As long as you’re open to learning more, you’re welcome. I might have you take an iEQ9 assessment when you first join so you can get acquainted with your type, if you’re open to that. This group will be filled with authors who’ve been studying the the Enneagram, so you’ll get to have plenty of teachers on the subject. (Be sure to attend the Q&As, too!)

If you’ve fully embraced AI for your writing process and don’t feel conflicted about its impact on human creativity, its support of authoritarian regimes, its erosion of copyright law, or its degradation of the environment, this probably not the community for you. I think you’ll feel values-misaligned with the other members.

Our discussions also won’t involve how to leverage AI for our business. There are plenty of other groups focused on that.

That said, this is not an AI-free space. There are plenty of authors who use machine learning in some part of their process—admin tasks, sales copy, analytics—but save the writing for their creative human mind. Those folks are absolutely welcome and will probably feel like they’ve found their people.

There may be some purists in the group, but ultimately each person must make the decisions that work for their business and sit right with them.

Most authors I know who use AI feel conflicted about it and would take an alternate path if they could see it. If that describes you, I hope you’ll join us, because we’ll be exploring those alternate paths in this community.

There are many industry leaders who proclaim that AI will solve the problems authors are facing today (or rather, the breakthrough that’s always just around the corner will). I couldn’t disagree more strongly. “AI” is a marketing term for a set of tools built within unjust systems; those tools, while perhaps useful in small, specific applications, are not the things that will help us escape the systems of extraction and exploitation we’re facing.

This is how I arrive at a place where I understand if authors use some AI tools to stay afloat, but I also believe the larger solution is ultimately a complete revolution of publishing, not AI.

You may not believe this, but I’m an introvert myself. I need time alone to recharge after every social interaction.

The Slack group will be a comfortable place for introverts to connect with others. On our live calls, I opt for more small-group discussions because introverts tend to feel more comfortable in those situations.

I sometimes hear authors self-identify as introverts when what they mean is that they have social anxiety or don’t want to commit to showing up on days when they’re not feeling it.

Being part of a community means pushing yourself to show up, and not just on the days where you really feel like it. It’s not about showing off, it’s about showing up.

If you’re an introvert, like me, I suggest creating time after our community discussions to recharge, as needed, because participation is not an optional part of community.

If you suffer from social anxiety, I feel you. A therapist may be a useful means of support, because it’s not a prison sentence (I used to have it big time). If you don’t think you can show up consistently for this community despite anxiety, then it might not be the time for you to join, and that’s okay!

When I think of an “author career,” I think of the span of our relationship with writing and publishing, not some profit margin or hours spent each week on our WIP.

It’s not more or less virtuous to be a full-time writer than a hobby writer. It’s not more or less virtuous to spend 40 hours a week writing than it is to spend 3 hours a week writing.

If you write stories and want to get them into the hands of readers, then you are welcome. There is no requirement that you rely on that as your sole or even partial source of income. That’s not what we’re about.

Some of the calls will be recorded, and others will not.

Learning-heavy calls (special topics, type calls, Q&As) will be recorded, but the social calls will not be.

It is highly encouraged for members to attend whatever calls they can live to keep the community vibrant with their presence. I’ll schedule them at various times each month so everyone has the opportunity to attend something live once a month. Monthly schedules will be released early so people can save the time on their calendar.

All the recorded calls will be available to access during the 12-month membership window.

This membership is open to authors anywhere around the globe who wish to join. I’m located in the US Central time zone, though.

Tools like Slack enable us to have conversations across time zones more easily, and I’ll be offering the calls at different times of day to accommodate those in various parts of the world.

While many of the problems authors are facing right now may seem central to the US, I’m afraid it won’t stay that way. Authors in the UK, EU, and Australia can use what the US is facing as a preview of what’s to come and reposition to be ahead of the curve if/when our issues creep into your country (sorry about that, by the way!).

Having authors from around the globe will only broaden our collective perspective and enrich our community, so all are welcome to join.

No. Anyone who promises to help you get rich is conning you, pulling you into a heist, or simply doesn’t know how the world works.

This membership may help you feel grateful for what you do have, and help you envision wealth in broader terms.

If your #1 objective is to be rich, I suggest getting into the world of finance, not writing.

That said, I want to build a world where more authors can make enough to feed themselves from their royalties.

Because I know money is tight right now, and my main goal isn’t squeezing as much out of people as I can. I don’t find that to be an admirable aim.

I want the right people to join to this group so that it becomes something greater than the sum of its parts. Creating an unreasonable financial barrier wouldn’t accomplish that.

I don’t equate current financial means with possible contribution to a collective.

I was struggling to think of a name that went along with my larger Liberated Writer brand, and this popped into my head.

Admittedly, it does sound like a cult, but because I’m a satirist at heart, I thought that was funny enough to keep. I promise you’ll grow to enjoy it, too. It is known.

Absolutely. For years, this was how many indie authors managed to be full-time authors. We always knew it was a trap, but for many genres, it was the only game in town.

What I’m hearing from authors more frequently lately is that they’re desperate to see other paths beyond Amazon-exclusive distribution of their ebooks. The Liberati is a space where we can brainstorm and strategize those moves, and where you’ll have the support you need during the transition process (whatever that looks like for you).

The labels of “indie” and “trad” have blurred over the years as more authors split their catalogs between these two routes.

In The Liberati, we’re all creative authors, and we stay open to whatever publishing opportunity or approach feels right for us in the moment.

The more important exploration is asking ourselves why we’re drawn to one over the other to assess if our core fear is steering or if there are myths and biases clouding our ability to see what will work best for getting our books into the hands of the right readers.

Whatever your publishing path looks like, I’m glad you’re here now.

I believe in getting paid for my work, and this membership does require a lot of time and attention from me, which means my other sources of income will fall to the wayside.

There is also overhead associated with this project, and I haven’t yet found a wealthy benefactor to cover that.

You won’t see me on any private jets anytime soon, promise. Membership costs are to pay the bills, which I believe we all deserve to do, not to retire early in Paris or whatever.

Join the waitlist by clicking one of the approximately ten million “JOIN THE WAITLIST” buttons I’ve included on this page.

When enrollment opens, you’ll be the first to know. Enrollment will remain open for two weeks, then it will close for a year, so you don’t want to put off joining.

Make sure you add claire@liberatedwriter.com to your contacts list so you don’t miss the announcement.