I know we’ve talked about this in different iterations, but alas, here we are with some additional input from writers across the digital space. I know it seems unimportant, but I can tell you that having a group of authors over the past two years to lean on has been invaluable to me and my career. From trying to understand whether I should change agents to getting feedback on my work, I’m so happy to have a group chat that I can go to and get all my questions answered.

When I started my publishing journey, I knew nothing. I literally was going around to printing places trying to figure out how I could publish my own book. I wasn’t about to sit around waiting for permission. There were people who wanted my words and my job was to figure out how to get it to them. Thankfully, I was told about Kindle Direct and the ability to publish on demand and that began the journey with my first self-published book Dear Love.

Then, I had to start all over again when it came to trying to figure out how to begin the traditional publishing journey. But what I knew was that I needed to find the people who had done it, and that’s when I found Eric Smith. Elements of the thing may change, but what has been consistent in my story is that I cannot do it alone. While writing is this solitary sport, community is a lifeline to get you through it.

Our aim here at Permission to Write is to help you facilitate your own writing community to help you along in your journey. To take it all the way old school, iron sharpens iron and having legit, talented writers alongside you is a major key. So make sure that you tap into the What’s App group that we recently launched. I hope that you engage because it is your opportunity to build relationships that can last a lifetime.

I’ve connected with so many writers over the years, not with the goal of doing anything specific with them. Organically, when you build real relationships, over time, you naturally start to find these opportunities to collaborate. But it’s important to have a safe space for both networking and community to exist in a way that feels authentic. There’s nothing I hate more than when it feels like someone, frankly, wants to use you to get to their own thing. I always stress, connecting in a way that feels right, and taking your time to understand how and when is the right time to take things farther.

The key element to this space in Permission to Write, is also making sure that Black and POC writers are safe. There are multiple members of our community who have mentioned being in writing programs where they simply didn’t feel comfortable workshopping or truly exploring their work in those spaces. Community is going to be increasingly important over these next four years. If no one else is going to have our back, we got us.

And if you don’t want to take it from me, I polled my audience over on Substack about how they have connected with their literary squad. Here is some insight from other writers on how they have found their literary community:

Going to writing conferences, I’ve met writer friends who I count as my tribe. l have several groups—some write similar genres, some have similar faith. Some are ahead of me in their career. I love their been their and done it advice.

- Vanessa Riley

Read on Substack

Love this! I connected with my core writing community by reaching out to people I’d shared space with in generative workshops or community co-writes, and hosting my own. But it’s that extra step of reaching out directly and asking if we can write together, share something, etc. that’s led to the deepest and most supportive relationships over time.

- Priscilla Thomas

Read on Substack

Great topic! I first starting going to BIPOC-centered writing workshops in 2010, when I attended the VONA workshop, which was held in San Francisco that year. It was transformative for my writing and my sense of literary community. I have also attended and participated in spaces such as the Lighthouse writing center’s Writing in Color retreat and the Grub Street BWOC Facebook group.

- We Know We Are Beautiful

Read on Substack

I met most of my writing community online (Facebook groups) and in-person at conferences. It was a few years before I was able to invest in going to conferences. I did try some local writer meet-ups for my genre but I didn't feel safe/welcomed as a POC

- Thien-Kim Lam

Read on Substack

Is this going to be the year that you allow yourself to show up and be seen by other writers who are looking for the same thing you are? People to give them feedback, people to hold them accountable, and people to look out for them in the ever changing landscape of traditional or self-publishing?

Connection has taken many interesting turns over the years as technology has brought us both closer together and pushed us further apart. Your literary community has the power to exercise transformative change within publishing and to elevate your own careers in the process. Simply put, we need each other.

If you haven’t already downloaded our e-book with more details on how to squad up as a writer, you can find it HERE.

Slate is hiring an associate editor to help run our advice columns. We are looking for someone with high energy, creativity, a desire to engage with and grow our loyal readership, and most importantly, a love for Slate’s advice and a deep understanding of why it stands out in a crowded field. This editor will work across our advice franchises (Dear Prudence, Care and Feeding, How to Do It, Pay Dirt, and a new one to come) and must be excited to collaborate with the wider team of writers and editors. ($69-80k)

Applications are now open for the first annual DAG Prize in Literature, a $20,000 prize for an emerging prose writer whose work expands the possibilities for American writing. The goal of the DAG Prize, which will be awarded to a writer who has already published one book of prose and is working on a second, is to support and encourage innovation in American writing. What more can prose literature be? What more can it do? The DAG Foundation for the Arts also offers prizes in Music and Visual Arts. The deadline to apply for the DAG Prize in Literature is March 15, 2025.

Submissions for the Summer 2025 Kimbilio Summer Retreat are open. (Closes March. 15th)

Submissions for the Summer 2025 Torch Literary Arts Retreat are open. (Closes Feb. 17th)