Lit Group Focus: Adopt-A-Writer

Greetings and welcome to the first in a series of articles meant to highlight successful Groups that provide a special service or fulfill a need in the Literature community, in the hopes of attracting attention and awareness.

Today, nycterent takes time out to tell us about Adopt-A-Writer, a Group designed around the concept of connecting writers with mentors, or simply introducing like-minded writers to one another.




1. What is Adopt-A-Writer?

Our member BeccaJS summed Adopt-A-Writer up when when she called it a "match.com for writers". The group connects writers from across dA who share common goals and interests but who might not have ever met on deviantART otherwise.


2. How did you all get started?

Three years ago in August, WineWriter and LadyLincoln founded the group with the vision of making it easier for writers to find mentors on dA. In January 2010, I took over the account as Adopt-A-Writer's new owner and in mid-February of that year, I changed its platform to that of an official dA Group. We've been rocking ever since.


3. How does the "adoption" process work?

The group offers its members a lot of options about how the adoption process will work for them.

Broken down into basics, here's how it works. There are two profiles which can be sent to the group in a note. Once we get a profile, the writer's name and interests go into our backroom database and we try to match them up.

The first one is a writing profile, and it is for writers who want a partnership that focuses on learning or sharing writing knowledge.

The second is a friends profile. This one is for those who'd like to find writers who have common interests, in writing and otherwise. The point of this kind of match is to say, "hey, you guys have a lot in common. You could be friends."

Once a writer sends the profile to the group as a note, their name appears on our Adoption List. The Adoption List is an open database of all our members who are currently seeking some kind of writing partnership. We encourage all writers who are looking for a friend, a mentor or to be mentored to browse the list and contact us if they see someone with whom they'd like to be paired up.

Finally, our gallery has a subfolder for Public Profiles. These are deviations that can take nearly any form can be posted at any time by our members.


4. What is expected of mentors and adoptees? Are there any special requirements for either?

The group's goal is to facilitate chance meetings. The nature and shape of the partnership is entirely in the hands of the writers who are paired up. The kind of relationship you will have with your adopter or new friend will depend entirely on your preferences, how much time you both have, and your personalities. Anyone can be a mentor or ask to be mentored; the only real requirement is enthusiasm.


5. How long does an adoption commitment last?

Because the adoption or friendship commitment can take many different forms, there is no set time. If you submit a profile, you might be paired with someone you'll still be exchanging emailing in five years - or perhaps you'll both realize in a couple weeks that the partnership isn't quite working out.


6. Well, what happens if the adoption doesn't work out?

The group has a resource with hints on creating a successful partnership. Still, even when both writers want to make it work, sometimes people have vastly different approaches to writing, editing and learning.  We try to stress that if that things don't turn out (and they don't always turn out on the first try) all you need to do is send us an updated profile, and the staff will try again.


7. How many writers and mentors have you connected thus far?

Since the club became a Group in February 2010, Adopt-A-Writer has connected over a hundred writers on dA.


8. You're always looking for Support Staff. What do staffers do and how can we volunteer?

The group staffers are the invisible backbone of Adopt-A-Writer. The group differs from many others in that most of the "action" takes place behind the scenes, in the backroom, where Profile Notes and questions are received, filed, and paired, and from where the staff contact paired writers about their new adoptee, mentor, or friend.

The position is vastly rewarding. It's inspiring to read through the profiles submitted, seeing the great diversity of dA firsthand. Adopt-A-Writer lets us be part of the momentum that brings strangers together into something that could change their week, month, or entire writing trajectory.

I warmly encourage anyone interested in helping out behind the scenes to apply.


9. Do you have any upcoming special events on the horizon that we should check out?

The group hosts monthly group chatroom events as yet another way for our members to meet each other. Our next chatroom event will be happening on Aug 21st at 12pm EST (time zone converter: www.timezoneconverter.com/cgi-…) in :#AdoptionConnection:. Everyone and anyone is invited. Come stop by, check us out, ask questions, and meet new people.


10. Are there any particular goals you'd like to achieve or projects you'd like to start with the group in the future?

Our biggest group focus at the moment is making sure that we are doing the best we can when it comes to pairing writers up. Just this week, we have averaged 3-5 new profiles sent to our group daily. That's quite a lot to keep up with!


11. Anything else?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being absolutely awesome, Adopt-A-Writer is a whopping one-hundred and ten.

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Thanks very much to nycterent for taking the time to answer my questions. I'll be on the lookout for those Lit Groups who are making a special effort and impact for future articles, and I always welcome suggestions.