Writers’ Groups

I’ve attended three different writers’ groups as I’ve striven to master the craft. They couldn’t be more different.

The first one meets at a local Barnes and Noble. It’s open to anyone who knows the date and time, acquiring frequent strays off the streets. Only a few of the attendees, which may number as high as twenty in any month bring anything to read. Among those with something to discuss, their material can be highly variable. Some of it is excellent, some not.

The group consumes much of the allotted time chatting and gossiping about things that have little to do with writing. Self-promotion ranks high on the activity list. I’ve noticed this on the LinkedIn groups, as well. Their posts only itemize recent releases on Kindle. 

As often as not, the discussion around a reading may digress into the political or social issues contained in the passage, and relatively little about the quality or structure of the writing. I’d hope for more help like I might receive from an editor, than a rambling discussion about the relative impairment of marijuana versus alcohol while driving. Two words out of five pages don’t deserve twenty minutes of uninformed debate.

I belonged to this group twenty years ago. I quit when I got discouraged about ever being published, then rejoined a few years ago. Nothing has changed in all that time.

Back in that earlier epoch, I was also invited to participate in another group. Most of the members were published, and all were certainly more accomplished than I was (am). I didn’t know about him at the time, but when Loren Estleman started reading that first night, I knew I was in the presence of a talent far beyond anything I’d heard before. He was not alone. The other authors around the circle collectively represented a dozen titles in print.

The circle ran with clockwork precision. The group was small, so no introductions were required beyond the usual small talk that accompanies any social gathering. When one of us read, the others would listen intently, then offer criticism of grammatical, structural or literary choices. Members might voice an opinion if the material was commercially viable. I believe my writing improved measurably while I was there.

Again, my own lack of perseverance led me to sever my relationship. I simply stopped writing, and with nothing to share, I saw no reason to keep attending.

The one thing the members didn’t do was offer networking assistance. I met Elmore Leonard at one point, but no one introduced me to their agents or publishers. For getting into print, I was on my own.

Conditions are somewhat different, now. Anyone with an internet connection can get published at amazon.com, but being on their website is not the same as selling even one copy of a book. I have contracts with an eBook publisher, Agora International. They offer two of my books, Red Crush and Safety Margin, on their website and on Amazon, but no one is doing anything to promote sales. I’m still on my own.

I know there are several published authors in northeast Oakland County and nearby communities in Macomb County. Certainly, there are excellent writers in the area who struggle alone in the dark, looking for ways to break out from the dross. We know we need help, but where is it?

I’m looking for a different sort of group made up of accomplished writers who’ve already crossed into the ranks of the free and accepted published authors. No more than a dozen people would be in the circle at one time. Everyone would review the others’ work in advance. Networking and cold-eyed criticism would be part of the bargain. 

Is that too much to ask? I think I’ve come close with a group I found in Romeo, MI. They’re small, and seem to have most of what I’m looking for.

True, such a thing exists on a massive scale. Youwriteon.com offers criticism and networking potential to its members, but getting a leg up there is like winning the lottery. I don’t doubt that fully half the 768,000 people who published titles in 2009 are waiting with bated breath for that email from Random House announcing, “Your manuscript has been selected…”

That’s a possibility, but I rather face my accusers. It’s the American way.