February 20, 2025

Geeking out and moral support- why community matters

If you’re embarking on an adventure to live your dream, you need to find your people. Friends and spouses don’t always get the things we’re passionate about (and the Amazon guy was uninterested in hearing my latest plot twist). 

Thanks to the internet you can find a community for whatever interests you. Here’s why that’s important: 

They geek out over the same things you do.  Most people don’t notice the tiny images that go with chapter headings. If they do, they acknowledge their existence and move on with life like normal humans. Last night my writing group talked about the subject for an hour. (I’m getting a cone of gelato for the chapter headings in Better Than Gelato!) Hanging out in a community fuels your excitement for your dream and spares your friends and family a lot of boring (for them) conversations. 

They know more than you. If you’re a newcomer, you likely have a mountain of questions. When it came to marketing my book I felt like a toddler tasked with launching a rocket. I literally had no idea what to do. My new author friends know so much stuff I don’t and I would be lost without them. 

They can support you in a way others can’t. Even well-meaning friends may not know how to help, but people who share your passion can troubleshoot problems and talk you off a ledge. One of my author friends received a terrible review that wasn’t for her book. In minutes the group sprang into action, tracking down the reviewer, letting them know they’d posted their review to the wrong book, and getting it taken down. It was amazing!   

Find your people. Geek out together. Learn from them. And lean on them during hard times. For more on handling hard times, check out my email next week. 

Keep turning pages, 

Libby