Second Write-In

Today is the day of the second Write-In. It was full a month ago, about a week after the first one. No additional promotion was required, because virtually everyone from the first event signed up for the second, or invited a friend to replace those who wanted to come but had a date conflict. The enthusiasm demonstrated by the writers who came was heartwarming for me.

I created the Write-In because I was short on time to write and wanted to make it a priority and actually get out of my house in order to focus on it. Turns out I'm not alone in this desire. I would have happily run the day with just a handful of people, but thanks to some free publicity in the form of a local newspaper article, there were twelve writers registered long before the first date in mid-February.

It was a great day; an experiment that went well right out of the gate. I got some positive feedback on the surveys at the end of the day, tinkered with a few small components of the event, and offered another date in March, which filled up immediately. I was contacted by a writer in Milwaukee who read the article online and wanted to organize a similar event for her local writer's group. We talked by phone and e-mail, and her Write-In was well attended and the participants were as happy with the work they accomplished as the local writers at our Write-In.

Writers are an interesting group of people. We love to help each other succeed and get better at our craft. For this Write-In, I added some business tips for writing which I will share over lunch, and I also asked each writer to e-mail me two of their writing tips for a sheet that I compiled and will hand out to everyone.

I've created a kit entitled "How to Host a Write-In" and it contains everything a writer needs to organize a local Write-In and bring writers together to work on their own projects. I'm putting the finishing touches on the kit and will make it available for purchase on my blog site for $15 and through Facebook and Twitter. It contains a detailed information sheet, a spreadsheet, information e-mails to writers, a poster, and anything else you may need to create your own Write-In without re-inventing the wheel.

I'm so looking forward to this day, for moving forward with several of my writing projects, and also for the chance to share what I've learned in planning these Write-Ins. I would love to see them take off, not just in Canada, but all over the world. Where there is one writer, there are many writers, and there is power in networking with each other and sharing what we've learned about craft, publishing, business, book promotion and more. We are all at different stages of this journey, and there is so much to learn from each other, and a Write-In is a great place to meet, and work, and make connections which could last a lifetime.

Please watch for my Paypal button to appear in the near future for the Write-In kit. If you have any questions in the meantime about the Write-In, please contact me and I'd be happy to chat with you. I'm hoping to launch my Facebook writer page at the same time as the Write-In kit. It's all coming soon!

Thanks again to you, my wonderful blog readers, for your support. It means so much to me and I'm grateful for each and every one of you. As soon as my printed blog book arrives in the mail, I'll be giving one away among my followers, so if you read regularly and haven't created a Google account to follow, please do so and be included in the draw!