I say “Writing is a team sport*” a lot, so I decided to dedicate this year to that idea, and to being a part of the team.

Our team includes (but is not limited to) readers, writers, editors, publishers, artists (and more) and the opposing team is negativity, depression, discouragement, loneliness and obscurity.

I’d like to host more guest posts here on my blog, and I’m going to try and signal boost more people, and basically just do what I can to support everyone else on my team. Because writing is tough. It is freaking tough and it is mostly a solitary endeavor. In the end it’s you and the story and the page. And that’s it. Sometimes there is eventually an audience, but what we do is largely done alone. So I want to provide support where I can.

The first thing I did, because I am who I am, is order swag. I won’t lie, what I really wanted was team jackets. You know, letterman jackets with patches and numbers and stuff? Yeah! I suspect this is largely motivated by the fact I didn’t get one in high school *sad face* but whatever… The budget said no. So I went with buttons.

And don’t get me wrong, they are spiffy buttons. They have the above design (by Cary Vandever, by the way) on them and they look like this:

(Crappy iPad photo because I’ve somehow misplaced every single memory card for my camera. What?)

Yesterday I offered subscribers to my newsletter buttons and today I’ve offered them to people who have ‘liked’ my Facebook page. You can have one too, if you’d like. I’ll be giving them away, while supplies last, with priority to my newsletter subscribers and Facebook followers. And if you have a writing or critique group let me know, I’ll send extra. And if you are attending a convention or other writing-related gathering soon let me know, I’ll send a lot extra 🙂

To get a button email me at rhonda.l.parrish@gmail.com with your snail mail address. I promise to only use your address for this and to destroy the email immediately after your package is in the mail.

But this isn’t all about buttons (though buttons, like bow ties, are cool!). I’ll be rolling out a couple more regular features on my blog as I get the details sorted in my mind. In the meantime, do you have a book launch or cover reveal coming up? Would you like a spot on my blog? Get in touch, we’ll work something out. Need a signal boost on social media? My presence isn’t huge but I’ll do what I can–let me know.

I want to help, because writing is a team sport and we’re on the same side.

*I recognise we could totally pick that phrase apart. If you don’t think I’ve done it a bazillion times already, well, you obviously haven’t met me, but can we not? I get it. It could say ‘Publishing is a Team Sport’, it could say ‘Art is a Team Sport”–I get it. I really, really do, but let’s just not pick at it okay? Because I think, really, you get what I’m saying. We’re all in this together. That is the idea I want to spotlight and highlight this year.

I’ll tell you what, if you can refrain from picking on my phrasing maybe I’ll make another set of buttons that say “Writing: We’re all in this together” or something… but for now — Writing is a Team Sport :-p