An Author Abroad: How to Build Community Across Countries

I grew up in Kentucky, but I’ve lived in Lima, Peru for about a decade now. Thanks to my husband, who was born and raised in Lima, this city has become “home” in my heart, right alongside Kentucky and Ohio. But living as an author abroad has its challenges, especially when it comes to networking.

Spanish is still very much my second language.

I do speak it! Years before I met my husband, Spanish was my minor in college. I even did an independent study (in Spanish) on Lorca’s Poeta en Nueva York. I’ve taken lessons, listened to podcasts, and watched movies in Spanish. Yet still, whenever a Spanish conversation strikes up, a ghost of uncertainty is always at my shoulder. My communication is clunky, hampered. I’m never fully myself. Humor winces at me from the corner, out of reach.

At this point, I know full immersion is the way to go. Unfortunately, I’m already fully immersed in English. That’s the language I read, edit, and (crucially) write in.

I’m an agented author with two books out on sub and two more in the revision/drafting stage. My “day job” is editing. After 15 years of editing nonfiction, I’m breaking into editing fiction. And if I’m not writing or editing, I’m reading to better orient myself in my genres. All in English.

To succeed, you must connect.

Regardless of whether you’re an author abroad, if you want to grow, you need the company of others in your field(s).

Good colleagues and (eventually, hopefully) friends bring their own pools of resources and experience. They offer fresh perspectives and ideas. They’ll change your mind and push and inspire you. In times of indecision or uncertainty, you can lean on them, and you can learn to be someone others lean on. And on top of all that, in general, to build relationships is to cultivate opportunities.

As an English-language author abroad in Lima, sometimes I do get disheartened seeing US-based options scroll past on my feed:

• Local indie bookstores hosting author readings and book clubs.
• The libraries! Oh god, the libraries. Lima does not have a public library culture.
• Universities that speak the language you write and work in, all those free classes and events.
• Book fairs and festivals, all kinds of conferences, plus art fairs that include book booths.
• Writers groups of all kinds, from daily prompts to critique swapping and retreats.
• Local professional organizations with free meetings and literal in-person networking.
• Coffee shops hosting poetry readings and small art displays and other cultural events.

I’m a total introvert. And when it comes to the dance of socializing, I’m no ballerina.

But knowing what it’s like to lack these opportunities (in English), if I were in the States, I’d go. To my own shock, I actually do miss being able to say hi to folks in person.

So where does that leave me? How can an author abroad adapt?

A moment of vulnerability: I’m sharing a work in progress. For me, at least, these shifts I’m making to connect with more people are big ones, transformations I’m juggling alongside my editing and writing. But per my nature, I’m putting my trust in the steady, reliable process of drafting and revising.

In the hopes my journey might help somebody else feel less isolated, here’s what I’m working on.

• Graduate from joining local groups to forming them yourself.

When I first got to Lima, I spent several months super isolated. I rewatched all of Star Trek: The Next Generation (fairly normal for me) . . . then all of The Nanny (not normal). When I started bingeing Dog Whisperer and got intensely into soup recipes, my husband expressed some gentle concern, and I finally joined a local club: the American Women’s Literary Club (AWLC).

The AWLC dragged me back into the patterns of human interaction, and it led to my first writers group, where I made several brilliant friends. But here’s a tough truth about having friends who are also living abroad: a lot of the time, they go back. They leave. And you’re alone again, contemplating a deep dive into quick bread recipes and watching all of Deep Space Nine.

So how do you cope? How does an author abroad (re)build community?

First off, stay in touch with those who leave. Let folks know you’re thinking of them. I’m so grateful when friends do this for me, so I try to do it in return.

Second, turn yourself into a local hub for what you love.

I’ve become really vocal about loving books. “I’m an author abroad” is my personal tagline, with the explicit follow-up that I’d love to meet other English-language authors abroad. “Please, send them to me! Help connect us!” Starting a local writers group for authors seriously interested in eventually publishing their English-language speculative fiction feels a little out of my bandwidth just now . . . but it’s on my mind, and for the first time since I got to Lima, I’m starting to think it’s possible.

By watching others, I’ve learned the key to finding the group you really want is to build it.

• Graduate from sitting in webinars to attending online conferences or networking chats.

Since 2021, I’ve attended about 120 webinars. Webinars are often free and only about an hour long. I’m working on turning my webinar notes into forms of interaction; it’s a pleasure organizing my favorite quotes and insights into content (e.g., Writing Advice for New Writers). But the thing about webinars is that you don’t really get to talk with people.

This year, I plucked up the courage to buy a virtual ticket for the Northwest Editors Guild’s Red Pencil Conference, which included two networking talks. I did an online poetry reading with the Editorial Freelancers Association. I did an Authors Guild meet n’ greet.

Each time I actually interact, I mention I’m an author abroad, and I end up swapping socials with a few folks. Their faces are familiar to me now, and I like to think my face is a little more familiar to them than the average online profile. It’s not quite an in-person “hello.” But it’s a seed planted, a gentle start.

• Graduate from lurking to commenting.

I’m in three awesome Discord groups: a book club for books I’m totally reading, a writing group for aspiring authors just like me, and the Editorial Freelancers Association’s group. I’m even in Codex, a private group of amazing speculative fiction authors.

I don’t comment in any of them.

Why the heck not?? Ugh, I don’t know. I’m in a self-examination phase about it. The messages go by fast, and there are a lot of channels. I also think it might be that these groups almost feel too personal? A little more intimate somehow than general social media? I’m working on it.

In contrast, this year I finally started using social media as a tool for connection. On Facebook, I made an author page and joined a few book club groups. On Instagram, I revived my bookish account. I dug back into my Goodreads account and started actually reviewing what I read. Instead of stressing about that follower number, I’ve tried to focus on interacting with sincerity, getting a better sense of who’s active in my genres, and learning how I can best support other bookish folks and authors.

• Graduate from learning to teaching.

You never stop learning, obviously. But now that I’ve written two books, found an agent, and built a fiction editing portfolio, I’m reaching data saturation in some areas. At this point in my career, I’m shifting from absorbing content to creating and sharing content, possibly even from listening to speaking. The thought of giving my own webinars is intimidating, but I’m warming up to it.

I’m working on soothing my perfectionist tendencies with a focus on helping uplift others. I want my content to be good quality. But I also want it to exist, which means I have to set some self-inflicted deadlines that force me to click “post,” despite the urge to tinker and polish forever.

Conclusions? Decide what “community” means to you.

Part of this journey has been deciding how I define community. What counts as community? What am I seeking in the people I connect with, and what am I offering?

As an editor, I’m seeking fellow professionals who want to build each other up. People who have a mission driving their work, a sense of self-defined purpose. Fiction editing shapes stories, and stories shape culture. Nonfiction editing helps writing gain legitimacy, a readership. I hope to meet editors who appreciate that and, as a result, are eager to find authors whose work they truly resonate with.

As an author abroad, I want to connect with readers, especially readers in my genres. Yes, in part, that’s because one day, I hope to have a book to tell people about. But much more than that, I want to connect with these folks because I love reading. I love talking about books. I love getting to know other humans through the books they love.

Finally, as a human, I want to connect with people who would find solace or meaning in the themes I write about. Not everybody reads horror, sci-fi, and monster romance. But I know I’ll usually do well with people who are interested in what those genres often explore:

• The harm of othering people who are different from us
• The work of dismantling harmful systems and questioning norms
• The value of meeting other folks’ pain with empathy and grace
• The struggle of finding your identity when generational trauma is in the mix
• The importance (and joy) of enthusiastic consent and respecting boundaries

These themes are why I write. They’re part of who I am, or at least of who I strive to be.

Are you an author abroad? Did anything here resonate with you?

Get in touch! I’d love to hear from you, even if it’s just to say hello or connect on socials.

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