Dear O'Abby: Why should I join the Operation Awesome team?

 Dear O'Abby,

I saw that Operation Awesome is looking for new people and I'm thinking about applying.  I'm not sure if I'm the right kind of person for something like this, if I really have the time to put in or if it will be of any benefit to me.

As someone on the inside, can you let me know what being a part of the team is really like?  

Thanks so much!

X Undecided

Dear Undecided,

Thanks so much for asking!  Obviously I can only answer your question from my own perspective, but maybe some of the other team members might add their two cents too.

I honestly wouldn't worry about being the right kind of person.  I have no idea what that even means.  If you love to write and want to become a better, more informed writer, then you're the right kind of person.  You don't have to be published or even close to being published.  You just need to have a desire to help other writers become the best they can be.

In terms of time, it's not a huge burden.  You will only need to write one post a week most of the year.  I would say that my weekly posts probably take me just over an hour, depending on how much research I have to do to answer the question asked of us.  There is a little more work in April when we do the A to Z Challenge, but if you're organised, you can get all those posts knocked off in the months leading up to 1 April and then just spend the month visiting and commenting on other blogs.  Which is fun!

And as for benefit to you, I find the rest of the team to be really supportive and having those people around me is often a great comfort.  Writing can be a lonely pursuit and sharing the journey with others makes it just a little bit easier.  Most of my real-life friends aren't writers and don't understand the pain of endless query rejections or poor reviews, or the joy that comes when a book is finally out in the world.  The Operation Awesome team does, and they will be cheerleaders for you when you need them.

I've also learned a lot through being a part of this team, partly from being in touch with authors whose publishing journey and ambitions are different to mine and partly because some of the questions I've been asked while writing this column have required research into things I may never have thought about on my own.  And you know what they say... Knowledge is a dangerous weapon.  I feel well armed.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions about what we do here at Operation Awesome.  We'd be happy to answer them.

And sign up if you think you'd be a good fit.  We'd love to welcome you. The link is here: https://forms.gle/6nrLCn1ncLByLEWi8 

X O'Abby