Writers Community: Supporting Authors

North Grenville Writers Circle




In 2018, only two people showed up to the first workshop I put together for the circle... including me. It still makes me laugh. It




was an early lesson about the need to grow a community and/or a readership.




So why start a writers group? My personal reasons.




Many writers in our group are retirees, or at least halfway through their working lives. Unlike many




professions, fiction writers have choices on who they work with to select Agents, Publishing Houses,




and/or Printing Presses. So far, so good. I prefer a working environment where I have a strong locus of control.




Three key groups of people that I'd become accustomed to prior to retirement were missing though: colleagues,




mentors, and people I could support. If I wanted to add professional skill sets related to the business and craft of writing; I




knew I couldn't do it as quickly or successfully without others. I needed a place to learn and a path for gaining credibility to




improve the odds of securing good distribution channels to get my books into the hands of readers.




  
How does the group support authors?




The Circles' primary offering prior to 2020 was weekly in person workshops run by members on a variety of topics. We




routinely invited Guest speakers to share their journey and experience. The workshop programming has been put on hold




due to the COVID-19 pandemic.





We continue to support published authors through literary events programming. We coordinate small group participation at




third-party events and act as interviewer or moderator for book launches or storyteller events.








  









  




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