How a Writing Community Gave Me Support as a New Writer

Earlier this year, I embarked on a major career pivot. Call me part of “The Great Resignation” because I left a product manager role at a fintech and decided to pursue a career where I could focus on writing.

I was an English major in college but had never pursued any kind of professional writing. However, with 2020 being The Year That Nobody Was Expecting, I decided that I was ready for a change. I created a portfolio of work, sent out my resume, and landed two jobs: as a content marketer working for an agency and as a contributing editor for a small magazine.

I was elated but quickly found myself overwhelmed. There was so much I didn’t know about writing in both writing arenas. Editor feedback felt like a gut punch rather than a way to help me grow as a writer. I feared that asking questions would expose my inexperience. I was trying to figure out which writing habits would make me most productive.

Fortunately, after a few months, I was invited into a private Slack channel for writers. The group has a wide range of writing experience, from marketers to journalists to freelancers. I didn’t realize how much I needed a group like that, but I have been so, so grateful for a number of reasons.

1. We answer each others’ questions

Questions are frequent in our little Slack community. And since the range of experience is extensive, there is almost always someone who can share tips.

Freelancer writers talk about how much they are charging, how to handle clients that don’t pay, and how they keep themselves organized. Content marketers discuss article structure, taking a contrarian view, and SEO. One writer unpacked his “writing values” and what makes writing fun/fulfilling.

I asked the group for guidance around pitching ideas to an online publication — because I’d never done it before. I was instantly given specific advice and examples from other writers, for which I was very grateful.

2. We cheer for published content

We can celebrate the wins within our writing community and even help to boost visibility. When someone shares a published article, we go on different social media channels to Like or Comment on the post (in addition to talking about the finished piece within our group).

Being a writer can be hard, especially if you don’t get a lot of feedback on your work or don’t have access to any metrics around its performance. At least by sharing within our group, we know that someone has read our work (and found it fabulous).

And it’s not only about successes… we share rejections as well. It’s part of any writer’s life. Unhappy clients, editors that force sections to be removed from work we care about, or publications that reply with “not a good fit.” The group acknowledges the work that the writer put in and how much it sometimes sucks when that work doesn’t make its way into the world.

3. We identify new writing opportunities

Whether full-time, freelance work, or specific contributions, we post any opportunities that might be a good fit for someone in the group. Some freelancers will even announce that they have interest from a potential client but can’t take on the project and see if any other writers are interested.

When any of the writers make a career move, the entire group celebrates. We compliment the person’s individual talents and share in their joy that the quality of their work has landed them a new job/client/publication.

4. We are a net of support

Probably the most important is the continued support I get from this group.

I was struggling with a 1,700-word article for a magazine recently. I’d interviewed three sources and realized that the line between their stories was thin, and I was worried about how I would tie them all together.

One of the writers in my group said, “You’ve got this.” She had more confidence in me than I had in myself at that particular moment.

I like to think of any community as a giant net, ready to catch anyone who may fall. Sure, we may have nets in family and friends — and these are also important — but a net of fellow writers means having support from people who really get it. They know what it’s like to face rejection, self-doubt, and a blank screen when no words seem to make sense.

As I embarked on this new career path, I didn’t realize how much I would need a net of writers. Now, I can’t imagine navigating the writing world without them.

All writers, and especially new writers, should find themselves a net. Whether they have genre or geography or just a shared love of writing in common, it helps to know that we are not alone in our love of the craft and our efforts to get our words in front of readers.

This has been a year of change for a lot of people. You can read my experience with The Great Resignation here.