Oh wow. I'm so sorry you've been dealing with such out of the blue rough news. I may only know you online, but I've seen how strategically smart and creatively clever you are. That will continue to serve you well, and we're here for you!
Erin, I'm so sorry. I think I speak for all of your internet buddies when I say that we are sitting with you in this moment. Thank you, as always, for your candidness and transparency about this business. I don't know where I'd be without my friends. Well, that's a lie. I know where I'd be, and I wouldn't be writing stories there.
Hey Erin! You're absolutely right, writer friends are the best!! I'm sorry you got some bad news, and I'm sending all the good vibes for processing and next steps (whatever they may be). 💜💚💜
Sending you lots of hugs. It’s so important to have good, trusted writer friends and you are lucky to have some! I’m hoping to find my own community again, fingers crossed. Bad news is hard and lonely without one, that’s for sure! ❤️
Lonely is exactly the word. We are alone at our computer for so much of this career, and if we don't have writer friends to lean on it is so terribly lonely.
So grateful to have a friend in you, Julie. And I hope you know you can lean on me if/when you need it! <3
I’m sorry things took a bad turn for you. That sucks, and it’s always a blow to the creative spirit.
I never think to tell other writers about the importance of finding writer friends you can lean on and in turn let them lean on you. I’ve been fortunate to have those kinds of friends for more than two decades now. My wife Sheri and I met them all through James River Writers here in Richmond. We moved here in 1998, but it wasn’t until we met them years later that this place really became our home. My best friends Phil Hilliker and Katharine Herndon have had my back during the bad, the good, and the worst. Those two and Sheri (who also writes) have kept me going, and they’re part of what pushed me to take the indie route to release the books I love but failed to find a home on the traditional route. We get together at least once a month to share and vent. There’s a slightly larger group we go to writer retreats with at least twice a year to a place called the Porches. Sheri and I are going with them later this month, and I can’t wait.
Hang in there, Erin. You are a great writer, and you can count on us believing in your talent for many years to come.
Thank you for these kinda words, Bill. And I appreciate you sharing about your own writer friendships. It's so important for us writers to have friends who GET it.
I’m so sorry Erin :( I too recently received Bad News and having writer friends to call, text, and meet with helped so so much. I’m bummed you got that news at all, but if you had to get it, I’m glad that you got it while still on the retreat! A small blessing, in a weird way. Thank goodness for the friends. Big hugs to you
I'm sorry for your less than stellar news. Thank goodness we both have friends to lean on! Here's hoping there's some good news in our near futures. (I did get a bit of good news alongside my bad the other day, so now that the sting and shock of the bad is wearing off, I'm focusing on the good!)
Yay for the good news! I’m sitting with the thought that this seemingly bad news might possibly be better for me in the long run… I just have to get there, and I will. Ups and downs! 🎢
Thank you for sharing with us, Erin. I'm sorry to hear about the publishing news. You're right that publishing comes with many challenges. I appreciate that you share with us. I hope you know that from what I can see here, you're stellar and your writing is too.
I’ve found some incredible writer friends through Maggie Stiefvater’s in-person writing retreats. Some of us live close enough to have weekend get-togethers, but the rest of us stay connected online. And I have a few local writer besties as well.
Oh Erin, I'm so sorry about whatever happened. Thank you for always sharing your struggles. Believe it or not, it helps the rest of us to know that others have struggles too. Happy that you have a strong support system of writer friends. And please know that your online followers are rooting for you!
I’m so sorry about this bad news. So true about writer friends—this illustrates it well. We need friends who understand all the things you mentioned, all the vagaries and unfairness and opaqueness of publishing.
Thank you for your email. I'm so sorry that you've received difficult news. On the subject of writer friends, I actually subscribe to Jodi Meadows' and Susan Dennard's newsletters as well. Partly because you are all excellent writers who offer great tips, but partly because I could see through comments and notes how supportive you are of one another. I try to do the same for my own writer friends in the writing group I belong to. Take care.
After I got laid off from my full-time writing job, I had some writer and reporter friends to lean on. They were a big help in the aftermath. I hope your out-of-the-blue bad news is recoverable and ends well.
Oh wow. I'm so sorry you've been dealing with such out of the blue rough news. I may only know you online, but I've seen how strategically smart and creatively clever you are. That will continue to serve you well, and we're here for you!
Oh, thank you for this incredible kind and uplifting comment, Sarah. It has lifted my spirits some :)
I was glad to be there for you, Erin. And hugs, always. <3
💗💗💗
Erin, I'm so sorry. I think I speak for all of your internet buddies when I say that we are sitting with you in this moment. Thank you, as always, for your candidness and transparency about this business. I don't know where I'd be without my friends. Well, that's a lie. I know where I'd be, and I wouldn't be writing stories there.
Ha, the last line of this comment made me laugh. Thank you for the kind words, Rachel!
Hey Erin! You're absolutely right, writer friends are the best!! I'm sorry you got some bad news, and I'm sending all the good vibes for processing and next steps (whatever they may be). 💜💚💜
Thank you, I appreciate that Rachel.
Sending you lots of hugs. It’s so important to have good, trusted writer friends and you are lucky to have some! I’m hoping to find my own community again, fingers crossed. Bad news is hard and lonely without one, that’s for sure! ❤️
Lonely is exactly the word. We are alone at our computer for so much of this career, and if we don't have writer friends to lean on it is so terribly lonely.
So grateful to have a friend in you, Julie. And I hope you know you can lean on me if/when you need it! <3
I’m sorry things took a bad turn for you. That sucks, and it’s always a blow to the creative spirit.
I never think to tell other writers about the importance of finding writer friends you can lean on and in turn let them lean on you. I’ve been fortunate to have those kinds of friends for more than two decades now. My wife Sheri and I met them all through James River Writers here in Richmond. We moved here in 1998, but it wasn’t until we met them years later that this place really became our home. My best friends Phil Hilliker and Katharine Herndon have had my back during the bad, the good, and the worst. Those two and Sheri (who also writes) have kept me going, and they’re part of what pushed me to take the indie route to release the books I love but failed to find a home on the traditional route. We get together at least once a month to share and vent. There’s a slightly larger group we go to writer retreats with at least twice a year to a place called the Porches. Sheri and I are going with them later this month, and I can’t wait.
Hang in there, Erin. You are a great writer, and you can count on us believing in your talent for many years to come.
Thank you for these kinda words, Bill. And I appreciate you sharing about your own writer friendships. It's so important for us writers to have friends who GET it.
I’m so sorry Erin :( I too recently received Bad News and having writer friends to call, text, and meet with helped so so much. I’m bummed you got that news at all, but if you had to get it, I’m glad that you got it while still on the retreat! A small blessing, in a weird way. Thank goodness for the friends. Big hugs to you
I'm sorry for your less than stellar news. Thank goodness we both have friends to lean on! Here's hoping there's some good news in our near futures. (I did get a bit of good news alongside my bad the other day, so now that the sting and shock of the bad is wearing off, I'm focusing on the good!)
Yay for the good news! I’m sitting with the thought that this seemingly bad news might possibly be better for me in the long run… I just have to get there, and I will. Ups and downs! 🎢
I get that. Sometimes it really is good, later down the line. I don't believe in fate, but I do like the concept of things happening for a reason...
Thank you for sharing with us, Erin. I'm sorry to hear about the publishing news. You're right that publishing comes with many challenges. I appreciate that you share with us. I hope you know that from what I can see here, you're stellar and your writing is too.
I’ve found some incredible writer friends through Maggie Stiefvater’s in-person writing retreats. Some of us live close enough to have weekend get-togethers, but the rest of us stay connected online. And I have a few local writer besties as well.
Also, so so sorry about your tough news.
Oh Erin, I'm so sorry about whatever happened. Thank you for always sharing your struggles. Believe it or not, it helps the rest of us to know that others have struggles too. Happy that you have a strong support system of writer friends. And please know that your online followers are rooting for you!
All the love, Erin.
Thanks, friend. 💗
I’m so sorry about this bad news. So true about writer friends—this illustrates it well. We need friends who understand all the things you mentioned, all the vagaries and unfairness and opaqueness of publishing.
Thanks, Sarah. If I bump into you at Gibsons again, I'll share the details. SUCH bonkers out of the blue, unexpected news. Gah.
Ok, good, and ugh, I’m sorry.
When I don’t have an author friend to comfort me, I check my inspiration journal.
Often I’ll see advice like this: create a community of like-minded authors and send fan letters
to boost others. We are in your corner Erin!
Thank you for your email. I'm so sorry that you've received difficult news. On the subject of writer friends, I actually subscribe to Jodi Meadows' and Susan Dennard's newsletters as well. Partly because you are all excellent writers who offer great tips, but partly because I could see through comments and notes how supportive you are of one another. I try to do the same for my own writer friends in the writing group I belong to. Take care.
After I got laid off from my full-time writing job, I had some writer and reporter friends to lean on. They were a big help in the aftermath. I hope your out-of-the-blue bad news is recoverable and ends well.