What is the most workable way to improve your writing? Ask advice from other indie authors as they know your pain, have familiar experiences, and face the same troubles.
That’s why we have prepared a list of the top 10 indie author communities where you can find like-minded people. Let’s get right into them!
1. Support for Indie Authors
Founded in January 2015, Support for Indie Authors is a community of self-published authors on the popular book platform, GoodReads. It is dedicated to both sharing experiences and learning. The moderators of the group are experienced indie authors.
Anyone can join the group, and more than 15 thousand like-minded people have gathered here, happy to support each other, give advice and answer questions.
Support for Indie Authors provides a discussion board divided into many categories: Writing Process & Programs, Physical Book Publishing, Ebook Publishing, Blurb Workshop, Cover Workshop, Writers Workshop, Marketing Tactics, and more. Here you can read about other authors’ success, learn how to promote your book or ask for feedback on your manuscript. The possibilities of this community are unlimited, and you can ask the most trivial questions here.
2. NaNoWriMo
It is a popular community for writers and a tool to help you write regularly or finally get started on a book if you’ve been procrastinating. Every November, NaNoWriMo hosts a writing marathon that challenges you to write a 50,000-word novel. You can record your progress and receive badges for success in your account.
You will find a forum dedicated to various topical issues on the website. But the Camp NaNoWriMo section deserves special attention. It’s not a physical but a virtual camp with its rules. Here, writers share their progress, set goals, and motivate each other to achieve them.
You can find a calendar with current events and challenges on the website. There is a section with valuable resources for authors. You can also do free exciting writing exercises available in Google Docs.
3. The Next Big Writer
The Next Big Writer, established in 2005, is a vast community of writers. It provides cutting-edge tools, contests, classes, and a communication forum, helping authors achieve their goals.
You can join a group of authors according to your wishes or topic. Each group provides a separate forum where participants share their experiences, give advice, and answer questions.
The Next Big Writer is a platform where you can publish your manuscript to get feedback from other writers. Users evaluate each other’s works with points and comments. You can also read the work of others and give your reviews. It allows you to improve your writing abilities and skills significantly.
4. Fiction Writing
It’s a popular Facebook group with over 143 thousand members. This channel allows you to share experiences and learn from others. The writers ask various questions here, starting with What is the best writing style and ending with Which book has the best plot twist ever? The group is very active: Users publish dozens of new posts daily.
Fiction Writing is a good platform for conducting social surveys that come in handy for your book. You can also find beta readers here and get feedback on your manuscript.
5. Writing on Reddit
Reddit is an endless source of information, and the literature topic is no exception. The group with the simple name of Writing has 2 million users ready to share their experiences. Here, writers ask various questions about the actual creation of books, character development, publishing, creative exercises, editing, inspiration, and more. They ask where to create fabulous book covers and how to get reviewers.
6. Underlined by Penguin Random House
Underlined is a community of more than 40,000 authors sharing their stories and experience. The website consists of many sections. First of all, it is a forum where users can communicate with each other and ask questions.
Underlined provides much helpful information for writers, including articles with tips and insights and lists of new books to read. There are also exciting quizzes and book trailers.
The platform allows you to publish your manuscript to get feedback from other users. When adding your book, you can also include the book cover.
7. Writers Helping Writers
It’s an international group with over 332,000 members where indie writers can find answers to their questions. There are different people. Some are experts in language but look for marketing advice, and others want to learn how to develop a strong character but know a lot about book promotion and are ready to share their experience. Here, you can ask for opinions and recommendations and get high-qualified comments.
8. She Writes
Founded by Kamy Wicoff in 2009, She Writes is the largest online community and content site for women writers at every stage of their writing lives. Today it has more than 34,000 members.
The community offers to join available groups or create one to communicate with other writers. Here you can discuss writing issues, find solutions and share experiences. She Writes provides a section with helpful and exciting articles and interviews that come in handy for indie authors.
9. Critique Circle
Created in October 2003, Critique Circle has almost 5500 active members. At first glance, the community seems small, but during its existence, the platform managed to process 160,099 stories and 823,678 critiques.
Here, anyone who wants to can publish their story and get feedback from other authors. If you wish to rate another writer’s work, visit the Stories section, divided into genres: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, and more. If you are an expert in a specific topic, you will quickly find something to read.
Critique Circle also offers a forum with different categories for communication. One of the most popular is On Writing. Here you can ask all kinds of questions and get advice, starting with the book’s title and ending with the development of the characters.
The website also has a blog that community members contribute to. So you can also become an author to share your unique experience or perspective.
10. Indie Writer Book & Self Promotion
It’s another famous Facebook group devoted to indie author books and their promotion. This community has over 31,000 members and is very active, as approximately 70 new posts appear daily. You can publish information about your books, websites, blogs, giveaways, and events here. The community aims to accumulate indie authors’ experience and provide support. Feel free to ask questions and post anything related to writing and publishing.
Summing up
As we have seen, all these communities have one common function: To enable authors to communicate with each other, share experiences, and find answers to their questions. Some platforms provide separate forums for this purpose. Many offer valuable articles about writing. Also, on certain websites, for example, NaNoWriMo and Underlined, you can find convenient forms for publishing your manuscripts to get feedback from other authors.
Are you a member of any indie author community? Which one? Share in the comments below.
