Networks in Odd Places

I've talked about the importance of networking before. At least, I'm sure I have. But the point of this post is to show that networking can come in ways and forms you might never expect.

This morning, I got an email from my husband. A guy he knows from work stopped by the husband's cube to ask if I might be interested in some writing work. He had a project and needed a writer. I was recommended to him by a person I used to work with and now freelance for. All well and good. I appreciated this editor's vote of confidence in me (it is the second time he recommended me for a writing job).

Later I found that while all of the above is true, it didn't quite happen in the order the husband thought. Apparently, the guy looking for a writer mentioned this to the staff assistant who works in my husband's office. She is someone I know, although not very well, but she is also someone who considers my husband a good friend. So she recommended me, and the guy then went to the editor I know (how that all fell into place I do not know), and voila, I have a new job on my desk.

The moral of the story is networking shouldn't be confined to editors and publishers and writers and those in your writing field. Networking can come in many ways: casual conversations, friendships, volunteering your time to help someone, etc. Being a good person with those people you meet can end up paying itself forward in the long run.