Writer's Community FAQ

What does the Membership include?

The Writer’s Community Membership includes weekly skill-building assignments, an open invitation to join any of the live webinars, and unlimited access to the community discussions.  There are four pathways (or tracks) to choose from, so each week’s content is tailored for where you are in the process.

Pathways & Skill-Building Content – You’ll self-select the pathway that reflects where you are in the journey.  That ensures the assignments address your current needs (but it doesn’t exclude you from exploring the other pathways when the time is right).  Each pathway is organized into six steps—each of which includes a webinar, writing prompt, workbook, and two assignments all exploring a theme.

Every week, you’ll have one or two things to watch, read, write, or practice—building your skills, keeping you engaged with your work, and adding accountability into your process.

Live Webinars – In addition to the webinars you’ll attend at the beginning of each step, you’ll also be invited to the monthly live webinars, featuring a Q&A with industry experts and your hosts, Kelly Notaras (founder of kn literary arts) and Reid Tracy (CEO of Hay House).

Community Discussions – Regardless of which pathway you choose, you will have access to a vibrant posting message board where you can ask questions to other members in the Community, share your challenges, and show off your proudest accomplishments (which we hope will include a book cover at some point). You will also be invited to join a private Facebook group.

What are the “Pathways” all about and which one is right for me?

The Writer’s Community welcomes writers at all stages of the writing journey, and the pathways enable us to offer content that’s relevant to you.  Here are the four pathways:

1. Beginning Writer
2. Aspiring Author
3. Published Author
4. Promoting Author

You’ll self-select the pathway that’s right for you based on where you are in the process right now.  There is an attachment in the Welcome area called “Pathway Progression Map” which will help you decide where to start.

Each pathway is organized into six steps—each of which takes you on a deep (and practical) dive into a core theme.  Each step is designed to take about four weeks to complete and includes a webinar, writing prompt, workbook, and two assignments.

After you’ve completed all the steps in a pathway, you’ll graduate to the next pathway and continue your journey.

• Pathway 1 (Beginning Writer) is the perfect starting point for writers who are just starting the journey. If you are not quite sure what to write about, have multiple book ideas, or are still trying to figure out your genre, this is the place for you.  Topics include: Writing Habits, Finding Inspiration, Writing About Your Life, Organizing your Writing Time, From Writing to Writing a Book, and Putting Yourself Out There.
• Pathway 2 (Aspiring Author) is for those who are clear about the book they’ll be writing and are committed to creating a finished manuscript. Here, writers will be making some serious decisions to help make their book a reality and getting some serious writing accomplished. Topics include: The Two Author Motivations, Choosing Your Hook, Building Your Outline, Genre and Ideal Reader, Overcoming Writing Obstacles, and Creating an industry-standard Book Proposal and Business Plan.
• Pathway 3 (Publishing Author) is for those who are in the editing, polishing, and publishing stages of the writing journey. Here, writers will be working on getting their manuscript ready to present to agents and publishers, as well as learning how to navigate the industry. Topics include: Exploring the Publishing Business, Working with an Editor, Timelines for Publication, Cover and Interior Design, Hybrid or DIY Self-Publishing, Finding an Agent and Book Launches.
• Pathway 4 (Promoting Author) is for those who have a completed and published manuscript.  Here, authors explore marketing and advertising strategies for getting current (or future) books into the hands of readers and other ways to maximize their revenue.  Topics include: Platform Overview, YouTube, Lead Magnets, Newsletters and Blogs, Organic Social Media, and Facebook Ads.

After completing a pathway, you’ll be ready to “graduate” to the next stage of your writing journey.

Can I work in more than one Pathway at the same time?

While they are all available, we highly recommend you work through each pathway in order.  You simply won’t get as much out of the process if you try to jump ahead.  For example, the skills we explore in Pathway 3 won’t make sense if you’re still trying to decide what kind of book you want to write.  After all, you can’t start contacting agents and publishers before you know what your book is about.

How can I find out what is Coming Soon and when?

The “Pathway Progression Map” is a schedule with each pathway’s topics in the order you’ll be exploring them.  You can find it in the Welcome Area.

Each pathway is made up of six “steps” that are designed to take about a month to complete each. We release them a month at a time so you are not overwhelmed.  If you spend a month with each step, we know you will have the best chance of having a finished book at the end of a year. If we release it all at once, we have found members have the tendency to simply do the assignments but not make progress on their actual books.

Here’s what you can expect from each step:

1. Week 1 – Teaching webinar and writing prompt
2. Week 2 – Assignment #1
3. Week 3 – Assignment #2
4. Week 4 – A Workbook

As well as completing the weekly task from us, we expect you to be writing down the ideas that are coming to you for what you want to include in your book if you are in Pathway 1. If you are in Pathway 2 you will be writing the actual early drafts during each of the steps. If you are in Pathway 3, you will be either researching or working on edits.  If you are in Pathway 4 you will be creating marketing content to use in the various platforms we are suggesting. As more steps open to you, you will find there is more to keep you busy.

If you are feeling you would like to be doing more per step, you are always invited to attend monthly Live Q&A Webinars and you’ll have unlimited access to Community Discussions. The replays of the Live webinars are well worth a listen too. Many questions you didn't know you had will be answered in those.

If you are curious about what to expect from the next pathway, you can always watch the webinar for that step early. 

Each month we also release a different Writer's Workshop keynote talk from a best-selling author for a limited time.

How do I communicate with other members?

Just look for the word Community! At the top of every page (and in various other locations throughout the membership area), you’ll see the word Community—and by clicking on it, you’ll be taken to the message board.

In the message board, you’ll find discussion topics relevant to your pathway, genre, or other area of interest.  Here are some tips to help you communicate with other members. 

• Use the @ symbol to tag another member, so they see your question or response (example: @Jane Doe).
• Use the @ symbol to tag an admin or co-host, like @Anna Pettit or @Kelly Notaras or @Reid Tracy.

You can also post comments below each webinar, we suggest they focus only on that topic.

Pro Tip: Complete your profile by uploading a photo of yourself and adding a bio, so other Community Members know who they’re messaging with. Note only short bios of under 150 characters are supported. So keep it to the point.

Where do I watch the Live Webinars?

Information about live webinars and special guests will be announced and hosted within the Live Q&A area of the membership. They will also be available as replays after they have aired. The live webinars are great opportunity to ask Reid and Kelly your specific question and have the answer benefit everyone.

Do your videos have closed captions?

We are working on adding captions.  In the meantime, you can download the transcript.

What if I want to cancel my membership?

You can cancel your membership yourself at any time.

Go to your profile and under the billing settings, simply click remove credit/debit card on file. 
You won’t be billed again at the end of the current billing cycle (either that month or the next year if you are on the annual plan). There is no pro-rated refund for the unused portion of the billing cycle.

You may join again during the next open enrollment period. Please note that could be many months from now. If you are on the Founder's rate of $100/year or $25/month you can keep this rate for as long as you remain a member continuously. However if you cancel and wish to rejoin, the rate now is $299/year or $49/month.

You will also be ineligible to enter the book proposal contests, for members only, held  approximately every six months.

How can I search for an answer or topic?

All of the Live Q&A sessions in the library are searchable by keyword. Click the button at the top of the page between My Dashboard and Community.  Enter your keyword and you will be given a list of replay videos containing that word, play the video to be taken to the exact place in the replay. How easy is that!

Can I watch the videos and live webinars on my phone or ipad?

Yes!  Go to iTunes or the Google play store and download the "Kajabi" App.  The membership will be there.