💐April Showers Bring May Fundraisers🤝
This newsletter includes information about our upcoming participation in KY Gives Day and what our excellent and talented writers are up to!
KY Gives Day!
We’re preparing for one of our big annual fundraisers, the Kentucky Nonprofit Network's KY Gives Day on May 9th. KY Gives Day makes it easy for you to donate to the LWR (and over a thousand other KY nonprofits). Every dollar we raise will help us keep our coworking space for writers running smoothly. If you’re able, we’d appreciate your support — early donations open today, and we’ll remind you again on May 9th. You will find our donation page here:
https://www.kygives.org/organizations/lex-writers-room
We also hope you’ll consider sharing this donation opportunity with your network.
Meet a Board Member
Jason Sizemore recently joined our board. We are thrilled for you to have an opportunity to learn a bit more about him and how he feels about LWR.
A few years ago, major health problems and the pandemic derailed my editing and writing aspirations. I’d been out of the scene for several years and struggled to find my bearings. Then I heard about a shared writing space created by Lisa, Gwenda, and Christopher reopening in a gorgeous antebellum house downtown. I signed up.
This proved to be the panacea for my writing/editing funk. There are times when even an introvert needs to be around other people. The fact that all these other people share the same creative drive as you is a major positive. The LWR has been a wonderful asset as I continue my publishing journey.
As editor and publisher of Apex Book Company (ApexBookCompany.com) and Apex Magazine (Apex-Magazine.com), I love that there are so many genre writers in the LWR. It’s like finding lost family! I hope to get to know every one of you, and who knows, maybe even work with some of you in the future!
Members’ Corner
Jeff Hoagland sat down with our member Kaitlyn Hill to chat about her new book, Not Here to Stay Friends, and what makes the LWR so special for her. What follows is a lightly edited excerpt of their conversation - click the link below the excerpt to read the full interview (it's great)!
JH: So tell me Kaitlyn - how did you end up at the Writer's Room?"
KH: I heard about the Writer’s Room because I follow Gwenda online as a reader and fan. I wanted to come over and join, but I waited awhile. I honestly dealt with a little bit of imposter syndrome. I didn't always feel like a "working” writer, so I didn’t know if I’d fit in.
But then I met Ellie Kilcoyne, who debuted with a young adult novel at the same time mine debuted. And I got to know her, and she was telling me how great the Writer’s Room community is, and she brought me over here to look at the place and I thought, “this is perfect” — but I still wasn't sure if I was "professional" enough.
JH: That’s a pretty common refrain. Even though we accept anybody who wants to write, it's hard for people to accept that the only qualification for being a “real” writer is to write — to put something on the page.
KH: Yes. And I’ve come to see it that way, but it’s hard. I still feel like I have no credibility as a writer — even after I got a book deal. What I like now is that every time I come to an event, I meet new people who feel the same way I do. It makes me feel less alone. I finally worked my way up to joining in November of last year after the Kentucky book festival.
JH: Has the space helped?
KH: It's helped my productivity a lot. I love the community — the write-ins, meeting new people, getting motivated and inspired by others’ work — but the real value is coming into a place where the only thing I do is write, and I can’t get distracted, and I’m watching other people take their work seriously.
JH: I like that we try to keep the focus on making the LWR a place purely for writing. There’s motivation captured by the idea that this place has a specific role.
KH: Yes. And when I describe this place to my online friends, most of whom live far away, they can’t believe it exists. It’s a co-working space just for writers?!? It sounds too good to be true. And it’s amazing that Lexington has this thriving community that can support this space.
JH: And that writers can support each other, too. Are there any books or tools you can recommend?
KH: One book I go back to again and again is “Romancing the Beat” by Gwen Hayes. It’s short and punchy, and it lays out some of the typical beats for a romance novel. It totally aligns with the stories I like to tell, much more so than things like the hero’s journey. It really taught me how to create the plot, how to create beat sheets if I need to.
And then I also highly suggest subscribing to the newsletters of authors you like or admire. Often their newsletters share tips for craft that I’ve found really useful over time.
Click here to read the full interview with Kaitlyn Hill.
Members’ News
See what our members are celebrating for the month of April here!
How You Can Support Us
The Lexington Writer’s Room now has more than ONE HUNDRED member writers! This would not be possible without your help and support. THANK YOU.
As a small but growing nonprofit, we need to raise funds year round to cover about 50% of our costs, with the other 50% provided through our subsidized membership fees. Thank you for supporting our mission, and we hope you’ll consider helping our organization again in the future.
We go through A LOT of office supplies, drinks, and snacks. Printer paper, nutty snack packs, and Diet Coke are always on our shopping list!
You can help us restock our supply room and and keep our writers fueled while they work by purchasing one of our Amazon wish list items or making a donation. See our Amazon Wish List here and learn more ways to support the Lexington Writer's Room on our website here. We also maintain a Bookshop affiliate store where you can purchase our writers' books, and we get a small portion of the proceeds. Thank you!
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