Do You Know Where Your Writing Community Is?

It’s Con Season for me. A busy time.

In the past few weeks, I have attended two Science Fiction Fantasy Conventions (MileHi Con in Denver, CO, and TusCon in Tucson, AZ) and a summit for Grant Professionals (also in Denver), with another convention coming up in less than two weeks (LosCon in Los Angeles).

At MileHi Con, I was in the Brick Cave booth in the Vendor’s Hall, selling and signing books. At the Grant Professionals Summit, I was both an attendee and presenter. At TusCon, I was a super busy panelist. And at LosCon, I get to relax and hang out as an attendee and see what it’s all about, which is a nice switch.

All this to say that being an author and a book coach keeps me hopping, meeting readers where they are, engaging with other authors, and getting to know writers who might need my help and support on their writing journeys. In other words, I am engaging in and finding community with other writers.

The reason I am so busy is because I am constantly engaging in and finding new writing communities.

Writing is typically a solitary endeavor and the journey to publishing and marketing can feel fraught when we don’t know what we don’t know. That’s why it’s important for writers to find community. Other writers know the things we don’t and often have need of the things we do know. Sharing with one another helps us all move forward.

In a workshop I presented recently, I was asked how and where we can find other writers and writing groups, our writing community. The truth is, you need to seek them out. Go to workshops, attend webinars. Ask at your local libraries and coffee shops. Reach out online. There are tons of writing groups on places like Facebook. And you can check into global writing organizations to find out if they have online meetups or local chapters.

Most large/global writing organizations have local chapters or online meetups. Check out the (incomplete) list below.

• AG (Authors Guild)
• ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors)
• ASPS (Arizona State Poetry Society)
• HWA (Horror Writers Association)
• IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association)
• NMWA (National Association of Memoir Writers)
• RWA (Romance Writers of America)
• SCBWI (Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators)
• SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association)
• SISTERS IN CRIME – Crime Writers
• SWW (SouthWest Writers)

If your genre is not represented, try googling and see who and what is out there. To find community, we have to seek community.

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