Facebook Groups for Writers

by Donna Huber

This real I have met a few people in real life that are writing books and hope to publish. Unsurprisingly they didn't know about publishing (they are still in the writing stage) and I told them a little about what goes into self-publishing. I always mentioned they will need the support of other writers - both for morale as well as for knowledge. There are two groups on Facebook that I have found extremely helpful on both accounts.

Indie Author Group

According to the group page,

the Indie Author Group is a place for indie authors and readers to interact and to help indie authors with suggestions and tips for writing, marketing, requesting reviews, etc. It is not an opportunity to market your books or services. The mission of the group is to assist members of this group in becoming better writers. By improving the overall quality of indie writers, we can gain the respect our hard work deserves. The Indie Author Group welcomes any author, whether traditionally published, indie only or a mix of both.

There is NO PROMOTION in this group. This ban goes as far as not even allowing the mention of book titles. This ban though also allows for better discussion. Any member of the group can start a discussion thread. There are also documents in the files section with information about services, members' Facebook and Twitter accounts, etc. There are also subgroups and a blog for even more information.

MasterKoda Family

According the group page,

We exist in order to support each other. Our focus is on how to create success in the world of the written word.

In this group, limited promotion is allowed. It is done via specific threads that are meant more for providing support that actual promotion. Unless you are like me and writing books for authors, the members of this group are not really your target audience (yes, they do read, but it is more about the synergy that occurs when each member shares with their readers). Members are also allowed to start discussions and share useful information by starting threads themselves.


I'm sure there are other groups that are helpful as well and doing a little research and asking around your network will lead you to the groups. Please remember that some of the writers in these groups are as new to publishing as you are and others have many years of experience. I don't believe anyone in either of the groups I mentioned above are out to sabotage you and your career, but some people do lack the experience to provide good advice. Often the truly good advice can be vetted with a Google search as the advice as been shared multiple times in multiple place. For example, in these groups you will often be told that the best way to increase sales of your first book is to publish a second book. If you Google that, you will find the advice repeated on blogs, writing magazines, etc.

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