I belong to a lot of social media sites, facebook, twitter, writing groups, etc. I don't have time to participate a lot but I watch what is being discussed and who is doing it. Sometimes I see something being discussed that I think maybe I have something I should contribute and I do, but mostly I quickly just keep my finger on it quickly before I delete and get back to work.
I take note when someone without sufficient experience is giving advice I consider not to be solid and when I see that I will watch a bit closer for a bit. Usually a more experienced writer will chime in and I don't have to, but if not I'll speak up. Not that I consider myself an expert on everything, but I attend a lot of conferences, network with a lot of people who are terribly knowledgeable and well, a lot of good information does come my way.
But what's with the title of this blog? What's an unscheduled interview? I keep an eye what I have on my plate, what I have in my inbox to work. If I'm holding some work to evaluate I recognize if I start seeing that name coming through the social media. In a proposal people often tell me what they want me to hear. As part of the evaluation process if I start having some interest I'll probably google them to get a closer look.
But if I see them coming up in social media I may tune in. I get an informal look at who they are, what they think, if we might be a personal match for each other. Snooping? No, it's out there for personal consumption. It's out there because they want others to know them better and that's what I might use it for.
I've said that the process of getting an agent and the process of an agent deciding to represent a client is a lot like dating and it is. First and foremost it is about the writing, pure and simple. I'm looking for well written stuff that I can fall in love with and really want to help get it out on the market. But I also want people that I like and get along well with, people I connect with, people who will fit well in my very tight-knit client group.
Sometimes I can find out a lot about that in an unscheduled interview.
3 comments:
I found that many life changing ideas and events came to me during those "unscheduled interviews" in my life. I firmly believe that all of us need to leave ourselves open to the opportunities that accompany the unexpected in our lives.
Thanks for sharing this and causing me to think!
I don't ask if somebody is a Christian before signing them as a client, but an atheist would probably be pretty uncomfortable in my client group. Checking social networks could also warn me if somebody that has beliefs or behavior that I would not be comfortable being associated with.
I totally agree, if someone is constantly posting rants on FB or the like (like me--errgghh, I do post an occasional rant) but I mean
very mean-spirited and totally opposite from my belief system, then I know right away we would never be a match. I wouldn't be able to communicate with the person. That being said, I have no problem with folks with differing opinions, I guess it's how they present them and how it affects our professional relationship.
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