new community for writers

I’m a big fan of online communities. Yes, of course, there is facebook and twitter, but the ones I love the most are truly community based and offer writers real opportunities to connect with one another. The ning network seems to be host to many of these, such as shewrites, poemata, and the freelance writers network. And now there’s something new.

Earlier this week, the folks at Writer’s Digest magazine sent out announcements for the new Writer’s Digest Community, hosted on the ning network. At the time of this writing, there are just under 700 members but we can expect that to grow rapidly. Why? Because writers need community. We like to network. We like to befriend similar minded people. And… because it just makes sense. We need to market and promote our work and that means using every reasonable available opportunity to do so.

My profile is located here, so please do drop by. If you write, please also consider signing on for your own profile. This is especially true if you don’t yet have your own website. Your profile page will allow you to post a brief bio, links to your other sites, and you can even do an RSS feed of your blog if you have one. Most importantly, you can join a group and meet other writers, thereby expanding your community base. We’re writers. We need to support one another.

As I am new to the Writer’s Digest Community, I am still adding content to my profile page and getting to know others in the network. But if it’s anything like the other communities I belong to, it’s worth the half hour it will take to add more info and start connecting. I can’t tell you how many opportunities I have stumbled into by playing an active role in these online groups. You’ll mix and mingle with other writers, yes, but you will also come into contact with agents and editors, festival organizers, book reviewers and everyone else who plays a role in publishing. If you can make it to an online community even once a week, you can vastly increase your network and tap into new opportunities.

If you join on to Writer’s Digest Community, let me know how it goes. Also, be sure to ‘friend’ me so I can keep up with your news and events.

Thanks for stopping in today! I wish you all a great weekend and will see you on Monday. Have a great weekend.