I could mentor them and was never told no. There is such an amazing satisfaction you get when you help another, and I prefer helping outside of the USA.

Collaborate, collaborate and this is my absolute favorite. Remember when I said writing can be lonely? Not anymore as you have another artist with you creating as one. Since I am a photographer, I would post some photos to my homepage or a group and started to get messages asking, “Can I write a poem to your photograph?”

Let me tell you the first time that happened I was filled with joy and the honor that I inspired another artist to create. I would then submit as an Ekphrastic art piece and of course we both got a publishing credit. I have many helped poets get their first publishing credits by doing this. My greatest achievement is my photography is on six other published poets’ books as their cover art and this would never have happened unless they saw my photography on Facebook.

I know most of you are not photographers, but writers can collaborate on a poem together, or one makes a video of the other’s poem or do a recorded video where each of you reads the other’s poems.

Some final ways to collaborate, but still be a small part of another poet’s work, is offer to write a review or even a book blurb which just might end up on your friend’s back cover.

Take the macro view of your craft and volunteer to be an editor. Being on the other side of the submission process is a great learning opportunity and a way to see and read more from others.

You can always volunteer as a reader if you prefer this over the commitment to editing a publication. I always send a Facebook friend request to the editor and thank them whether you are published or not. Having editors as friends is a goldmine as they can see your successes and might just reach out to you for a future submission.

In closing, I would like to address an old cliché that guides me. “The answer is always no if you never ask.”

So, send those poems out, click that friend request button, ask someone if they need help and never stop believing in them or yourself. I wish you well in your artistic journeys.

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Carl Scharwath, has appeared globally with 175+ journals selecting his writing or art. Carl has published three poetry books and his latest book “Playground of Destiny” features poetry, short stories and photography (Impspired Press) His two photography books were published by Praxis in Africa. His photography was also exhibited in the Mount Dora Center for The Arts gallery and The Leesburg Center for The Arts. Six global poets have also selected his photography to grace the covers of their published books. Carl was the art editor for Minute Magazine (4 years,) is a contributing editor for ILA Magazine and was nominated for The Best of the Net Award (2021) by Penumbric Magazine and was a finalist for the Mary Cassatt award for photography.  He is also a competitive runner, and a  2nd degree black- belt in Taekwondo.