Finding Your People, by Lori Roberts Herbst

As I was chatting with another author last weekend at Malice Domestic, an annual mystery reader and writer conference held in Bethesda, MD, a reader approached us, wearing a sly grin on her face. “Better be careful,” she said to us. “You’re conversing with a competitor.”

Neither of us was up for an Agatha Award, so I’m assuming the woman meant we were competing for readers—and I know she was teasing. We both chuckled and chatted with the woman for a few minutes, all in all a pleasant interchange. But back in my hotel room that evening, her words kept playing in my mind—particularly “competitor.” She’d been joking, but I wish I’d thought to say this at the time: “She’s not my competitor. She’s my cheerleader, my publicist, my teacher, and my motivator. But most of all, even though I’ve just met her in person, she’s my friend.” 

 

A quote I love says this: “She can’t compete with me. I want her to win, too.”

 

It’s so true of the author world I’ve discovered. We root for each other to win. I’d be willing to guess there are hundreds of millions of mystery readers around the world, and they devour books. So, there are plenty of readers to go around. Talented authors don’t diminish the reading pool, they stimulate it! As I heard at the Author Nation conference, “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

 

When I decided some years back to try my hand at writing mysteries, I found myself to be a traveler in a foreign land, wide-eyed and incoherent, trying my best to decipher the directions on the signposts. But when I discovered Sisters in Crime and, through them, a vast troupe of mystery writers, the journey became much easier and more enjoyable.

 

Mystery writers are among the most generous, helpful, simply KIND people I’ve ever known. Most are willing to offer fellow authors a hand up, a resource, a suggestion, a shoulder to cry on—even a rageful companion when we need to vent about a rejection or a negative review.

 

That said, of course the book world offers competitions and awards, and of course we authors enjoy winning them. At Malice Domestic, I cheered for the Agatha nominees and winners, as I did for Lefty nominees and winners at last month’s Left Coast Crime conference. I admit to feeling grateful and honored that my most recent book, GRAVEN IMAGES, was awarded first place in category in the Chanticleer International Book Awards Murder & Mayhem contest.

 

One of my happiest memories is winning my first writing award, a Best Cozy Silver Falchion at Killer Nashville. I remember feeling both disbelieving and validated. Maybe, that Silver Falchion whispered to my imposter syndrome, you’re on the right track. But do you know what made the award even more special? The genuine joy of two authors sitting with me at the banquet table. Martha Reed and Mary Dutta, whom I now blog with here on Writers Who Kill, screamed and clapped and congratulated me loud and long. Killer Nashville was my first writers’ conference, and I’d just met these two wonderful women, yet they were as happy for me as if we were sisters.

 

So, to the woman who said my author friend and I were “conversing with the competition,” perhaps you were right. But in the end, she and I are both winners. We’re all winners.

 

The Callie Cassidy Mystery series is available on Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback.

 

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Lori Roberts Herbst writes the Callie Cassidy Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in Rock Creek Village, Colorado, and the soon-to-be-released Seahorse Bay Mysteries, set in a Texas cruise port town. To find out more and to sign up for her newsletter, go to www.lorirobertsherbst.com