Writers, for the most part, need to have a good head for business. Many writers who quit their jobs to write full time only consider how to deal with the actual writing and how to plan out their book or receive freelance writing jobs. But the deeper truth is that you have started a business and you need to treat your writing job as a proper business. This includes knowing how to deal with clients successfully and handle different projects with ease. Building business relationships is part of this and can make your work easier and more profitable in the long run. Below are 5 reasons why writers need to create more business relationships.

1. Building trust

Building trust with people is important for authors and writers. If you are a budding author (or for that matter, even a very successful one), you still need the services of editors and publishers. These are the people who will have your back in a pinch, encourage you to do your best work, point out the problems with your writing and help you sell your book ultimately. Without the goodwill and trust of these people, you will not go far in your business as an author. The fact is that it is not just them you need to get to trust you, but you also need trustworthy people to whom you feel comfortable handing over your work for appraisal.

2. Non-advertised projects

When you have a regular and long-term relationship with clients, they will know whom to approach the minute a fresh project crops up. You are more likely to get different projects from such clients than you are applying for new projects from job portals or by answering to advertisements. There is the very high possibility that a client who has reason to trust you will not hesitate to bombard you with new projects. You might even be able to broaden your horizons with such clients who will prefer to hire you to do something different rather than entrusting the work to a new person. By building business relationships, you stand to gain a lot in terms of non-advertised projects.

3. Be connected

Writers are essentially hermits who want to be mostly left alone to fulfill their passions. But the fact remains that writers too need the same connectivity that other people do in order to just feel connected with the rest of the writing world. When interacting with other authors and people who work in the industry, you get to know and understand a lot of things, including the problems and challenges faced by writers, job prospects, pricing patterns, etc., that are important for a writer in order to survive the competition. In the long run, it is also nice to have people to talk to who know the exact problems you face even if a solution is not forthcoming. A writer’s life is not exactly understood by one’s friends and acquaintances, after all.

4. Honing your skills

Developing business relationships with the people in your industry can help you hone your skills and develop new ones. When you begin to create relationships and talk to people, there is every chance you will at some point exchange competencies and learn from each other. Alternatively, joining workshops, going to events and attending conferences will assist you in building relationships with a large number of people in the writing and publishing industry. Chances are that you might receive fresh projects. This helps you from getting into a rut as a writer and will keep you developing your skills in view of the market out there.

5. Readers are important

The most important relationships an author builds are with his or her readers. Ultimately, these are the people who will read your labor of love, evaluate and assess, put money in your pocket, and in general, make it worth your while to do all the hard work you have put in your book. Once you become accessible to your readers, many of them will go out of their way to help you by mentioning your book to their friends, introduce you to people who can help promote your work and get you assignments to speak about your work and your aspirations as a writer. Cultivating your readers is as much of a business strategy as anything else you can do.

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[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/IMG_20141217_101736441.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Kavitha is a freelance content writer and French translator, and has been working in this field since 2008. She has degrees in computer applications and international business and has a background in business and international trade. She enjoys learning languages and is currently learning Japanese. Her interests vary from books and writing to travelling and history.[/author_info] [/author]