The Fiction Writers Co-op

By Kim

Late last year, New York Times bestselling author Cathy Marie Buchanan formed a Facebook group called the Fiction Writers Co-op, a band of fifty published authors who help promote each others' work and cheer each other on. I have been aware of the FWC since its inception since many of the authors involved are among my Facebook friends, but only recently have they been receiving some real press. As many of our readers are aspiring authors, I thought it was long past time to do a post on FWC. Membership in this particular group is currently capped, but one author pointed out that anyone can create a similar group using social networking sites. With the publishing world being what it is today, I have the feeling this is the first of many author co-ops.

For our readers who simply love books, please click here for an official list of books recommended by the FWC.

I apologize ahead of time for the length of this post, but there are five authors visiting us at What Women Write today, and I want to allow them all to have their say. Without further ado, please welcome Cathy Marie Buchanan, Stephanie Cowell, Therese Fowler, Melanie Benjamin and Judy Merrill Larsen.

I will start with Cathy because she is the founder of the FWC. After that, the remaining four authors will join in. I have only listed my questions in Stephanie’s contribution to save space. (This made it necessary to slightly tweak the beginning of some of Therese’s answers for clarity’s sake.)

Cathy Marie Buchanan (The Day the Falls Stood Still)

The idea of starting the co-op came to me when fellow Harper Collins Canada author Catherine McKenzie asked me if I had any great ideas for supporting the upcoming release of her latest novel, Arranged. I was already making daily book-related posts on my Facebook author page and would of course post about Catherine's release. With shrinking traditional media coverage of books, I expected there were plenty of authors on Facebook, with large followings of readers, who would be more than happy to do the same and, in turn, have their releases similarly supported. It was the premise with which I began approaching authors about joining the co-op. About half of those I approached joined. With the creativity, hard work and generosity of the authors involved, the co-op has morphed into a group where we not only promote each others' works but also share marketing know-how and a sense of community.

Stephanie Cowell (Claude and Camille, Marrying Mozart)

WWW: What drew you to join the Fiction Writers Co-op?

SC: I knew Cathy Buchanan and joined early -- before they filled up! I thought, how great to communicate with a group of wonderful fiction writers.

WWW: Have you seen/been a part of any other groups like this before?

SC: No, nothing like this. I have been on groups that helped you with history, but they weren't sharing experiences of working and surviving in the world of professional writing.

WWW: What have you gained from the experience?

SC: I have a great sense of community and know if I have any publishing questions, ten people can give me good advice.

WWW: Have you made any special contributions to the FWC?

SC: Nothing special...sharing agent advice, promoting each of the books on my website and sometimes buying them myself -- what better support is that?

WWW: What types of things do you see the FWC doing in the future?

SC: I guess forging new paths in PR and maybe finding critique partners but, most of all, I hope we can show other writers the real world of publishing and how to navigate it.

WWW: Anything else you wish to add?

SC: I think sometimes some of us are more involved than others at different times. These days I need to concentrate mostly on my book. And I always have to be aware that though most people may have a fan page, I don't wish to and that is enough. (I deleted mine.)

Therese Fowler (Exposure, Souvenir, Reunion)

When I got the invitation, which explained what the group was intended to be and do, I thought a co-op was an incredibly smart idea. A lot of authors-helping-authors goes on informally, but to organize and cooperate formally made so much sense—it would mean the efforts weren’t left to chance or whim.

I was also impressed by how varied the proposed group would be: seasoned pros and debs, award-winners, best sellers, all from an array of genres—Cathy Buchanan had clearly put a lot of thought into the group’s composition. She also asked for a commitment up front, which told me that anyone who accepted the invitation was likely to be a reliable participant.

I have never been in a group in this kind of specific and structured way. The closest comparison might be group blogs such as Jungle Red Writers, The Lipstick Chronicles, or The Girlfriends Book Club.

The FWC is a nascent group, so it’s too early to say whether any of our books’ sales have or will be increased because of the group’s efforts—though of course we hope so. And a lot of what we’re doing is untried, so there will be some hits and some misses along the way, I’m sure.

The sense of community, however, is tremendous and was unexpected. Every writer in the group brings his or her unique wisdom and insight to the mix. When one of us has a question or problem with any aspect of writing or the writing life, the others are quick to offer ideas, advice and support.

Plus, the community extends beyond the group’s parameters because of the close connections we each have to other writers. When I was first published, the idea of authors networking was almost unheard of. There were a lot of author and writer blogs, but Facebook was “for kids” then, and Twitter didn’t exist. I could count maybe three authors as friends.

Our raison d’etre is to assist one another in outreach to readers. So while I don’t know specifically how that will manifest over time, I do know we’ll keep looking for creative ways to connect with readers that are mutually beneficial.

There has been some misunderstanding in the writing community about what the FWC is, so I’d like to help clarify if I can.

We are a group of published authors who have banded together in order to help bring our books to more readers. As any author will tell you, the biggest challenge after getting a book published is getting readers to know it exists. The group size is limited to fifty, despite there being hundreds and hundreds of fantastic authors whose work all of us would support enthusiastically; this is because each member is committed to trumpeting the other members’ books. The whole endeavor takes more time than you might imagine, even with only fifty of us—and our real business, after all, is to write our next books.

So although the FWC is not a general writers support group, we are also not “elitist,” as a few writers have said. Size limit is a practical necessity. Everyone in the FWC was once a struggling writer who dreamed of being published—I personally am in my tenth year at this gig, with six of those years being pre-publication.

Now, that said, many of us do participate in support groups, we volunteer our time, we teach, and we encourage aspiring writers to get in touch with questions. Our public FWC page will sometimes feature articles, interviews, etc. that aspiring writers may find useful. All writers, published and unpublished alike, are working very, very hard to get to do the thing we love. There’s no place for bitterness in the writing world.

Melanie Benjamin (Alice I Have Been, Mrs. Tom Thumb - to be released in July 2011)

The amazing group of writers is what drew me to FWC. I have been invited to participate in other groups—and have done so in the past—but have decided to limit my involvement in these simply because I don't have enough time. The reason why I chose to stay with this group was because of the caliber of the authors, and the fact that it's all taking place on Facebook, which makes it easier for me as I already have a presence there. It doesn't require contributing to a blog, for instance—which is not something I really have the time to do right now.

What most of us have gained, so far, is the behind-the-scenes support; this is a place where we can complain/worry/brainstorm about the life of the published author in a safe, supportive environment. There has been a lot of solid advice given, freely. My husband helped out with sharing what he's learned regarding online advertising for my books, over the years. And then, I was the one who started the Group's Fan Page.

I hope we continue to support each other publicly and privately. The public sharing of each release is so helpful but truly, I think it's the group brainstorming, the sharing of advice that will be most worthwhile, in the long run.

Judy Merrill Larson (All the Numbers)

One day I received an invite from Cathy Buchanan to join the FWC—it was early—there were maybe only 10 to 15 of us at that point. I was thrilled. As you know, writing can be a very solitary endeavor and having other writers to celebrate/commiserate with makes such a huge difference. Plus, I loved the chance to shout out about others' books. I'd been doing that all along, of course, but this made it easier. I suggested a few of my writer buddies to Cathy, and when they joined it was great.

I've never been in a formal writing group (where we sit around and critique each others' work), but, through the wonders of technology/the Internet, I've been lucky enough to be part of some writing groups—I'm part of a group blog—The Girlfriends Book Club and that is similar in that we all support one another and share our triumphs and woes. Writers, at least the ones I've gotten lucky enough to know, are the most supportive folks around.

It's hard to directly relate an increase in sales to these groups, but I know it hasn't hurt. But the best thing has been the sense of camaraderie. We talk about the craft of writing, the frustrations and joys. The goofiness. It makes me feel so much less alone and makes it all so much more fun. I love walking into a bookstore and seeing one of my writing buddy's books on the table. I love saying, "My friend wrote this. You'll love it."

Our group continues to evolve—and we just started in December. I love our fan page—and I think we see it as a cool place for other writers to join in our discussion and really be a place for writers and readers to share. I know everyone is really excited about how we're reaching out to book clubs—in the five years since my book came out, I've met with over 100 book clubs, in person and on the phone, and it's one of my absolute favorite things about being published. Book clubs rock! (Just ask, by the way, and I'll happily meet with 100 more!)

I think, as a group, FWC has just scratched the surface of what we'll do and I just feel so lucky to have been here from the beginning.


Thank you so much Cathy, Stephanie, Therese, Melanie and Judy for being here today.

Nature vs. Nurture vs. Mixture

By Pamela

A few weeks ago my teenagers humored me by allowing me to take their annual first day of school photo. My two boys, Ben a sophomore and Jacob a senior, hammed it up in the driveway, laughing so hard their eyes were closed and mouths open in most shots.

I’m often struck by how different they are. Given the option, Jacob would take only music and drama classes and hasn’t played organized sports since grade school. Ben constantly keeps a soccer ball between his feet (there’s one under my desk right now), plays on club and school teams, and completes his homework days before it’s due. Even on the outside—from the way they dress to their haircuts—they are polar opposites. They share parents, upbringings and a love of funny movies and Taco Bell, but the similarities trail off from there.

We encouraged them to pursue their passions and only directed them toward a few common interests including Tae Kwon Do (they both have black belts)—nature and nurture collided. While studying the photo, I wondered how much heredity plays into shaping who we become.

I’m pretty creative when it comes to sewing, crafts, baking and other domestic arts. But prop me in front of an easel, and you’d probably swear a first grader has taken over my body. Art lessons might help, but I doubt my work would ever generate any interest outside my family.

I know a woman who plays the piano and took lessons for many years. Even though nearly every note is played correctly, you can hear effort. The music is only tolerable.

As an avid reader, I’ve finished novels that continued to haunt me for days afterward. Others, although not poorly written—every word spelled correctly, every sentence formed completely—didn’t leave an impression on me.

Certainly artistic talent can be nurtured, but are we limited in scope by our genetics? Are true musical, artistic, dramatic and literary talents born? Stephen and Tabitha King's two sons, Joe and Owen, are both published authors. But are they the products of amazing genes or did they learn from their parents' examples? Or both?

I posted this idea of nature vs. nurture on Facebook and several writer friends commented.

Kim: I’m pretty sure I was born this way…
Philip: You can learn technique, but you can’t be taught creativity and imagination.
Robert: I would say born. I can’t see myself any other way. If it were ‘made’ there might not be the same pleasure I get from writing.

Then I asked around some more.

“For myself, I do feel that I was born to be a writer, in the same way another person is born with the innate capacity to sing well, or to do higher math, or to play pro sports,” said Therese Fowler, author of Reunion and Souvenir. “My own interest in and ability to express myself through the written word seems to have been built into me.

“That said, every innate talent needs to be nurtured in order for its owner to succeed. You can be ‘born to write’ and string together the most marvelous sentences or paragraphs without much effort, but until you've done it repeatedly and studied craft and put your skill to use in service of entire cohesive stories, you may as well not have the talent to begin with.

“I think there are innate levels of ability (same as with singers, dancers, athletes, etc.)—sort of a spectrum of talent, if you will. Some natural writers have the capacity to become great, others just good.

“So, I say nature has more to do with writing ability than nurture does. It's like this: a person may love to sing, love it passionately, do it all the time, take lessons, dream of a singing career—but if that person is tone-deaf or has a grating voice, no amount of practice or instruction is going to turn that person into someone we all want to hear.”

I asked NYT best-selling author Bob Mayer if he always knew he would be a writer and whether he viewed writing as a natural or learned skill. (Bob also teaches writing workshops and has authored a book on the craft: The Novel Writer’s Toolkit.)

“I think you have an innate desire to create,” he said. “But, no, I'm not one of those people who always thought I'd be a writer. I read a lot as a kid, and escaped in my own head with stories. I do think writing can be learned—or else why would I be teaching writing? But 95 percent of students don't really want to learn—they want validation. The few who really want to learn and are willing to, make great strides.

“One of the tenets of my Warrior Writer program is to focus on the author, rather than the writing. Pretty much every writing course is always focused on the product, not the producer of the product, which is kind of backward. I'm focusing on teaching writers how to become authors.”

Like anything in life that brings you joy or satisfaction, if writing is your passion, then by all means pursue it. Write often and treasure what you produce. If your dream is to be published, then devote the time necessary to achieve that goal. Read others’ works, take classes, attend workshops and book signings, learn the business and, along the way, grow a thick skin. Improving requires putting yourself out there for others to judge and accepting the resulting criticism.

Be realistic in your expectations. Only a handful of painters became masters. Many musicians play for only their friends and families. Very few writers become best-selling authors. You don’t have to become famous to be successful. But you do have to write to be a writer.