How Joining a Writing Group Can Help You Succeed as a Writer

Triple your chances of success by collaborating with other writers

As a writer, I’m on a constant lookout for ways to succeed and grow my craft.

And I discovered that one way to do that is by joining a writing group.

What Is a Writing Group?

I consider a writing group to be a virtual writers group arranged by a few writers who trade articles with one another for feedback, suggestions, and publication advice.

It can consist of two or more people, depending on your preference. The goal of the group is to critique each other’s work and provide support to each other on the writing journey.

Writers in the group give each other suggestions on how to tighten their articles, how to edit and polish their work to achieve stellar quality, and where to submit their work when they are done.

If you don’t yet have a writer’s group, I strongly recommend that you create one. Whether you’re trying to hone your writing skills, sharpen your grammar, or simply get encouragement from other writers, joining a writer’s group will be beneficial for you.

I, together with two other writers, Stephanie Thurrott and Michelle Loucadoux, MBA, have created the group that we call Medium Moms Mastermind. I can’t overstate how much this group has contributed to my success on Medium. Since I joined and collaborated with these two brilliant writers, not only have I honed my writing but also my inspiration to write has more than doubled.

Here are five benefits of creating or joining a writing group.

1. Receive Valuable Feedback

The ongoing feedback I receive from these two amazing writers has been instrumental in my success as a Medium writer. When you’re in a group, you bounce ideas off each other and share perspectives.

Also, when you’re a solo writer, you do all the editing and proofreading by yourself. But when another person looks at your work, they can see things you don’t usually see, and vice versa.

Before I joined the group, I edited and polished my work myself. Finding and correcting grammar errors is my strong suit, but you’d be surprised how many times the writers in my group pointed out glaring errors in my writing.

2. Sharpen Your Writing

Critiquing other people’s work allows you to grow as a writer too.

First, by fine-tuning the articles of other writers, you strengthen and expand your own grammar skills.

Second, as you read other writers’ work, you pick up lessons from other people’s writing. You learn something new each time. It’s incredible how much you can learn and grow just by reading other people’s work with a critical eye.

3. Boost Accountability

When you join other writers, you form a special team. You collectively work toward one common goal: to get better and to succeed.

You set individual goals, weekly or biweekly, and share them weekly with each other. You become accountable for each other’s progress. You don’t procrastinate or slack off.

As a group, we connect via Zoom to discuss issues at length, ask questions, and offer and receive feedback and suggestions.

4. Receive Support and Encouragement

Being part of a writer’s group allows you to get emotional support and encouragement from other fellow writers. It helps you thrive as a writer and continually grow in your craft.

The level of support I get from my group is invaluable. We not only give each other valuable advice but also support each other emotionally.

As a group, we walk each other’s paths and share our concerns and our daily struggles. We celebrate each other’s small wins, we inspire one another, and we push each other beyond our limits.

5. Increase Your Curation and Acceptance Rates

With more eyes looking at your work, you can tighten your articles to top-notch quality. This will help increase your chances of getting your articles curated and getting published in top publications.

Since I’ve joined a writer’s group, my curation rate and my views have gone up. One of my articles was just published in The Startup.

Also, when you’re part of a group, a rejection from a publication feels like a breeze. We feed off each other’s inspiration and help push ourselves despite the sting of the rejection we receive.

How You Can Create a Writing Group

Forming a writing group is easy. You can connect with writers through Medium Facebook groups or by leaving a comment on the article of another writer with whom you wish to connect.

Our writing group was created through a two-step process. First, I connected with one writer, Stephanie Thurrott. Then she connected with another writer, Michelle Loucadoux, MBA, by leaving a comment on her article. Later, all three of us joined and created this group, which we now call Medium Moms Mastermind.

You could also start your own writer’s group on Facebook and invite other writers to join.

Your group is more likely to be successful if:

• You are on a similar writing journey
• You’re committed to the group and give your best
• You motivate and push each other hard to succeed

The Bottom Line

A writing group can help you succeed as a writer. If you haven’t yet joined or created a writing group, I strongly encourage you to do so. The sooner you do that, the sooner you’ll be able to reap the benefits. Creating a writing group will help you to:

• Receive valuable feedback
• Sharpen your writing
• Boost accountability
• Receive support and encouragement
• Increase curation rate and acceptance to big publications