This Is Why You Need A Team To Support Your Writing

March 11, 2019 | By Leigh Shulman | Reply More

Writing is like raising a child. While you can try to ensure the kind of outcome you desire and imagine, you never how life’s twists and turns will take you in a direction you never expected.

I had never held a newborn baby until the midwife put my daughter in my arms. I remember taking her home that first night and standing around her like an alien moon landing wondering how the hell you’re supposed to change a diaper.

It took me twenty minutes as I painstakingly went through the steps of removing, cleaning, figuring out which side went up and then replacing the diaper. All the while I worried over her. Was she cold? Would she cry? Would I be able to get her back to sleep?

After three months of my daughter’s life mostly on my own, out of desperation, I posted on a local mom’s message board asking if anyone in my neighborhood wanted to get together for coffee.

Two women showed up the first day. We sat in silence, happy not to be alone, occasionally sharing stories of how we’d slept, what baby was eating and were met with round of “yeah, same here.” It made us feel less alone, more normal in our state of discomfort.

The next time I held a get together, we were a group of five. Then a few more and a few more until soon we were a group of 200 moms.

Much like parenting, writing is lonely work. It’s you sitting alone with your words, moving them around on a page. It’s easy to compare yourself to others. It’s easy to wonder why you haven’t published enough. It’s easy to worry once you have published if you’ll ever publish again. Every move feels like the wrong move. It’s the kind of work that makes you want to give up.

I created my online writing group The Workshop to fill this space for writers, because nothing else like it exists. It’s needed.

Many writers are overwhelmed with the options and the amount of work it takes to move forward in any area of writing and publishing. Writers can use The Workshop to help them balance the details while maintaining their creativity and focusing on planning the kind of writing life they most desire.

The Workshop offers support in three tangible ways.

A resources website where you’ll find books, articles and videos to build your writing skills.
Regular live events and Q&A sessions with working authors to build your knowledge and skills.
An online community where you can ask questions, give and get feedback and commune with other writers just like you.

This is what Workshop members have to say about being in this group:

I found the knowledge and support to be invaluable. It’s helped me set goals that pushed my boundaries, yet felt reasonable. I met every single one of my goals, whether that was income, pitching, or writing.
— Abbie M.

The Workshop has given me the focus and guidance I needed to set achievable goals for my writing. It can be a very lonely career/side hustle/hobby, but Leigh’s leadership and the feedback provided by the group’s members have been an invaluable source of camaraderie and support for untangling both practical quandaries (“how do I pitch a travel story?”) and philosophical ones (“how do I figure out what my novel is really about?”).

— Meg M

I’m now a full-time freelance writer, and as a member of The Workshop, I’ve found myself blessed with a community of supportive and like-minded writers to help me further my career. Thanks to Leigh, I’m writing for worldwide publications, and loving every second of it.

— Candace W.

We are a community, a business mastermind and a writing workshop all rolled into one.

The philosophy behind The Workshop stems from leaders like Seth Godin, Michael Hyatt, Bernadette Jiwa, andMel Robbins. All recommend having a team of people to test your ideas and be held accountable to your plans.

Hear from more Workshop members about their experiences:

This has changed everything.

— Michelle W

Leigh has been a key catalyst in my development as a writer and editor. She can see what you are trying to say even if you can’t. If you think you have nothing to say, she will help you to realize that you couldn’t be further from the truth. Leigh gives you the confidence to discover, play with and develop your own voice.

— Nick R

If it were not for you, this dream of mine would not be in the works. Your words of encouragement keep me going. And keep the “what ifs” and “yets” in my head silenced!
— Kathleen E

I’m so lucky I got the chance to work with Leigh. At the beginning, I felt completely overwhelmed and underqualified to write a book. One hour later, I felt completely revitalized and confident in my own abilities. Leigh’s exercises and unique perspective will force you to confront your work (and your weaknesses), head-on, and I can’t recommend working with her enough.

— Ilana G

Have you been looking for a writing community to fill the space between your writing dreams and making your ideal writing life happen? The Workshop might be for you.

I’d also like to extend this special offer to the readers of Books By Women who would like to join us.

You can find out how The Workshop works here.

MY GIFT TO YOU:
A special offer of ten dollars off per month or almost 20% off yearly.

Use the code BOOKSBYWOMEN at checkout to take advantage of this offer.

Leigh Shulman is a writing mentor with twenty years teaching experience under her belt, teaching at universities and writing programs worldwide. She currently teaches at The Workshop, her online writing community. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, New York Times, and Vox among others, and her book The Writer’s Roadmap: Paving the Way To Your Ideal Writing Life has helped hundreds of writers find their way in the writing world.

She currently lives in Argentina with her family where she writes and wonders if she’s the only person on earth who doesn’t like dulce de leche.

About The Writer’s Roadmap: Paving the Way to Your Ideal Writing Life

Have you always dreamed of making a living from writing? Or even just a way to fit writing into your everyday life? But fear and doubt get in the way…

“What if I’m not good enough? What if nobody wants to read what I have to say? Where do I even start?” Your writing dream can seem impossibly hard to reach.

Writing teacher and author, Leigh Shulman, has helped hundreds of students overcome these blocks. Now in The Writer’s Roadmap she shares her twenty years experience of helping others to write and publish their way to their ideal writing lives.

In this essential writing guide, Leigh takes you through a combination of practical steps and mindset work to show you that achieving your writing aspirations is not only possible but joyful (and profitable.) Over the course of a weekend you can work through her hands-on writing exercises, real-life case studies from her students and stories from her own personal writing journey. The Writer’s Roadmap not only shows you how to decide what you want in your writing life but how to get there, too.

If you want to avoid the number one reason why most people never write, learn how to deal with rejection and believe you can earn money from your writing, then The Writer’s Roadmap will signpost the way to take that big scary writing dream and break it down into manageable steps.

Writing is a journey, but you’ll never reach your destination if you don’t take that first step. If you’re ready to stop dreaming and start writing then adventure awaits…

Tags: featured, women writers