WHAT DOES ACTIVE SUPPORT LOOK LIKE TO YOU? #RRBC #RRBC_COMMUNITY #RWISA

“When you are down, look up at me.  My extended hand is your rope.” 

~Nonnie Jules

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When I created the RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB it was out of a need to offer something that I noticed missing from this virtual world that we all so boldly live in.  I came onto this scene in 2012 and I remember asking for “help.”  Help to host my tours, help to create my book cover, help to help me grow…oh, yes, I asked for help and I got minimal.  But, what I did get an abundance of was “No” – the sense that I had not been around long enough to ask or even expect someone who had been on social media longer than I, to help me.  A fellow author actually popped in my DM one day to say to me, “You’re a newbie.  You’ve not been around long enough to ask us to help you.  You’ve got to pay your dues.”  My dues?  Had I unknowingly joined a club that I didn’t want to be in, especially if this was their way of thinking?  I was merely asking for help to host my first blog tour.  The audacity of me!

I soon learned that there were many like her.  This crab mentality of keeping others down or the thinking that if you get ahead, I’m left behind, permeated my virtual airwaves and yet, fueled a fire inside of me that to this day, has not been extinguished.  Unfortunately for some, I was never taught the word “NO” or maybe I was but I wasn’t paying attention – the one lesson I chose to ignore.  Nevertheless, accepting NO when I want YES is not in my DNA… it is not the blood running thru my veins.  Her assuming that she would deter me, only propelled me into something bigger.  I may have been a newbie then, but, very quickly, Nonnie Jules was a (virtual) household name.

It was the end of 2013 when the idea of this awesome book club came to mind and I sought out those wonderful people I had met on Twitter to join me.  By now, you know all their names and I proudly share that most of them are still just as awesome today in the way they support others, as they were back then.

Aside from instilling that only honest reviews were to come from the RRBC camp, one of the core purposes of this club has always been to show our fellow members a level of support unheard of in this industry.  Our mentality is the more we give, the more we’ll receive, and what we put in, is what we’ll get back tenfold.  For those members who have followed this pattern of thinking, this has been and still is the case today, and those members feel an overwhelming sense of support and community never before felt anywhere else!

But, no matter how much we say it, how many places we put it in print or even how loudly we scream it, there are still those on our roster who park their books in our catalog and disappear, or, who remain on our roster and do absolutely nothing for anyone else.  It’s easy to know who these people are…all you have to do is follow the breadcrumb trails that lead to their social media feeds.  If every tweet is all about them and their book(s), their mindset is not staid on the RRBC model of support.

So, as a member of RRBC, what does support and active membership look like to you? 

In answer to this question, I have a very clear picture of what I know support and active membership to be within RRBC and here it all is…

Support and active membership looks like a twitter feed filled to the brim or even overflowing with tweets of support for the work of others.  Retweets are OK, but, it sure is nice to know that you went the extra mile and sent out an actual tweet in favor of someone else;

Support and active membership looks like a Facebook share which sparks a discussion around someone else’s work instead of your own;

Support and active membership looks like you showing up to support a fellow author’s blog tour and purchasing their book after visiting one of the stops;

Support and active membership looks like reading the books of your fellow authors and then posting reviews in a timely fashion.  We all have busy lives, but, I know for a fact that we make time for those things deemed most important to us;

Support and active membership looks like sharing the club and its value to others, encouraging them to JOIN US.  The more awesome members we have on our roster, the more support we can give to one another;

Support and active membership looks like you showing up to a book club discussion to support those members of the club whose books have been selected as a BOOK OF THE MONTH and staying to participate in the discussion (whether there’s a giveaway at the end or not).  When your book finds its way to that hot seat, won’t you expect the same kind of support?

Support and active membership looks like you following each leg of the club’s “SPOTLIGHT” Author tours and reading each blog post and leaving a comment at each stop;

Support and active membership looks like you taking the time to participate in the #PeanutGallery of one, some or even all of our RAVE WAVES shows each month.  We host 5 per month;

Support and active membership looks like you participating in some of our CLUB EVENTS, if not always, at least some of the time. Those of you who can never make it to support in the #PeanutGalleries because you’re “working,” etc., yet, you take off work to be interviewed, we’ve got our eyes on you;

Support and active membership looks like you taking part in our CLUB PROGRAMS.  Not because they’ll benefit you and your books, but because they just might help someone else, while also benefiting you and your books;

Support and active membership looks like syncing your personal calendar with all of the events that are on our CALENDAR OF EVENTS so you’ll know when something is happening inside of our club so that you’re able to prepare to participate;

Support and active membership looks like you chipping in to volunteer and help out around the club.  We have lots going on and its all to benefit our members, but we have only a few hands on deck to get it all done;

Support and active membership looks like you signing on to become a member of our uber-supportive TWEET SUPPORT TEAM.  It only takes about 15 minutes out of your life, two days per week.  We know that you gladly accept this support so how about spending some time on the other end of that, giving a little in return?

Support and active membership looks like you registering to become a “SPOTLIGHT” Author Blog Tour Host.  This introduces your blog to a host of new visitors and followers while you’re supporting a fellow member;

Support and active membership looks like familiarizing yourself with our FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS and CODE OF CONDUCT to ensure that you are following the club’s rules and not harming your fellow members;

Support and active membership looks like you ensuring that your membership is always in a COMPLIANT status.  Taking the time to ensure that you are purchasing, reading and reviewing at a minimum at least 4 books per year, is such an easy thing to do.  Ensuring that your books remain in the catalog due to your COMPLIANT membership status is imperative to your success as an author;

Support and active membership looks like you engaging with your fellow members around RRBC, getting to know them better and allowing them to get to know you better.  We’re a fickle bunch here – we don’t usually support you if we don’t know who you are and we know who ALL our supportive and active members are.

You see, when you are supporting your peers, they along with so many others are supporting you.  You are but one person trying to spread the word of your written work, but imagine what kind of exposure you’re getting when the masses stand behind you with their support.

So, in a nutshell, that IS what support and active membership looks like here at RRBC.  Where do you fall on the spectrum of support and active membership?  Are you giving more than you’re taking or is it the other way around?  Be honest.  It’s what we do best here at RRBC.

~Nonnie Jules

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