Building a vibrant community for your writing

We authors dream of building a vibrant community of writers and readers, yet it often feels impossible with so many voices online and the challenge of getting people to show up in person.

Let me introduce you to someone who makes it look easy.

Meet Robin Kall

When my husband and I moved to Rhode Island with our infant son, Will, in 2000, I felt the familiar isolation of being a new mom in a new town. Books kept me grounded, especially the ones I discovered through Robin Kall’s popular radio show, Reading with Robin.

I finally met Robin at her anniversary celebration at the Brown University Bookstore. She is a voracious reader who thinks deeply about every book and asks the most thoughtful questions of the authors she interviews. Through her radio show, online conversations, and events, I discovered many beloved authors, including Sue Monk Kidd, Ann Hood, and Fiona Davis, along with magical stories like Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Robin even interviewed me, hosted her show once, joined a book club event with Sue Monk Kidd, and celebrated the launch of Breathe. Write. Breathe at a gorgeous Jamestown bookstore where Robin interviewed me.

Robin has built an extraordinary community of readers and writers. Hundreds of women often attend her events, including the author panels she now cohosts with her daughter, Emily Homonoff, through The Cardigan Connection. Publishers and publicists regularly seek her out to launch books they are most excited about, from bestselling authors to debut voices.

Learn our secrets to building community and reaching readers.

You may have heard that this January, Robin and I are hosting a powerful writing retreat for Creative Abundance. Along with providing an environment and tools to take your writing to new heights and helping you develop a robust plan to make your creative, writing, and publishing dreams a reality this year, we’ve been cooking up ways to help you experience abundance in all aspects of your life. Well, that includes reaching readers, right?

I asked Robin if she would share her community-building secrets at our upcoming writing retreat: how she creates events filled with energy, fun, inspiration and impact. She said yes and reminded me that last year’s retreat participant, Stephanie Burns, was about to be a published author. Stephanie, as COO of Tall Poppy Writers, has helped foster a lively and engaged online community of readers and writers, many of whom are New York Times bestselling authors and some National Book Award Finalists.

Stephanie will join us to talk about her debut novel, Far from the A List—which was picked up by a publisher just before last year’s retreat—and to share her insights on nurturing an online community that supports and champions your writing.

Join the January Creative Abundance Writing Retreat

During our January retreat, you will experience practices and prompts to spark your most inspired writing, along with time to map out a meaningful creative year. And you may think, “I’m not ready to create a community around my writing, “but simple steps can help you connect now so that when you need feedback, encouragement or support for a new publication, you have a network ready to cheer you on.

And if you happen to have published a book, bring a few along to sell and sign! And if you’ve never written a book, you’re in good company (and we may inspire you to write one!).

Join us for the writing, the inspiration, the community and the sheer fun. Robin is one of the funniest people I know, and her events are always filled with laughter and connection.

Here are the details:

Creative Abundance Writing Retreat

• January 24, 25
• A magical location surrounded by the ocean in Narragansett, RI
• Save  $100 when registering early and pay $650.
• Healthy, delicious lunch included.

Sign up now (only 11 spots left!). Join us this January. We can’t wait to help you bring your creative dreams to life.

Feel free to share this invitation with a friend or two so you can nurture your creative dreams together.

BONUSES and Early Bird Savings!

Oops. I almost forgot to mention the savings and bonuses. Save $100 when you register by January 17 (note that, with a 15-participant limit, we may well fill up before that date!). And if you want the juicy bonuses–receive my new 100 Playful Writing Prompts plus your pick from Robin’s stack of favorite recent releases when you sign up by December 16!

Get all the details here.