A year ago when I sat down to make my goals for 2018, I chose a word for the year: connect. I wanted to connect to the writing community in better ways than I had before, and I wanted to set myself up to connect with the publishing world.
I started by signing up for conferences, then signing up for contests, then exchanging manuscripts with other writers. One of my biggest steps was joining a critique group. I was so scared to make that jump, to commit all that time, and to give my work to writers farther along the path than I was.
But I did it. And the results were amazing.
Arlem Hawks 