What I Learned at IBPA’s Publishing University – Part I of III

By: Ebonye Gussine Wilkins

On March 22, 2014, I drove my little Volkswagen over the Bay Bridge to get to San Francisco for the conference. I was nervous, yet excited. I didn’t know who I would meet or what I would learn. Granted, there was a program given to me in advance, so I had an idea of what would be talked about. But I had no idea what it would be like.

It. Was. Wonderful.

The most important thing I learned at Publishing University was the benefits of sharing information. There is an old saying that goes something like this: a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. It is so true. Sharing information does not take away information from you. It can empower another individual. I think that if we all learned to share what we know, instead of keeping it to ourselves, many of us would be more successful.

If you know something works, share it. If you know something doesn’t work, share that as well. If you are not sure, ask for some perspective. Ask questions about what you are doing wrong and what you are doing well.

Many of the professionals attending the conference shared their struggles and their triumphs. That information was priceless. The more you talk with people, the more you realize that we all have the same struggles, especially when starting out. Sure, when a speaker is in front of you, you have a tendency of seeing their success, because their failures are not obvious. They have had failures too. They managed to work their way through them and eventually found success.

I challenge you to start sharing the information you know with others. You never know how valuable it can be to someone else.

What have you learned about writing and publishing? Please share it with us in the comments.