Have you ever worried about other writers stealing your readers? What about sneaky snatchers stealing your ideas?

What if I told you not to worry? Would you believe me?

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What's There To Steal?

Think about it, what can other writers steal from you? Ideas? Prose? Your brain? Not likely.

If someone wants to steal, they will. Do you know how many other writers won't? A lot.

We think our work is so special, a treasure to hide and protect. Do you know what I've found? The less I circle the wagons, and the more I share freely, the more books I sell.

Why Should You Open The Door?

Let's say you meet a writer names Voracio Writicus. Mr. Writicus writes books in the same genre you do. In fact, you really like his work. Oh, and he likes yours.

It turns out that Voracio has a lot of readers. What if Mr. Writicus came to you and said, “Yo, we should bundle a book each and market it to our readers.” What would you say?

You're probably wondering what the catch is. Let's assume there isn't a catch. Mr. Writicus simply wants to give his readers a taste of another writer he likes (yeah, that's you). Voracio likes to treat his readers like family, sharing often and with an open heart.

Let's assume you say yes. Congrats. Overnight your work is exposed to Voracio's email list of 10,000 readers.

He doesn't care that you only have 50 in your email list. Mr. Writicus has faith in your talent. He knows it'll pay off in the long run.

Stop Competing And Start Collaborating

I love making new friends, especially fellow writers. Why can't we do that with writing?

The moment I realized I hated working alone was the moment I reached out to other writers. The results? I've learned new writing techniques, improved my prose, found better tools, exploded my marketing, found new readers and made a living as a full-time writer.

That never would have happened if we'd hidden behind our castle walls, defending our hoards. I thank God every single day for veteran writers who opened their doors and shared. That's where I learned. Now I feel compelled to do the same. Do you?

Why do you look at writers as competition?

PRACTICE

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For the next fifteen minutes, pretend that you're hiring a writing partner and compose a Wanted Ad for the type of writer you'd like to work with. Tell us the genre, your goals, personality type, etc. Get creative 🙂

Post your practice in the comments section below and please provide feedback for your peers.

Carlos is author of the Corps Justice novels. Get the box set of Books 1-3 for FREE HERE.

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