How Big of a Village?
We have all heard it before, it takes a village to raise a child. What about everything else in life? I have learned over the last year that a village is needed to accomplish almost everything. When I began the process of publishing my books I quickly realized I couldn’t do it alone. There would be people I’d need to hire, contacts I needed to make, and friends and family members to support my insane ideas. Without the people around me I never would have made it this far. The problem can be finding the right people.
The amount of people we have in our lives varies greatly. I remember being in my twenties and having more friends then I could imagine. Someone was always calling to catch up, or asking to get together. Now I have reached a point in my life were I could count on one hand the amount of true friends I have. The idea of quality rather then quantity has become a mantra for me. When picking the people for my inner circle it’s important that I pick people who aren’t just carbon copies of me. The same goes when pulling together a team to help me publish.
Having beta readers, and ARC readers from different walks of life provides me insight about things I may have never considered. Add to it the amazing community I have on social media and I’m learning new things every day.
Support in all walks of life…
So I mentioned friendship and of course my publishing experiences but what about all the other stuff? A desire to try something new… a job change… or struggles fitting in? If the pandemic has taught me anything its taught me that we need people in our lives. Coming from a introvert, that is saying a lot. Now, I’m not saying alone time isn’t valuable because it is, but what I am saying is the world is a much easier place if you have a village behind you.
I have worked in jobs throughout my life were my sole purpose was to get a paycheck and it wasn’t rewarding at all. Now I’m doing something I love but I have other struggles I am facing. It’s my best friend at work who helps me through that. When the kids are driving me batty it’s my husband who is my sounding board and when I can’t seem to make it through the day without crying I text a good friend and we fantasize about running away to a island somewhere.
As adults we need to identify the people in our lives who support us, as well as those who can provide value due to our differences. As the book community has been facing scrutiny over authors complaining about bad reviews, readers being triggered by books, and miscommunication or insensitive writing styles it’s helpful o remember that we are all humans. We all mess up, and at times we need help from our village to get back on track.
Happy Reading.
-Nikki Rome