How to Start, or Join a Writing Group: Written by David

In my last writing group related post, I talked about five strong reasons to join a writing group. If some of that advice appealed to you, then you're in luck in this post, as here I'm going to talk about how to join a writing group. Or if you can't find a group in your area that appeals to you, then how to go about starting one yourself.

Know who you are as a writer.


This seems like silly advice but it is crucial that you understand who you are as a writer and what you hope to accomplish before setting out to join a group. Casual writers do not want to join a professional artistic community, and vice versa. Similarly, poets will not want to join an all fiction community, and novelists may not want to join a solely short story group.

Know your skill level. If you're looking for nitpicky advice to turn your good work into great work, then don't join a writing group that only wants to talk broad topics like plot.

Beware groups that focus on a specific genre unless you only want to work in that genre and talk in that genre.

But don't be afraid to diversify


When the members of Obsession ran our panel, we were specifically asked what advice we would give to someone looking to start up a play writing group. Our specific advice was: Adopt some poets. Just because you're one type of writer doesn't mean you won't fit into a group of other artists. In fact these alternative viewpoints can be just what you need to go beyond the limitations of one style of thought.

If a writing group is willing to take in varying skill levels, then being among better writers can help you learn craft, and teaching less skilled writers what you know can solidify those skills.

Basically make sure that if you're seeking out a pre-established writing group, they may have a conflicting artistic viewpoint than yourself and you need to decide how restricted you're willing to be with your work, or how varied you're willing to experiment with.

Know how devoted a writer you are


Again, this seems like silly advice, but it is crucial that you also understand what type of commitment you want to make towards your group. Are you looking for something casual that meets once a month? Are you looking for something that meets more often? Do you want to meet in person or pass pieces around online?

Another good question to ask is what do you want to gain from the group? Are you only looking to improve your craft? Then you may not view the personalities of the people in your group as importantly as their own skill level. Alternatively, if you're looking to have a fun time where writing just happens to be included, you may want to try starting a group among friends as opposed to a purely craft based shop.

But sometimes you need a different sort to push you.


One of the things that humanity has proven about itself is that change is difficult for us, and we generally don't do it without a fight. You may want to seek a group that is a little out of your comfort range to push you artistically or socially. You may just wind up making some great new friends if you venture out of your comfort zone. You never know.

Know the qualifications to getting into a group.


I was invited into my writers group by another member of the group. Kind of like the modern Masons except that there were no aliens. I then had to audition for the group by bringing a piece to workshop and showing that I knew a thing or two about critiquing. But this is not how every group operates.

Some groups won't have any audition process, which makes it easy to join the group. Often you must contact whoever is running the show, but after that you just show up and workshop. You may even be lucky enough to live in an area that does an open workshop with no need to contact anyone.

Alternatively there may be some qualifications to join a group. You may need to write in a specific genre and prove your skill in it. You may need to prove your skill period even if it's an open genre group. You may be asked to take on some responsibilities of the group as a qualification for joining (for instance, hosting the group at times, or bringing snacks.)

Really it all comes down to the same problem with any group, how exclusive they wish to be.

But don't feel discouraged


Just because a group has specific qualifications/expectations and you don't meet them, don't make the mistake of thinking you're a terrible writer. A lot of exclusive groups write exclusive works. If you're looking for marketability you'll probably want a more open group purely for the exposure. If you still want to join that exclusive group that everyone in your area knows about, then it might be worth it to get some group experience with a less exclusive group until you get accepted.

And if you don't find a group in your area that offers what you're looking for, then make your own group! The only real qualification for having a writing group is to have at least two writers who meet to discuss writing. If you have friends who write, suggest you start a group. If you want to advertise and draw in more members, look to any local universities near you. Local book stores. Anywhere you think writers might congregate, advertise at. You never know who you might have decide to join up.

David is one of the founders and editors of Obsession Literary Magazine and the maintainer of Obsession's blog.

How to Make Sure Your Submission is Being Seen: Written by David

I know that we've been talking writing groups for the past two weeks, and will be in the near future (probably later on this week) but I wanted to take a moment to talk about a topic I've been personally experiencing.

Rejection letters.

I'm not going to get into the topic of why submissions are rejected, because there's not much to discuss on it. But one thing you realize when putting together the second publication of a magazine that you may not have realized in the first run through, is that there's a lot of work coming your way, and it's simply not feasible to read it all.

So how do I/we as editor/s decide which works to read?

Having not realized the magnitude of the submissions we would receive, my fellow editors for Obsession read it all. We each read it all. This was a twofold painful process. First of all, it's simply inevitable that you're going to read work that you personally don't like as an editor. But even if you're receiving one hundred excellently written pieces, to read that much between the closing submission window and the deadline for publish the new issue is just mind wracking.

And that's just our editors. If you think that major publishers, whether they be small presses, large presses, online, offline, etc. are reading every submission sent their way then I'm sorry to break the illusion.

The fact is that the best piece of writing in the world won't matter if nobody sees it.

So how do you make sure that your submission is going to be read? You could really call this a listing of what I as an editor will not be reading the next time I undergo the process. But I can't imagine these suggestion will hurt your chances anywhere else either.

The Judgement Process


It's great to dream that your piece is being judged based on the quality of the writing, but that's simply not the case. Whether you're submitting online or offline, the very first thing the editor will see is how you present yourself. As a victim of horrendous handwriting, I know that I have to work doubly hard to get myself taken seriously. How?

When submitting, you are selling yourself no less than if you were attending a job interview. You should be formal. If you're talking offline submissions, you should have a typed cover letter, not just a slip of paper saying "Hey, please read my work." Online is no different. Just because it's online doesn't negate the need for a cover letter.

What goes in your Cover Letter? First and foremost, you better be humble. If you come off as arrogant, then you're piece will be quickly overlooked. But that doesn't mean don't hype yourself. It's a careful balance. Somethings that will also help include showing a knowledge of the publication that you're submitting to, explaining how you feel your style contributes to the established style of the magazine, and remember to always, always, thank the editors for taking the time to view your piece.

All of this before the editor has even viewed your piece. But that doesn't mean you're done yet.

Putting Your Best Foot Forward

In a world of automatic spell check, it is truly appalling how often we receive E-mails that are fraught with spelling and grammatical errors. I'm not saying one here or there (no one is perfect), but truly incomprehensible language. Always double check what you're sending out there for others to see.

In this way, your cover letter, and your writing especially should be free of as many errors as possible. One error an editor won't mind fixing in a final publication. But too many and you're out.

Almost as important as grammar is what the magazine itself asks you to do with your submission. Do they want your contact information on every page as a header? Then you had better include it. Page numbers? Specific font and formatting? Even something as simple as file type might matter.

One of the most important things to keep in mind is when a magazine asks you for a bio. This can easily be included in your cover letter as well, but it is important that your bio is not your life story. No magazine will publish three pages about your life, and odds are they may not even want to list every publication you've received.

I would like to comment on one more thing to watch out for as a digital publisher receiving digital submissions. Submit with a proper E-mail address! Names are fine. Occupations, ok. But if you're listing yourself (and these are made up addresses) as coorsdrinker4486, you're not going to be taken very seriously. Cutepoet27, probably not going to get the consideration you want. Even something like poet.magnificent is probably not the best choice. Just because it's online does not mean you shouldn't be professional.

A Few Other Tips


Many magazines allow you to submit multiple poems. Don't submit two great poems and one terrible poem. That terrible poem is the one that the editors will remember. Always submit what you consider your best work.

Many magazines claim they don't allow you to submit to multiple magazines, and it's generally a good idea to follow their rules. I've talked to people who ignore that rule, and they seem to do just fine, but it's a question of whether you want to inform that magazine that you have to withdraw your submission and then try to submit something again.

If you get rejected by a press, don't immediately submit to them again. Rejection may not mean that the piece is horrible, but it may not fit the theme of that issue, or it may need some more work before it makes the cut. It's often better to submit in circuits, having a few pieces that you send out, waiting for acceptances and rejections, and then trying new presses. Submitting over and over to the same press will just earn you a bad reputation and you won't be read.

Most importantly though, understand that editors are people. You may do everything right and an editor may be having a crappy day and decide to just ignore your piece. Or you may have written a truly depressing piece that gets read by someone having a fantastic day. Or vice versa.

But the thing to keep in mind is that no matter what, you need to be doing everything you can before your piece is being read to ensure that editors want to read your piece. The more they see professionalism and a friendly attitude, the more an editor is going to want to dive into your piece to see what you've submitted. The more an editor isn't excited to be going into your piece though, the less likely they are to really read it when they see it. Which may be worse than not being read at all!

David is one of the founders and editors of Obsession Literary Magazine and the maintainer of Obsession's blog.