Okay, so I asked James Garcia, Jr., a nice guy and accomplished writer, to read and give me feedback on one of my projects. Jimmy, as he’ll ask you to call him, is an extrovert. I am not. Though I would have been satisfied with an email exchange, he wanted to discuss his feedback in person. As it turned out, he didn’t get his way—but neither did I.
We arranged a Skype session on Saturday night. I’m not much of a Skype person. Previously, I’d used it only to talk to my son and grandchildren who live in a different state. But I combed my hair and showed up. He said he thought I might chicken out and not hit the video call button when he rang me. But hit it I did. Jimmy is used to doing podcasts for his readers to enjoy, so he was relaxed. I drank a glass of wine. And then I babbled, like I always do when I’m nervous.
But we talked about writing in general and we talked about my project specifically. And it made me realize how much I miss being a member of a live writers’ group where you can brainstorm and get immediate answers to questions about feedback and all that good writerly stuff. I think Jimmy would have ended the call at least thirty minutes earlier than we did, but he couldn’t shut me up.
I ended up with some ideas on how to improve my manuscript and little more social confidence. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to Skype with another writer, but I know I could and survive the experience. And if I do it again, I’ll warn the other participant they might need to set a time limit.
So thank you for “pushing” me, Jimmy.
Visit Jimmy’s blog and check out his books.
Linda Cassidy Lewis 
If you want to skype with people, you need to make opportunities! I think it’s a tool that isn’t utilized nearly enough. I’m hoping as my kids get a bit older I can skype with more people – presently, most skype calls consist of them popping in and out of camera wanting to know who mummy is talking to 😉 Good on you for breaking out of your comfort zone and trying something new!
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Thanks, Cassie. 🙂 Last night on Facebook, Jimmy said he’s holding his written notes ransom until I meet with him in the flesh, so I guess I’ll be breaking wayyyy out of my comfort zone soon.
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I have Skype on my laptop and only used it once. For some reason I haven’t been able to make it work anymore and I think it’s out of date. You just encouraged me to look into it again. Who knows one of these days we may see each other “face to face” LOL. 😀
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Yes, Christa, it could certainly fill a spot for those of us who don’t/can’t travel. 🙂 And I can definitely see the advantage for long-distance critique. It’s so much nice to be able to ask questions about a particular feedback comment and get an answer immediately–like a live group.
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