Pro Tip: Go Meet Your Favorite Author(s)

You’ll be so glad you did.

A few weeks ago, I met mystery author Brendan Slocumb at the Champaign Public Library as part of their Great Author events.

Slocumb is most known for his debut novel “The Violin Conspiracy.” I must admit, I have not yet read the book, and I even told him that when he asked me if I’d read it yet.

However, it’s on my reading list here real soon. Nevertheless, I saw he was coming to visit my local library and I took the opportunity to listen to him speak and meet him.

Man, was I glad I did.

He talked about his writing struggles, his success in the field. He gave writing advice to novice writers like me. And he also shared personal stories with the audience.

It was a chance for me to better know who he was and the books he writes. Might I add he was a great guy to meet in person too. It’s all the more reason I’m looking forward to reading his work.

Pro Tip

Go meet your favorite authors. Seriously, do it. If you can’t, reach out to them through social media or another form of communication and see what happens.

You never know unless you try.

Meeting new authors or even your favorite authors will broaden your horizons and make you a better person. You’ll learn something about them and yourself.

Win, win.

So, what’re you waiting for? Put your book down and go meet your favorite author. You’ll be so glad you did.

Noah Nelson is a graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with minors in political science and history. He served as a senior columnist for The Daily Illini, serves as a writer on Medium and the host of his blog called Nothing But Noah. His books “Life: A Collection of Short Stories” and “Dana and Me: A Memoir” are both available now on Amazon. Like what you read? You can write for Medium too!