Find Your Tribe: Why All Writers Should Join a Community

Can writers improve and complete good-quality work on their own? Yes.?

Can they reach their potential and thrive? Well, that’s harder to do without support.

I first joined an email-based creative writing community back in 2015. I lived abroad, and there were no English language writing groups, so I found an ad in a writing magazine and applied to be part of the group. In all honesty, if it wasn’t for the group’s biweekly challenges and the support of those writers, I might have given up. Before long, I was in multiple communities, each with a different purpose.

I see a community as a support group of other writers and readers who regularly interact to further their writing ambitions.

This could be in a face-to-face writing circle held once a week at a cafe, a site which facilitates tit-for-tat feedback swaps (e.g. Critique Circle), major organisations with forums like NaNoWriMo, professional bodies like the Society of Authors, fan fiction sites, genre-specific groups like the Crime Writers’ Association, or larger paid communities with courses and meetings hosted on designated platforms (e.g. Gotham Writers or Ship30for30).

What are the benefits of writing communities?

Seeking a community requires courage. In joining, the writer admits that there is room to develop and seeks the path of improvement. It can also a generous act to offer your experience, wisdom and knowledge about writing to others.?

Essentially, we can’t do everything on our own. There’s more to being a writer than putting words on a page. And if you ever want to see your words gracing the pages of a traditionally published book or magazine, you might need some of this kind of help:?

• Feedback and critique of your work
• Networking with authors and publishers
• Diverse perspectives provided by readers from different backgrounds
• Motivation and inspiration from other writers
• Skill development in the form of writing you practise
• Market insight and business advice
• Shared resources for learning and growth
• Exposure to new readers and opportunities to publish

Come to think of it, I’m surprised any writers managed to ‘make it’ without the help of others. Yes, the internet has lowered the bar to entry, but it provides so much support too.

What are my options for joining a community??

Option 1: Build your own community.

This could be gathering like-minded friends together for meetings, creating a splinter group from a course or going the whole hog and starting an online group in search of writers to connect with.

Many communities fail to thrive due to lack of participation. I tried to start an English language writing circle where I live (in Las Palmas, Spain), but it didn’t take. English speakers are often seasonal or temporary residents here.

Of course, building a community from scratch it doable. The key is having an identity that bonds participants and a clear goal to work towards.?

Option 1 is good for strong-minded writers with a clear vision and a big network.

Option 2: Join an existing free community.

The myriad choices for free communities include everything from Facebook groups to critique-swap sites. Reedsy, which hosts community writing competitions, outlines some of the most popular options for aspiring authors in this useful post.

With pre-existing free sites, you’ll find authors and writers to connect with in greater numbers. My advice is to take time to find a group which truly aligns with your genre and stage of writing. Choose one, as joining a glut of groups will likely lead to you not interacting with any of them (been there, done that).

The quality of posts, advice and help can be shaky in big groups if they aren’t well-moderated. Communities which began life as a place to offer writing advice often turn into bottomless spam pits where authors copy and paste the link to their latest KDP release in the vain hope that another group member buys it.

Option 2 works well for loyal writers, who will stick to one place. If you are willing to learn how a group functions and show up daily to engage and build trust, you’ll become a key member of a free group.

Option 3: Buy into something tailor-made

Woah there. Careful! Remember that the only thing that really makes money in the writing world is when writers themselves are putting their hands in their pockets.

With writers often being short of a bob or two (to put it mildly), it can be hard for them to justify paying for a community experience. After all, it may not lead to a book deal with a fat advance cheque or a new job in content.

A custom-built community should solve a problem which you can’t fix yourself or help you reach your goals quicker. If the group mission or ethos speaks directly to you, then go for it.?

All that’s left to do is your homework. Check the reviews and the features of the community, and speak to the organiser if you can. Be absolutely certain that you’ll get outstanding value and that you’ll want to visit the community often.

Option 3 is best for more ambitious writers who see their progress as an investment rather than a cost.

Summing up

Over the last ten years, I’ve learned so much from being part of so many fiction writing and content-writing communities with (overwhelmingly) positive results. Connecting with other writers and cheering them on has been the most rewarding aspect for me.

Whatever communities you choose to join, I wish you success.

Introducing the Multilingual Writers' Community

A recent report by KPMG estimates that 43% of the tasks associated with authors, writers and translators could be automated, with humans ‘fine tuning’ machine output.

Content writers and copywriters must develop skills rooted in humanity that AI cannot replicate. And that can be even harder when you are writing in a second language.

I believe in the principle of equitable human writing; that's why I founded the only community in the world dedicated to helping multilingual writing professionals. This means that writers from a host of countries can get better opportunities and earn more, similar to native English writers.

I want to attract top talent - those who see writing as a long-term career, not those looking for the next $100 on Upwork. I want to work with writers who stay on task and actively improve their skills. My vision is to grow the community so it becomes globally known in the world of publishing and writing as it has promoted thousands of multilingual writers to new heights.

There is zero time commitment and it should be affordable for all.

Included in the Multilingual Writers' Community

• Daily language and writing tips
• Networking, job postings and the opportunity to share your publications
• Competitions with prizes
• Detailed feedback on your writing
• Live workshops and Q&As with me
• Free courses and course discounts
• + A huge library of bonus resources

Future-proof your writing business. The first 100 writers will get a 50% discount to join my community.

*** Learn more and join here ***

Round up of great posts by multilingual writers:

This month, I've decided to celebrate multilingual writers. Here are 5 brilliant posts from LinkedIn writers you might not have heard of.

Ignacio Iturralde, PhD - A Surfing Haiku - I love Ignacio's blend of creative writing, strong images and philospohical musings.

Octavia Drexler ?? - A story about sandwiches - Octavia runs a newsletter about creativity and also writes some captivating stories. Her writing definitely fits in my quest for #storiesnotcontent

Veronica Llorca-Smith - 10 reasons why you struggle to write and 10 remedies - I admire Veronica's ability to adapt ideas across several platforms (books, newsletters, articles and posts). She is a versatile writer (and she speaks about 78 languages).

Rahul Subramanian - 21 Corporate Jargons Decoded - LinkedIn's No. 1 demotivational speaker. If you are looking to take LinkedIn less seriously, then follow this man.

Stella ?aki? - Becoming the breadwinner - Copywriting done right + great advice for anyone looking to grow a business on LinkedIn.

If you find my monthly newsletter useful, why not join the 2,149 multilingual writers on my mailing list? No spam. No bullshirt. I'll just send you one cool writing tip per week (and you'll get my 30-page eBook?How to Become a Proficient English Writer?completely free).?Join here.

Thanks for reading this newsletter. I'll see you next month.

Keep writing. Keep improving.