Helpful Community is Amazing

Hello. Today, I want to build on E. Scott Clevenger’s post on community. He hasn’t started his blog series yet. I think he’s waiting for comments and questions to see what interests people have.

Now, yesterday I learned how supportive the writer community can be. I ran into trouble on social media because of automated moderation. It appears that one comment where I tagged someone – in a post that asked readers to tag their friends – was marked as spam. I immediately had my account suspended. I responded as soon as the message popped up informing me. Within three minutes, my account was restored. This tells me that the moderation algorithm may have been checking to see if I was a bot. However, when I went to post about it on a connected social media site, I discovered I was banned from posting and commenting for three days. I can like and repost, but I cannot post words or photos.

While I hope that part of my story helps others, it’s not the reason I’m writing today. It’s the community that came together to help me that is really on my mind.

I was frazzled and frustrated. I couldn’t think clearly. I created a group of people I know I have interacted with on a regular basis. I sent them a message telling them what happened. They came together and got the word out about what happened. They even posted about my book series that is on sale on SmashWords right now.

So, if you have questions or problems, please don’t hesitate to ask for help from fellow authors. Please be upfront and straightforward. I know some of us worry when we get cryptic , subtle messages. Tell us what you need. Just saying hello and asking how we are feels like a marketing person. Coming to us with a request as you cry or scream warrants being direct about you needs. We can feel those emotions in your words. Most indie authors I know, as well as several traditionally published authors, love to help other authors. We’re all in this together. It’s much easier with a support system.

Until next time, keep reading, writing, and helping each other.