Hello again, my pretties!
When people imagine the writer’s life, they picture a lone figure at a desk, quill in hand, feverishly scribbling into the night. The myth of the solitary genius is romantic, isn’t it? Except it’s also complete rubbish.
Here’s the truth: Writing may happen in solitude, but surviving as an author takes community. Without it, you’re a message in a bottle, bobbing about in a sea of millions of books, hoping someone—anyone—will notice. With it, you’re a flotilla, stronger, safer, and far more likely to reach your destination with your sanity intact.
Yet many authors resist the idea of community. “I’m an introvert,” they say. “I don’t need a tribe.” To which I reply: Introverts invented online groups. We thrive in quiet corners, but we still need connection. Community matters more than ever in the indie author world; here’s how you can find—or build—the one that’s right for you.
Community: The Indie Author Superpower
Indie publishing is exhilarating, but it’s also overwhelming. You’re not just the writer. You’re the publisher, marketer, designer, accountant, chief tea-maker, and head of IT support when your laptop throws a tantrum. No wonder so many of us feel stretched thin.
Community steps in to fill the gaps. You don’t need to outsource all your problems, but you can shoulder more when you are no longer carrying the weight alone.
- Accountability: There’s nothing like announcing your word count goals in a group chat to stop you scrolling TikTok for three hours.
- Knowledge-Sharing: Don’t know how to set up BookBub ads? Someone in your circle does. Can’t figure out Vellum formatting? Ask your community.
- Moral Support: Negative review crushed your soul? Bad launch week? Someone out there knows exactly how you feel and will remind you that you’re not a failure.
- Opportunities: Anthologies, cross-promotions, shared booths at conventions—community multiplies your reach.
Indie publishing is competitive, yes. But here’s the dirty little secret: Readers are not a finite resource. When one author succeeds, it lifts the genre for everyone. Community turns rivals into allies.
But I Don’t Have a Community …
Some of you may be nodding along, but others are whispering, “That’s great, but where do I find my people?”
The good news? Communities are everywhere. The trick is choosing the right ones.
- Online Groups: Facebook groups, Discord servers, Slack chats—pick the platform where you feel comfortable. Lurk a little, then contribute.
- Writing Sprints: Accountability groups on Zoom can be magic. The collective silence of people typing together is strangely motivating.
- Local Meetups: Indie authors exist in the wild! Try your library, bookshops, or writing festivals. Yes, you may have to put on trousers. It’s worth it.
- Professional Networks: Alliances like the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) or communities at Author Nation and similar conferences can connect you to mentors and collaborators.
If none of these communities feels right, you can also build your own. Invite a handful of like-minded authors to a WhatsApp group. Keep it small, safe, and supportive. Sometimes, three trusted friends are more powerful than a thousand strangers.
The Dark Side of Community
Let’s be real for a moment: Not every group is healthy. Some communities are more drama than support. As much as you’ll find encouragement and uplifting messages, you’ll also find egos, pyramid schemes disguised as marketing masterminds, and people who treat others as competition rather than colleagues.
A good community should leave you feeling energized, not drained. If you consistently log off of your group feeling smaller, angrier, or more insecure, that’s not your tribe. Leave quietly. No one needs the Facebook flounce.
How to Nurture Community (Without Losing Your Soul)
Once you have found your community, it's important that you nurture it. Maintain strong relationships through the following behaviors:
- Give as much as you take. Communities thrive on reciprocity. Celebrate others’ wins, share your knowledge, and offer encouragement.
- Set boundaries. You don’t need to be in ten groups, moderating three forums, and running a Discord server. Pick one or two spaces where you feel safe, and foster those.
- Focus on authenticity. Don’t join groups just to promote your books. People can smell that from space. Be a human first and an author second.
- Celebrate small wins together. From hitting one thousand words to getting your first review, joy multiplies when shared.
My Community Story
When I started my author career, I wrote in isolation. I thought, as most people do, that the only way to get my books out there was through traditional publishing. Then my search algorithms pointed me to a Facebook group—20BooksTo50K®—and that discovery changed my life.
I plucked up the courage to buy tickets for the group’s upcoming retreat and conference in Edinburgh in 2019, and there I found my tribe. I still meet regularly with people I met there for online sprints, and a group of us have convened every year since at The Self Publishing Show in London.
It was this connection that led to my gig as Indie Annie, answering reader questions in disguise. Although I felt like an imposter behind the scenes, over the years and with the support of my tribe and other authors, I grew my business and my confidence.
I wasn’t a member of some glamorous mastermind. We were simply writers on Zoom, sipping tea, commiserating over plot holes, and cheering each other on. But they kept me going when I would have quit. They made me laugh when I cried over sales dashboards. They reminded me I wasn’t alone.
Now, years later, community is still my lifeline. Writing may be solitary, but publishing is a team sport.
Final Thoughts (or the Bit Where I Get Philosophical Again)
The myth of the lone author dies hard. But here’s the truth: No writer is an island. We are archipelagos—scattered, yes, but connected by bridges of shared struggle and triumph.
If you’ve been writing in isolation, I invite you to reach out. Find your tribe. Build your village. In this noisy, ever-changing publishing world, community isn’t just nice to have; it’s the very thing that keeps us afloat.
Happy writing (together),
Susan
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