Networking for Authors by Wendy H. Jones

London Book Fair 2017

It's been a frenetic week for me as an author and it will continue to be busy for another four days at least. In less than two weeks I will have been at two conferences and the London Book Fair. The conferences are

• Association of Christian Writers 
• Scottish Association of Writers

I was fortunate to be on a panel at the ACW Conference and will be running a workshop at the SAW Conference.

Attending conferences is a major part of an author's life and includes networking with other authors and industry experts. For the purposes of this post I will concentrate on The London Book Fair. 

This is a yearly event which takes place in March/April each year in Olympia, London. There are stands run by industry experts such as agents, publishers, booksellers and marketing services. This was my first time at LBF and it can be overwhelming. On first walking through the door you are faed with a vast hall packed with representatives from organisations both national and international. An unsuspecting author might wonder how they can possibly make sense out of this, far less network and meet the right people.

Here are my top tips for making sense of LBF and getting the most from your visit

1. Use the LBF App. This is your one stop shop for all things LBF related
2. Decide in advance who you would like to chat with and arrange a meeting with them
3. Decide which presentations you would like to attend. Get these in your calendar
4. Chat to everyone you meet. Find out why they are at LBF. This is not so you can pitch them whilst they are eating their lunch, but out of genuine interest. 
5. Take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself.
6. Arrange to meet up with people you have only met virtually. 
7. Make the most of it but don't exhaust yourself.
8. Remember to take your business cards. Yep, your right, I forgot mine. 
9. Enjoy yourself. It's not all about work, it's also fun.
10. Find author HQ and writers block early on. 
11. Make the most of the seminars. These are chock full of useful information. 

I hope you've enjoyed this wee trip to LBF. Seriously, as a writer I found it invaluable. Take a look at next year and get it in your diary.

About the Author

Website

Amazon Author Page

Wendy H. Jones is the author of the best selling DI Shona McKenzie Mystery series of crime novels set in Dundee. Killer's Crew, the fifth booking the series was released in November, 2016. Dagger's Curse, the first book in her Fergus and Flora, Young Adult Mystery series was released on 10th September, 2016.  She also has one non fiction book, Power Packed Book Marketing: Sell More Books.