Even Writers Need Friends

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“In March of 2024, I heard a call to step up to leadership in my local writers group. Like any sane person, I stuck my fingers in my ears and said, “I’m not listening.” I had my priorities straight: write more stories, continue publishing, get better at marketing. Sell a few books. But over the next two months, the whisper resurfaced, exhorting me, “It’s time.”

Time to put my strengths back into service in support of Washington Romance Writers (WRW), the writing community I’ve called “home” for 25 years. That March, members of WRW were gathered at a rare in-person presentation and the then president asked, “What do you want from this community?” Among the replies:

“I want something on worldbuilding.”

“I’d like help with social media marketing.”

“How do I get better at conflict?”

“What should I include in my newsletter?”

All practical requests geared to helping writers at various stages. Yet even as folks voiced their individual asks, one wish was universally expressed:

“Nobody else understands me the way writers do.”

“I miss my people.”

“I want to network with other word nerds.”

“I crave more of the inspiration and support that comes when I’m with my writer pals.”

“I need more writer buddies.”

The common thread: each of us yearned for more time in the company of writers. For deeper connection. Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not that online communities don’t allow for building strong ties. I’m still logging into a morning Zoom writing session with a group I started back in May 2020. And, the leaders of Washington Romance Writers during the pandemic years kept our community up and running online when it could have poofed into nothingness. But in March 2024, in that room with all of us rocking the particular high that comes from grooving with folks who are wired for story, that whisper reminded me: creating this kind of welcoming space is one of my superpowers.

Flash forward to July 1 when my term as president of Washington Romance Writers begins. We have 42 members (our pre-pandemic numbers hovered between 250-300). We have a July word count challenge starting. But the rest of the program year is a blank slate and I’m holding two priorities:

1. enhance our chapter’s value proposition for current and prospective members
2. grow the membership

How could our team show folks that entrusting us with their time, attention and dollars would net them a worthwhile ROI? Could we develop a mix of online and in-person offerings to maximize member and potential member engagement opportunities? Equally as important, how could we do this without burning ourselves out or eating through the chapter’s funds? We make two immediate low-no cost/high impact changes:

• We set up a Zoom room available 24/7 for writing sprints. Members can either drop into one of the weekly scheduled zoom sessions or initiate their own “pop-up” sessions and invite chaptermates to join.
• We relaunched our newsletter. With 500 subscribers, reactivating this tool helped us spread the word about this beloved community.
• The next item to tackle: crafting that mix of can’t-miss programs. Between August and early November, we:
  • went to the movies
  • convened an in-person annual meeting
  • test drove a week of Zoom “business sprints”
  • held a 101 session with a rep from Draft2Digital.

We shared knowledge. We shared meals. We connected. We grew. During this timeframe, we blew past my initial, “Wouldn’t it be nice to grow the chapter by 10%?” goal. From a low of 42 members, we were now sitting around 50, a twenty percent increase. Could we hope for more? We invited members to co-create peer-to-peer connections during Meetup November. Among us, we hosted 10 in-person and 21 Zoom writing sessions with over half the chapter participating in at least one event. Folks hosted in their homes. We met up at coffee shops and food courts. We opened our gatherings to non-members. We shared knowledge. We shared meals. We connected. We grew.

By the end of month, we were hovering around the 60 member mark — a near 50% increase from our beginning number. Wow. After our December holiday luncheon — where (are you sensing a theme?) we shared a meal and connected — we saw another uptick in members. As of early January, we’re closing in on 70 members. In 2025, our chapter is doing another online word count challenge in January. We’ll gather in person in February for a session on “The Ins and Outs of Writing Short Fiction” and March will see us online for a 101 session about all things Canva.

But our next really big test of growing our community’s return on investment will come in April, when we host The Dazzling All-Star Book Marketing Retreat, in Dulles, VA. With presenters like Ines Johnson, Grace Burrowes, Lee Savino, Holly Darling, Quinn Brooks, Veronica Yager and so many others, our weekend will offer actionable content and opportunities to network. To learn. To share meals. To connect.

Again, my goal has never been growth for growth’s sake, but a growth derived from enriching and renewing the ties within and among our writing community. In this modern world of hyper-connectivity, it’s a little crazy that we’re suffering from a loneliness epidemic. But we are. And writers, man, we’re so good at staying cozy and alone in our writing nests. It can be all too easy to let a day, a week, a month slip by without refilling from the well of human interaction. We need our peers. We need each other. We need connection.

I take the growth we’ve had so far as proof we’re doing something needed and welcomed. I’m keen to keep proving ourselves. And I hope you’ll join us in April. We can’t wait to connect with you.”