A simple practice to grow your network
Picture this: You're at a publishing conference, armed with business cards and a networking strategy that involves talking to as any people as possible. By day's end, you've collected 47 contacts and feel exhausted.
Meanwhile, the author at the coffee station had three meaningful conversations and walked away with a podcast invitation, a potential collaboration, and a new mentor.
Guess which approach builds a sustainable author career?
Prompt” An image of a room filling up with more and more happy, helpful, professional adults of all different ages and professions, digital minimal (ImageFX)
The Connection Paradox: Less Really Is More
Your network success has nothing to do with how many people you know and everything to do with how strategically you nurture the right relationships. Studies consistently show that 25-150 meaningful connections outperform thousands of random followers every time.
The authors thriving in today's market aren't necessarily the most talented writers—they're the ones who understand that publishing is fundamentally a relationship business. Books connect authors to readers, but people connect authors to opportunities.
Meet Your New Secret Weapon: The Connection Spreadsheet
Before you roll your eyes at another "system," consider this: The most successful authors treat their networks like editors treat manuscripts—with careful attention, strategic organization, and consistent maintenance. The Connection Spreadsheet isn't busywork; it's your strategic command center for relationship building.
Think of it as your publishing GPS. You wouldn't drive cross-country without navigation, so why navigate your author career without a relationship map?
The Players in Your Publishing Game
Smart networking starts with understanding the different roles people play in your author ecosystem:
Mentors are your publishing wise ones—experienced voices who help you avoid rookie mistakes and make strategic decisions. They've walked the path you're on and can point out both shortcuts and pitfalls.
Promoters are your natural champions (and no, they don't need massive Instagram followings). These are people who genuinely believe in your work and mention your books in conversations, recommend you for opportunities, and share your content because they want to, not because you asked.
Peers are fellow authors working toward similar goals. These relationships often become your most valuable long-term connections because they understand the unique psychology of the author journey—the doubt, the breakthroughs, the weird relationship with rejection letters.
Connectors are relationship gold mines. They know someone who knows someone, and they love making introductions. Cultivate these relationships carefully—they're your bridges to opportunities you couldn't reach alone.
Gatekeepers control access to what you want—agents, podcast hosts, event organizers, media contacts. The key isn't bypassing them but building genuine relationships that make them want to open doors for you.
The Closeness Strategy: Quality Beats Quantity Every Time
Mapping Your Connections Network
Here's where most authors mess up: they treat all connections the same. Competent authors use a strategic closeness scale:
Level 1-2: Your inner circle and regular contacts. These people know your real goals, challenges, and wins. Invest the most time here.
Level 3: Trusted professional connections who would take your call and respond to emails. Maintain consistent but not overwhelming contact.
Level 4-5: Developing relationships and future connections. Lower maintenance but still strategic.
Pro tip: If someone triggers your gut-check alarm—energy vampires, trust breakers, people who make you feel smaller—remove them from your list. Strategic value never trumps personal well-being.
The Smart Author's Networking Playbook
Track Like a Pro (Without Being Creepy)
The spreadsheet includes clever features like AI chat links—think of it as having a research assistant with perfect memory. Create connection profiles in ChatGPT or Claude by feeding them LinkedIn information, meeting notes, and other relevant details. When you need to reconnect with someone after six months, you'll remember they just launched a podcast or their kid started college.
Master the Contact Rhythm
The "next contact" system prevents relationship neglect without turning you into a networking pest. Some connections need monthly check-ins; others thrive with quarterly updates. The key is consistency over intensity—showing up regularly beats grand gestures.
Be Genuinely Useful (Not Transactional)
The most connected authors approach networking with a "how can I help" mindset rather than "what can I get." Share opportunities that might interest your connections. Make introductions when it makes sense. Celebrate their wins with genuine enthusiasm.
This shift from taking to giving transforms everything. When you consistently add value to people's lives, they naturally think of you when opportunities arise.
Your Network Success Formula
Begin with a focus on 10-15 people who matter most to your author journey right now. Deepen those relationships before expanding your list. Quality beats quantity in network building, and depth creates more value than breadth.
The magic happens when you remember that your network extends beyond your direct connections. Each person in your author ecosystem has their own web of relationships. When you serve your closest connections well, they become natural bridges to readers and opportunities you could never reach through cold outreach.
The Long Game: Where This Pays Off
Maintain this system consistently, and prepare to be surprised where your author career lands in twelve months, not through networking manipulation, but through genuine investment in relationships that matter to your publishing journey.
The authors who master this approach find opportunities seeking them out—book recommendations flowing from genuine relationships, speaking invitations appearing through connections, collaboration possibilities emerging organically from trust built over time.
Your connection spreadsheet ensures none of those essential relationships slip through the cracks while you're busy writing your next book. Because in the end, your network becomes your net worth—not just financially, but in opportunities, collaborations, and the meaningful connections that make the author journey worthwhile.
Ready to build your strategic author network? Grab the Connection Spreadsheet template and start nurturing relationships that move your publishing career forward.
Recommended Reading
Rich Relationships by Selena Soo
