Finding Your Niche

I know the title suggests I am going to talk about marketing or finding the unique way your book fits into a store or already established genre. At some time in the near future I will discuss that. Right now I want to focus on the author instead of the work though.

Almost a year and a half ago I took part in a signing in Mesquite, NV. Shortly after the event a Facebook group was formed to help bring independent authors, like myself, together in the greater Las Vegas area. It was a small group. We had monthly coffees and would share ideas. As time went on we began to grow. More local authors heard about the group and joined in. There were no specific rules other than being from the area and being related to the writing business. We would share our cover reveals and the group could boost visibility. We could ask advice. We even talked about doing something for charity.

That charity discussion gave birth to what is now the For The Love Of Books event held in February leading up to Nevada Reading Week. It was co-founded by myself and another author in our group Victoria Kaer. One of the founding members of the Indies in Las Vegas group showed with us at the inaugural charity signing. Since then she has fallen off the map. It is near impossible to reach her and many other members of the Indies group. We became so large, we fractioned.

Sometimes in the professional world, much like the high school personal world, you can find yourself without a group. Try as you might, it is possible you will never fit in and feel isolated. I went through that in high school. As I got older though, I learned. First I came to understand it is not a shortfall to not fit in with a specific group. It just means there is something I am better suited for. The others are different from me not better or worse. Second, it is possible to establish a group of your own instead of trying to make another one work.

In life, professional and personal, it is important to have support. It is impossible for someone to support you if they don't know who you are, however. It is even more difficult for others to know you if you do not know yourself. Do not try to become someone you are not to be accepted. Be who you are and find those willing to stand with you anyway. That is your group. If they are not currently a group, bring them together. You would be surprised by the things you can accomplish when surrounded by those like yourself. It isn;t all about finding a way to be a part of something. It is about proving you are something to be a part of.