The GEN-Z copywriting community, meeting up IRL!
Community.
By dictionary definition, community is the condition of sharing and having certain interests in common. So, before finding a community, where does one share their interests - and with whom?
I have been a part of a variety of communities over the years. From the community of those that reside at the Fiveways crossroads in my hometown, to the community of students that would boycott college for the climate. I have always felt a part of something. However, stepping into adulthood, I now feel that even though I have a foot in the wider world, I don’t necessarily belong to a specific part of it.
Well, I didn’t feel I did - until recently.
I have friends, family, a partner, and two cities I desperately adore. But none of those seemed to crossover into the territory of my love for writing. So when I began to kickstart an attempt to publicize my writing and gain a name for myself in the industry, it was incredibly daunting.
I scrolled on linkedin for days, searching jobs, reading engaging posts that people felt excited and confident to engage with.
I didn’t though - I wanted to - but I struggled to approach any social situations regarding writing. Due to the fact that I had an ‘entry level / junior’ label plastered on my head.
Would long-time professionals want to interact with me?
Am I too amateur to associate with?
I felt very alone in the big world of words, and it really knocked my confidence.
I met Carolyn on social media - I would say she was my first ‘writing friend’, and a greatly trusted advisor of mine. Since the day we connected and started collaborating, she provided me with such amazing advice and insight.
One piece of which that has stuck with me is: Don't take any sh*t. By that, I mean that she helped me understand where the line was in the writing industry, and where too much work without show of worth is, too much.
Through Carolyn, I met other writers.
Some were in the same boat as me, aspirational, excited yet perhaps naive to a degree, of the tribulations that entry-level writers may face. Others had experience, stories, and much-treasured advice which has proven greatly beneficial to me.
I slowly started to feel as though I was being integrated into - a community of writers.
Amidst this larger community, I began to feel a part of; Carolyn launched Word Tonic, a community of Gen Z copywriters. The community started small, consisting of Carolyn and I and six other AMAZING founding members.
And since then, the group has done nothing but grow!
In just a few months, I went from feeling quite alone in the industry, and as though I had no one to confide in regarding writing - to suddenly having people across the world who share my interest and keenness for community.
Word Tonic is somewhere that I can share fears and excitement, where I can share my insight with others in return for treasured wisdom.
It is truly a community that I am proud to be a part of.