Tag Archives: claudia gryvatz copquin

by

7 Things I Learned About Networking

No writer is an island. Especially nowadays, when novelists are expected to be their own marketers, and the very nature of blogging and online publishing invites comments and conversations. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, networking was a consistent theme among the professional writers speaking at the Hofstra University Career Mixer for English Majors/Minors this week. Today’s guest blog post is written by author and fellow Long Islander Claudia Gryvatz Copquin, who offers 7 critical tips on growing your professional circles of friends, followers and colleagues.

Although I’ve been a freelance journalist for almost two decades and have written many business features during the course of my career, I knew very little about the true meaning of networking before I was hired to co-write Fast Track Networking: Turning Conversations into Contacts (Career Press, 2010). But thanks to the book’s brilliant main author, business guru Lucy Rosen, who founded the national networking group, Women on the Fast Track, I learned during the writing process that networking is all about sharing – sharing contacts and connections, with no ulterior motives. The idea behind this kind of unconditional networking is that by giving of yourself, you are creating and building positive relationships with others. Ultimately, relationships are what networking is all about.  Here are seven things I learned:

1.      Share your contacts with others. By sharing, you are helping others achieve their goals, but don’t expect one hand to wash the other. Eventually, there will be a cosmic reward for your generosity. But even if there is no payback, you will feel good about giving to others.

2.      When putting #1 into practice, you are entitled to, and should, discriminate. That means that if you are giving X the name of your valued supplier, Y, make sure you know that X is a professional and trustworthy person. Remember that networking is about building solid relationships, so get to know X before you provide him with any of your excellent contacts. That will ensure a positive connection for all parties involved.

3.      Attend networking events to expand your circle of connections. A networking event can mean a large, organized function where people are expected to meet and exchange business cards, or it can mean a small, informal gathering at a restaurant.  The point is, wherever you go, connect with others. Approach strangers, and introduce yourself. You never know where you might make a great new contact.

4.      Listen. When meeting people, don’t do most of the talking. Instead, ask questions and listen.   Only by active listening can you find out how you can help others.

5.      Follow through. If you promise someone you’ll share a connection, take the time to do it. (Do it quickly, so you don’t forget!) You will then be known as the type of individual who can be relied upon.

6.      Don’t neglect social networking, such as Facebook and Twitter. These are important communication tools and offer great opportunities to help others. Don’t lurk – be an active participant. Offer comments, advice, leads and contacts whenever possible.

7.      Say thank you. Remember to thank your contacts for sharing and giving of themselves, and do so at every opportunity. Everyone appreciates acknowledgement and gratitude.

In a career spanning two decades, award-winning journalist, editor and author Claudia Gryvatz Copquin has been published in The New York Times, Newsday, The Los Angeles Times, Crain’s New York Business and a slew of other magazines and newspapers across the country.  A bridal editor for ten years, she is also the founder of Long Island’s only bridal blog, www.GettingMarriedonLongIsland.com.

by

What?! I’m a Literary Snob?

Even though my local Borders only had one copy of Good Girls Don’t Get Fat – and it was lurking somewhere in the “back” unable to be found by the store employee (would they treat Dr. Oz this way?) — I ended up leaving the store a happy camper having stumbled upon a terrific sale: Buy One Already Heavily Discounted Book & Get One Free. Yippee! Two books for only four bucks!

One of the books, Invictus, I figured I’d read before seeing the film, and the other was a chick-lit-type book that I imagined I’d hand over to my friend Viki after I was done.

Well, yesterday I decided to take a break from not reading Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol and started the chick lit book.

I didn’t get to the end of the first page, and I had already scribbled notes all over a Post-It. (I used to scribble all kinds of things in my books as I read them, but have since learned that if this book is ever going to have a life beyond my shelves, nobody — friends, family, flea market shoppers — cares what I think.) This is what I wrote:

  1. What?! This book opens with an alarm clock ringing? Isn’t that How Not to Start a Novel 101?
  2. I’ve already counted 5 adverbs, and I’m only on page 5, and the book starts on page 5.

OMG, I exclaimed in my head, so as not to alarm my kids, I’m a literary snob!

Wait a minute, I thought. Clearly, if you take a look at my bookshelves, I most certainly am not. There is an eclectic — if not bizarre — assortment of reading material to be found: Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Stephen King’s On Writing, David Baldacci’s Split Second, Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and Fast Track Networking by Lucy Rosen (with Claudia Gryvatz Copquin, of course), just to name a few.

Then what am I? Somewhere in the middle, between the National Enquirer and War and Peace, which is where I imagine most people are. I’m a gal who can appreciate a beautiful description, but doesn’t want to require oxygen in the middle of a sentence or consult a thesaurus on every other page.

The problem is, of course, that I’m a writer. And when you’re a writer — as my book clubmates know — it’s very difficult to enjoy a book just as a book. You judge that book by what’s outside its cover — by what you’re writing, what you haven’t gotten published, what you have gotten published, what you’re writing professors have told you. I imagine it’s like being a filmmaker. I mean, is it ever possible for those people to really enjoy a film again? Aren’t they constantly looking at the lighting, the acting, the staging?

Truth be told, the adverb thing doesn’t really bother me, as I explained in my blog post, In Defense of Adverbs, although unnecessary or poorly chosen adverbs are cumbersome and tend to stop me in my tracks, making me lament what could have been a stronger verb. I think I’m just all caught up in waiting mode, having finished Baby Grand and being anxious to see what happens. Once I gave myself a good talking-to, telling myself “so what” if this novel reads more like a blog post, maybe that’s the point — Lord knows, I go adverb-happy in this blog — I was finally able to sit back and enjoy the book, which I’m now halfway through.