{"id":1158,"date":"2009-12-14T23:25:16","date_gmt":"2009-12-14T12:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/?p=1158"},"modified":"2024-06-19T07:41:23","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T11:41:23","slug":"the-plight-of-a-writer-living-abroad-lessons-learned-about-getting-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/the-plight-of-a-writer-living-abroad-lessons-learned-about-getting-support\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Support as a Writer Living Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

About a year ago, an acquaintance of mine became a published author. The book was about weight loss (and I am a 5\u20198\u201d 125 pound semi-weakling). But you know what? I bought a copy anyway. Why? Because somebody I know became a published author, and I wanted to buy a copy to support her. So I paid (exorbitantly) to order it and have it shipped to Australia. Why again, do you ask? Because\u2026.that\u2019s just what you do\u2026.right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when I first became a published author, I figured that friends and family from all over would flock to support me in the same way I had supported this other acquaintance of mine. Whoops \u2013 I guess I was wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post was originally published in 2009, and has since been updated for accuracy of links and content. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: Although this post may initially seem like a personal rant, you will see that I use my experience to develop a roadmap for how writers who live abroad can get the support they need. Please bear with me; the negativity has purpose.<\/em>

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My Search for Moral Support While Working Abroad<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I was mildly perturbed when I discovered on my return visit home one year, how few of my friends had purchased a copy of my book. Plenty of complete strangers and mild internet acquaintances I\u2019d never met ordered copies (some specifically to support me if you can believe it), but none <\/strong>of my close friends did. I eliminated the potentially painful variable of family not getting copies by actually ordering and sending each family member a copy myself. (I\u2019d like to think they would have ordered copies regardless).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t

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Not having the support of my friends struck me as odd and hurtful, but I chucked it up to the fact that copies weren\u2019t yet available in Canada, and maybe ordering from Amazon in the States was too overwhelming or expensive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s more to it than that, as I\u2019ve realized on reflection. I have already come to accept the fact that distance breeds apathy in friendships – something that I also learned dissipates when reconnecting in person. I do not expect people back home to get up in arms about things going on in my life while I\u2019m on the opposite side of the globe. They have their own busy lives in which I\u2019m not an active participant; I can only expect the same in return. (I will discuss more about how to elicit support from long distance friends later on).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, my attempts to release certain \u201cfriendship responsibilities\u201d (as I see them) from people back home in Canada has meant projecting similar responsibilities onto people physically present in my life abroad \u2013 and perhaps unfairly so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a terrific group of friends from a broad spectrum of backgrounds here in Australia, where I’ve been for over six months. It is partly why staying here for so long has been easy; I\u2019ve not felt so much at home anywhere in the world since leaving Canada. I even have a friend whose parents have become such staunch supporters that they’ve appointed themselves as my adoptive-parents-away-from-home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small<\/em> Budget<\/em><\/a> is not yet available in Australia, I painstakingly ordered 20 copies (and paid $150 in shipping costs) to get some for Aussie friends who said they\u2019d love to buy a copy. 20 was considerably more than the amount of people who said they were in for a copy, but since shipping is exorbitant, I figured it would pay off to order more and lower the cost per book. (I figured I could sell 20 copies at cost over the next few months, and the shipping costs balanced out my author\u2019s discount to make it a reasonable price overall).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although some friends bought the book and others didn\u2019t (or haven\u2019t yet), my world was turned upside down when my adoptive parents didn\u2019t buy a copy. Their reason cited? They might not use all the tips in the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Personal Rant: If they<\/strong> had written a book, I\u2019d have bought it, read it, and probably even reviewed it on this Site. If it was crap, I\u2019d have found a diplomatic way to tell my readers that it was written by a friend of mine, and I do everything I can to support my friends \u2013 but that the book might not be for everybody. Why would I do all this? Because that\u2019s just what you do to support your friends. <\/em>Or maybe that\u2019s just what I <\/strong>do.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was crushed when my “adoptive parents” didn\u2019t buy a copy. But on reflection, I realize that it\u2019s not their fault. Any number of variables could be in play:<\/p>\n\n\n\n