Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the June 5 posting of the IWSG are Liza at Middle Passages, Shannon Lawrence, Melissa Maygrove, and Olga Godim!
The following link will allow you to peruse everyone in the Blog Hop.
Link | IWSG Blog Hop Participants
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June 5 question - In this constantly evolving industry, what kind of offering/service do you think the IWSG should consider offering to members?
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Hello, friends!
Wow! How have we already made it halfway through 2024? I am in shock!
I missed May's IWSG post. I have been so busy for the past few months. Having to read for judging for two competitions, finishing a beta read for someone, finishing my own revisions, sending out queries, continuing my mentoring responsibilities... whew. It's been crazy! But I've just about clawed my way out of this hole I put myself in and am getting some of my time back.
I have two ARC reads left on my plate, and I think that's it! Then I might be able to tackle my ridiculously long TBR.
On Monday, I posted a long overdue blog. A book review of Sean R. Frazier's urban science fantasy book Mage Breaker that includes a Q&A with Sean. I hope you'll check out the blog at the link below.
Also, my partner and I went to ConCarolinas over the weekend. It was the first con I'd been to since Multiverse in October, and it was lovely to be back amongst my writerly friends. I hope to post a ConCarolinas recap in the next week.
And, some BIG NEWS, I've been invited to be a guest at Multiverse this October in Atlanta. I'm so excited and grateful for this opportunity.
If you ever get a chance to go to a convention like one of these I highly recommend it.
I'm a bit terrified about being a guest panelist at my first Con like this, but I'm so stoked.
I have some big plans in the works for the next three years, and going to Cons and getting to finally be a panelist at a Con this year is just the first step in that direction.
Next up is SAGA and ConGregate in mid-July. SAGA is a writing conference for genre writers, and they've joined forces this year with the SFF Fandom Con, ConGregate.
I have some other exciting news on the horizon, but I think I'll wait until the July post to talk about that!
The IWSG Prompt - Opportunities for IWSG
This is a really interesting prompt, and I appreciate the nature of it. The writing community seems to be changing and evolving, and there's so much information to try to keep up with.
One thing that's most important for me as a writer is networking and being able to learn from others. Also, being able to find vetted editors, formatters, or proofreaders or having a place to look for Critique Partners, Alpha Readers, Beta Readers, or ARC Readers. Some type of forum space or Discord-type server for IWSG members to be able to have access to those things could be good. I know there's a Facebook group, but I think another avenue might be nice because not everyone uses Facebook because the general vibes there can be quite toxic, and the groups can be overwhelming because there isn't a good way to organize stuff.
Another thing I find to be really valuable are webinars, free or low cost. And there are places that are already doing this so maybe that would be better as a partnership.
I don't know when the last anthology was done, but that could be a nifty opportunity for IWSG peeps as well.
I'll always come back to networking though. The blog hop is a nice way to meet people, but I like being able to have real-time conversations and have easier ways to offer help or ask for help within my network. As a "support group" I think it'd be great to take that support aspect to another level. Maybe even host some regular sprint events.
And if I've somehow missed these things, please forgive me and tell me more about them! But in general, I think community support for beta reading, ARC reading, accountability, webinars on self-publishing, mentoring programs, etc., could be helpful to a lot of people.
Thanks for stopping by and let me know in the comments about how your year is shaping up or what you need out of a writing community.
Looking forward to traversing the blog hop this month.
Be sure to see my links down below for other places to keep up with me online and other related blog posts!
[NOTE: I seem to have somehow turned on two commenting things for this blog. You should be able to comment on the purple one without having to sign up/sign in or anything like that. Sorry for any inconvenience! I'd turn off the other one but I think I'll lose the comments if I do.]
For now,
Rosie J.
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A panelist at a con is quite a thing. I haven't been to a con in years. Maybe I should look into it.
Olga Godim from https://olgagodim.wordpress.com/
How exciting to be chosen as a panelist for Multiverse! I hope you have a fun and fulfilling time, Rosie. This year is flying by way too fast for me as well. Happy creating in June! This is Louise at https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com
Networking is very important, isn’t it? And I don’t do enough of it, I know. Good luck with being on your panel.
I agree. This year is racing by too fast!
You gave some thought-provoking comments about IWSG. Enjoyed the post.