Monday, September 23, 2013

A Solitary Occupation Improved with a Group Endeavor

Writing is a solitary occupation that requires concentration and dedication - a perfect job for a recluse. Mothers usually don't have this luxury unless they wait until the wee hours of the night, and then they are still interrupted by a child who is afraid of the monster in the closet, the sick baby who needs tending and more. Distractions abound, yet there are examples of successful mommy authors who persevered including ANWA president Janette Rallison and famous J. K. Rowling.


Publication of the written word on the other hand is a group endeavor that involves the writer,  writing / critique groups, beta readers, developmental editors, content and /or copy editors, formatters, layout designers, artists, publishers (whether independent, small, mid or major publishing houses), reviewers, printers, distributors, and publicists. Agents, legal counselors and others become involved from time to time. Thus the mommy author must reach out of  the comfort of her writing cave and join the outside world.

Must? What if the writer chooses not to extend their influence beyond their comfort zone? If publication is not the goal then keeping quiet and laying low works. Perhaps all this writer wants is to keep private journals, or doesn't want their narratives read until after they have passed away. They can always hope that future anthropologists will discover their scribbles somewhere in the distant future - like the gnostic gospels.

Benefits of belonging to a writing group:
  • Receiving feedback from someone other than the characters in your mind and / or children who may or may not understand.
  • Learning from other's experiences.
  • Sharing experiences with others with similar goals.
  • Networking and discovering resources
  • Marketing assistance.
Writers Unite to Fight Cancer(WUFC) is a different kind of writing group. Our original group of eight writers began as students with Dr. Pamela R. Goodfellow. In getting to know one another we learned that each of us had a connection to cancer. So when our publication process was in the final stages, while we planned our book launch, we decided to combine our efforts to help a good cause - defeating cancer. Now we are over 100 members strong. We continue to raise money for cancer research and provide support to one another in our writing careers. We invite any interested published authors to join our ranks. Contact Margaret L. Turley at writersunitetofightcancer@gmail.com for more information or questions.



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