#20kin5daysjune Wrap-up and Changes Coming to the Wordmakers Writing Community
Hey, Wordmakers!
How y’all doin’?
Good?
Good.
I’m pausing in the regularly scheduled content schedule to let y’all know about the upcoming changes to the paid membership group. This time a couple of weeks ago, we were strapping in for the first day of the #20kin5DaysJune. It was also my reintroduction to the group after the long absence I took to take care of my mother, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer last summer and transitioned this April. Jumping in the deep end kinda served as a kickstart for me to get back into the community and ignite my creativity. I don’t know about y’all, but I had a ball and wrote more than I expected. My sapphic Xmas story is almost finished (I just gotta write the epilogue), and I’ve also made some headway on the nonfiction book I’m writing called Tropes & Vibes: A Wordmakers Field Guide to Writing Low Conflict Romance.
Yes, I know that title is long. SEO likes a long-tail description.
Having that said, I spent a lot of time over the last nine or so months thinking about Wordmakers and the authors who have found a home here. I’ve never been ashamed to say that I created #20kin5Days and this group out of desperation. I needed people to write with! And I cannot stress enough that this group has provided that in spades. Over the years, my OG Wordmakers and a few newcomers have become real-life friends, and I value the connections I’ve made her. I know you do, too. With that in mind, I want to talk about where we’re going from here and how I hope Wordmakers will continue to grow and be a part of our writing lives.
*plops on my business owner hat*
Wordmakers Writing Community Mission and Goals
When I started Wordmakers, my mission was simple: to support and inspire writers at every stage of their journey. That remains true. I believe that every writer deserves a supportive environment where they can grow, learn, and thrive. Whether you're just starting out or you're a seasoned author, my goal is to help you unlock your full potential and achieve your writing dreams.
I hope that this space is welcoming and inclusive, where we can connect, share experiences, and support each other. Writing can be a solitary pursuit, but it doesn't have to be lonely. Wordmakers is meant to be a community in its most straightforward and simple definition. I hope that I’ve achieved that to some degree!
Over the years, I’ve added quarterly events, the #20kin5Days Writing Challenge, regular write-ins, Planathon and Plotathon. These were incorporated to boost productivity and help us reach our writing goals. I’ve lost count of how many stories were born here and now exist in the world due to the work we’ve done together. Mostly due to the power of accountability, we were able to stay on track and motivated. This has been invaluable to me, and I hope it’s been the same for you.
That’s not to say that things have been easy.
From day one, this has been a one-woman show. Thankfully, I have had lots of help from my moderators, Randi, Meka, Kelly, and Coralie, to keep this boat afloat in my absence. Thank y’all so much for your help. However, this past year, from September to now, has been one of the hardest I’ve endured, and it really made me step back and look at what’s working and what’s not. For transparency, I want to share my thoughts with you on this.
What’s working:
Write-ins: This group was designed to get ass in seat time to do the writing work. I think we would all agree that this is the lifeblood of our group.
Plan-a-thon: I had big plans to overhaul our quarterly planning events. However, even without the big Wordmaker Mindset in full effect, we have been successful with our big-picture planning for the year and quarterly.
Plot-a-thon: Mia Heintzelman brought this to us almost two years ago, and I think we can all agree that this is one of our favorite things to do together! Nothing like brainstorming and getting help from fellow Wordmakers on character development, plot progression, and how to get out of corners we wrote ourselves into.
What’s not working:
Articles and writing prompts: I’ve tried lots of different type of content within the paid membership over the years and the numbers continue to tell me… y’all ain’t reading alladat (lol) Which is fair! I’m not at all offended. I like writing articles and musing about writing and writing business-related things, but y’all didn’t join for that. This is part of the reason why I moved the articles here. Some will be compiled in ebooks later down the line and will be free for paid members of the Wordmakers Writing Community.
Write-ins: Yes, I know I listed this under what’s working, but we have to be honest with ourselves. The numbers are dwindling, and the OGs are mostly showing up for daily write-ins. Also, running daily write-ins has become an unpaid job for the aforementioned moderators. While I appreciate their help, it’s just not fair to rely on them that way.
After doing this assessment, I took a hard look at my numbers. We’ve lost over half of our active members in the last nine months. Honestly, I get it. The group was hanging on by a thread, and folks felt they didn’t have the time to participate or weren’t getting what they paid for. Still, I’m currently running this group at cost, so that means that some changes need to happen quickly!
What's Changing?
Membership Pricing: The price of membership is decreasing from $24.99 to $9.99 per month! I want to make sure everyone can access the amazing resources and support without breaking the bank. Dropping the cost will hopefully encourage unpaid members to join and make it easier for new members to decide to write with us.
Trial Period: While I’m eliminating the free level for #20kin5Days, I’ll offer a free 30-day trial so new members can experience the magic before committing.
No more scheduled daily write-ins: We’ll be moving away from our daily scheduled write-ins. While we won’t have daily sessions anymore, we’ll still have our dedicated weekly write-ins every Wednesday at 11 AM EST and 7 PM EST. You can still create your own personal writing sessions by posting in “host a write-in” and connecting with fellow Wordmakers for informal write-ins. This flexibility allows you to find a routine that works best for you while still being part of our supportive community.
Marketing Mondays: Once a month, we'll dive into marketing and promo tactics to help you learn and implement new strategies for your writing career.
Wordmaker Wednesdays: Our beloved Wordmaker Wednesdays will continue with two sessions at 11 AM EST and 7 PM EST.
Quarterly Events: Planathon, Plotathon, and #20kin5Days will continue, bringing the community together for focused writing and planning sessions.
Wordmakers and continues to be a labor of love for me. I owe so much to the writing-ass writers who’ve rocked with me from the very beginning when it was nothing but a hashtag on the app formerly known as Twitter. Thank you for being part of this journey with me.
Let's continue to grow and create together!
xo Tasha
