I've been struggling not to add my take to the pile of takes today, but I can't resist, so here we go! A thread on some of the many ways my fellow writers have helped me immeasurably in my journey as an author!

* Feedback - A great CP/beta reader is worth their weight in gold

* Commiseration - No one understands your woes quite like a writer at the same stage in the process

* Resource sharing - Every great must-have writer resource I've used, I learned about from other writers

* Knowledge - You can learn so much craft stuff from fellow writers

* Is This Normal? - Publishing can be so weird and obfuscated, and fellow writers can help draw back the curtain by comparing experiences

* Moral Support - No one cheers you on as effectively as a fellow writer who really Gets It

* Friendship - Writers are awesome people and fun to talk to

* Networking - I've gotten stuff like panel & anthology opportunities through writer friends, for example

* Reccing each other's books - What's better than loving a book and also being buds with the author?!

I could go on, but I really need to be working. Suffice to say that seriously, having a supporting community of writer friends is SUCH A HUGE ADVANTAGE...socially, for your mental health, but also from a cynical business perspective.

The writing ecosystem isn't fundamentally a competitive one. Like...I can assure you that if buying one book stopped me from buying another book, I would have A LOT more room on my shelves.

I genuinely love doing what I can to lift up fellow writers and reveling in their successes. Recently I got to see a querying writer who followed my craft threads get an agent (MY agent!!!) and a book deal, and it was SUCH A HIGH seeing her achieve that through all her hard work!

I have writer friends who debuted the same time I did (or after!) and are now wildly more successful than me. Am I kinda jealous? Sure! Am I also genuinely thrilled for them and do I squee and jump up and down when I hear about their awards and TV deals and such? ALSO YES