The gap between writing and publishing is making you crazy.
We help smart creative writers like you do your work forever without losing your mind.
If you want to share your writing, at first it will be exciting and then things might get weird.
No one responds.
Someone unsubscribes.
Every time you post you wonder what your critics think of you and then feel dumb for caring so much.
Or (no one talks about the trouble with this part) lots of people respond positively and you immediately want to hide under your coffee table.
Who are these people and why is this so uncomfortable?
Congratulations, my friend. This is where you realize writing and publishing are two different things.
We get it. It’s awkward to go from hobby writer to working writer. It’s not your fault.
Writing is a weird job where the very thing that makes you great at the trade is also the thing that can hold you back from getting better.
You’re good at having time alone for deep thinking and observation, time to connect the dots and put them into English.
But then you feel like you have to become a cartoon version of yourself when it comes time to share your work with all the people in every way and it just gets twisty.
It's official. You've outgrown Google.
Those online searches aren’t helping you anymore.
The results might give you ten tips to write a book proposal but they won’t tell you how weird it feels on the inside as a human person sharing your work with the world.
Robots can't empathize. You need humans for that.
Before you back out of your calling, hang with us.
You’ve basically got two choices.
You can keep writing alone, without the risk of exposure, rejection, or discomfort; without a plan, without support, without an income and only a best guess for your next right step.
Or, you can do the opposite of those things. It's time to ditch the robots and find your writing people. We can help.
Emily P. Freeman
Creative Director + Content Manager
Emily is committed to help you serve your reader and find your lane so you can do your good work forever. She is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of four books, including Simply Tuesday and A Million Little Ways and is host of The Next Right Thing Podcast.
Brian J. Dixon
Director of Growth + Partnerships Manager
Brian Dixon is a tech, video, and marketing guru who wants to help you create and launch your first online product. He can’t wait to answer your technology questions.
Gary Morland
Community Manager + Podcast Producer
Gary knows the mighty courage it takes to let God use your soul to encourage others in your writing, and he’s driven to inspire that courage in you. He’s Emily’s dad, and loves being an “it’s never too late” example, publishing his first book at age 66.
We help smart, creative writers do their work forever without losing their minds today.
Guess what people don't want to do forever? Things that make them feel weird.
After two years of building this community, we’ve discovered writers quit when they don't have:
- A clear plan - They skip important early, foundational stages of writing and publishing, then burn out before they even get started.
- Support - They romanticize the writing life and try to do it all alone.
- Income - They don't know how to make money as a writer.
- Selective social media vision - They feel like they have to be everywhere at once and get discouraged by all the content clutter.
If sharing your writing makes you feel weird, you won’t do it. We beg you to reconsider.
There is a path and you're already on it.
As a hope*writer member, we'll help you identify where you are on the writing path and give you the tools and direction you need to move to the next stage in your writing and publishing journey.
We believe words can change the world. We think you believe that, too.
Hope*writer membership leads you from hobby writer to working writer in three simple movements:
Identify
Start small and celebrate progress by identifying and accepting where you are on the writing journey.
Learn
Move at your own pace through your particular stage with provided checklists and benchmarks
Connect
Participate in our project-centric writer small groups we call hope*circles for support, ideas, and accountability.
Hope*writers is a community of working writers
dedicated to the success and creativity of each member.
We take serious the creative, social, and spiritual call to the deep work of sharing our stories and ideas with the people who need them the most.
We believe this because words have changed our worlds, shaped our narratives, and brought us back to life.
You need a go-to place and a solid plan with people who are doing the work and can respond directly to your questions about writing, publishing, and launching your work without going crazy.
Working alone is for hobbyists. If you’re ready to stop dabbling and become a writer who writes words people want to read, join us.
a few words from working writers
first book contract
“Two years ago I was lost, discouraged and wondering whether to pack it all in.
With the teaching, practical help and encouragement I found at hope*writers I've felt understood, believed in and equipped.
At hope*writers I’ve found my people.
I now have a book deal and I couldn’t have done it without my hope*writers family.”
Niki Hardy, first book under contract with Revell Books
self-published
"I have found hope*writers to be the friendliest face and space in the wilderness of figuring out how to amplify my voice of hope.
Somehow hope*writers manages to be both a source of limitless resources and an inclusive community that meets unique and individual needs.
Shortly after I became a member, I went from being completely clueless about where to begin in my author/speaker journey to self-publishing a book and giving a TEDx Talk!"
Lucretia Berry, speaker and founder of Brownicity
published author
"This is an incredibly rich community of smart, insightful, creative writers. I especially value the generous spirit of the community – hosts Emily, Gary, and Brian, as well as the guest teachers and members, are always willing to share their expertise and offer helpful advice.
Even as a seasoned writer, I consistently learn valuable marketing and writing strategies from fellow hope*writers. This community is truly an invaluable resource to writers at every stage, and I am grateful to be a member!"
Michelle DeRusha, Author of Katharina and Martin Luther
A membership site is the way to have the writing community you need:
"I have made some great writing friends, mentors, and prayer partners who truly understand the writing life, and sharpen me while giving me grace. It is the most worthwhile subscription I have ever tried."
Gretchen Ronnevik
"Hope*writers is the only online community I pay for. I seriously wish it was around in 2010-2013 when my books came out with NavPress and Harvest House. I was a wreck. I felt so alone. And now I don't. I'm so grateful for the way this community is led."
Renee Fisher
"I absolutely would not be where I am or come how far I’ve come if not for this community. My expectations have been far surpassed. This is the only membership subscription I have to anywhere."
Hannah Savage
"I had joined a similar group in the past, but felt lost in the crowd. Hope*writers is such a warm, encouraging, humble community!"
Jana Snyder
"It is a true community - one which shares in troubles and successes. It is where I come to share things about my work but also to check in with others. I have definitely been more focused and consistent in my work because of hope*writers."
Elli Johnson
We've hosted experts from:
Hope*writers understand publishing is a business.
We refuse to shake our fists at the machine. Instead, we humbly learn, we ask small questions, and we believe we are all on the same team.
When you become a hope*writer, we’ll bring you with us behind the curtain as we ask editors, agents, and other publishing professionals the questions you really want to know.
Current training videos include conversations with:
Andrea Doering
Acquisitions Editor at Revell Books
Carolyn McCready
Executive Editor at Zondervan
Chad Allen
Editorial Director for Baker Books
Stephanie Smith
Acquisitions Editor at Zondervan
Mark Lane
Graphic Designer at Tyndale House
Hope*writers craft quality writing that encourages, informs, and inspires without being preachy.
As a member, you’ll have access to training from thoughtful writers and teachers about developing a writing routine, building your writing team, developing your craft, and finally calling yourself a writer.
Current training videos include conversations with:
Ed Cyzewski
The Contemplative Writer Author
Marion Smith
Author, The Memoir Project
Ian Morgan Cron
Author, The Road Back to You
Amber C. Haines
Author of Wild in the Hollow
Erika Morrison
Speaker + Author of Bandersnatch
Hope*writers identify and serve our ideal reader (and don't worry about the rest).
Know who your writing is for and discover the corner of the room you are called to serve.
Current training videos include conversations with:
Jennie Nash
Book Coach Author Accelerator
Jennifer Allwood
Blogger + Podcast Host
Cindy Bunch
Director of Editorial InterVarsity Press
Rachelle Gardner
Literary Agent Books & Such
Hope*writers apply marketing strategylike humans, not robots.
We learn the foreign language of marketing, not for personal gain or self-interest, but because the only way our words can impact people is if people know the words exist.
When you become a hope*writer, you’ll have access to our weekly training from marketing experts and working writers who are doing it right:
Mike Kim
Marketing Consultant and Copywriter
Jeff Sanders
Author + Host of The 5 AM Miracle Podcast
Alicia Kasen
Marketing Director at Zondervan
Kendra Adachi
Writer + Teacher at The Lazy Genius Collective
Twila Bennett
Marketing + Publicity Consultant
Ruth Chou Simons
Author of Gracelaced
Hope*writers write meaningful words without sacrificing our meaningful lives.
As a hope*writer, you’ll be welcomed into an active and supportive community of smart, creative writers. You’ll have access to exclusive interviews about the working life of a writer.
Current training includes candid conversations with:
Erin Loechner
Author of Chasing Slow
Deidra Riggs
Author of One: Unity in a Divided World
Claire Diaz-Ortiz
Author of The One Minute Mentor
Melanie Shankle
New York Times bestselling Author
Tsh Oxenreider
Author of At Home in the World
Lisa-Jo Baker
Author of Never Unfriended
Hope*writers champion the work of fellow writers.
We reject the myth that writing is a solitary act and believe our best work is done when we know we are safe, we are seen, and we are supported.
We are wholeheartedly committed to being writers who choose connection over comparison.
We work hard to cultivate a no-self-promotion zone among members so the valuable conversation and curious questions don’t get lost in countless threads of outside links and sales pitches. Nope. Keeping our group uncluttered and focused is a high priority.
You've put it off too long. Now is the time to take your writing seriously. If not now, when?
"Before hope*writers I was a blogger who wrote for fun and mostly to indulge myself. Through the gentle guidance of this community I’ve learned how to uncover what my message actually is, who my reader is, how my message can serve her, and the gift I’m offering before rushing ahead."
Amber Salhus
"Before I joined hope*writers, I had notebooks full of writings but never in a million years would I have called myself a writer. Hope*writers has given me not only confidence to say I am a writer, but concrete ways to live this out and a tribe of people who understand what this writing life is like. It has changed my whole perspective."
Leigh Sain
"Before hope*writers, I had plans to be a writer someday. Hope*writers has taught me more about being a writer than all the college writing classes I have taken in the past four years and I will be forever grateful for how much I have grown because of this community and resources."
Beth Richardson
"Before hope*writers, I thought making money with my writing or blog was self-promotion. I never saw the value of the words I wrote until hope*writers. I always wanted to write a book. It was a dream I put on hold. I would have NEVER called myself a writer when introducing myself to a new group of people. Now, I do and I picture the faces here in this group. It's no longer just a dream. "
Sarah Frazer
Your words matter and you need to share them.
"I needed EVERYTHING hope*writers offers - the community, advice, encouragement, laughs, how-to, trainings, writing, marketing, soul care, you name it. Because of hope*writers, I have the courage and the tools and the support to move forward in this calling."
Kimberly Mulder
"I'm the member who has wrestled feeling totally out of place. Total newbie. Afraid of putting any words together, much less sharing them. Yet, somehow, very slowly and ever so gently, the Lord has used this group, the many lovely voices here I follow and learn from, to help me."
Paola Barrera Ruiz
"For Christmas, my husband gave me a homemade coupon for a writer's conference or course and I chose the hope*writer course 90 Day Direction. This resource and the entire hope*writers group have basically said, "It's time, Katie." Both have encouraged me to take my writing more seriously, to rethink how I use my time, and to narrow my niche and audience to better serve my readers."
Katie Carper
"For years I treated writing like a once-in-a-while hobby. I now have writing hours each week, send out a weekly email to my subscribers, completed a book proposal and published two Bible studies. I could not have completed these things without the accountability, inspiration, and encouragement I've found here."
Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young
How does it work?
When you join hope*writers today, here's how you'll grow as a working writer:
1. Identify your stage on the hope*writer path
We organize the writing life into six stages. These are fluid and we often move between them as writers, but as soon as you join, you’ll identify which stage you’re in and know exactly what you need to do to move on to the next one.
There’s no rush and no timeline – but there are actual steps to take. Writing and publishing don’t have to feel like a unicorn mystery. You can go at your own pace and design your writing life one step at a time.
2. Learn current trends and best practices in our weekly Tuesday training
We go live each week on Tuesdays at 2 pm EST, offering members the most up-to-date information from editors, agents, authors, and marketing professionals. We ask the questions you want to know.
All training is recorded and made available to you in our growing member library.
- Tuesday*Teaching: A bi-monthly mini-workshop with a publishing professional
- Tuesdays*Together: A Live Q&A with the co-founders once per month
- Co*Founder Coaching: Focused conversation with 3 members on the hot seat
3. Connect with our supportive private community
Ask the questions a search engine can’t find and get kind responses from writers who are with you and ahead of you on the path
- Test your post idea, book title, event angle, or tagline and receive valuable feedback from other members
- Share your writing weekly in a dedicated thread called Friday Shares and offer support for the work of others
- Celebrate your wins as well as your losses and be received by people all over the world who are doing similar work and have been there, too. We celebrate the book deals and the rejection letters because they both mean you are a working writer.
4. Find the Amy Poehler to your Tina Fey in a project-centric hope*circle
Before anyone knew their names, Tina and Amy met in a Chicago Improv group. They grew up together in their life and work.
As a working writer, it may seem like you need a big break or someone to discover you, but really you need to link arms with your own Amy.
Hope*circles is where you can find her, a small group of your writing peers who are in a similar stage as you are: whether you’re just starting out, looking for an agent, launching a book, etc.
Hope*circles are where you’ll receive:
- Care and support specific to your writing stage
- Brainstorming help with specific goals, tactics, and ideas related to your writing project
- Flexible and potentially life-long connections with like-minded writers who get it
a few more words from working writers:
reluctant marketer
“Writing has been my Rosetta Stone, the language to translate my heart back to me. But even if you manage to pour words on the page, how do we get readers to them?
I didn’t need a writer’s group to navigate the writing process, although there’s so much encouragement for that too.
I needed to accept that part of the process was advocating for my words without the dreaded stereotypes of selling my soul or becoming a greasy-tongued marketer.
I needed permission and hope that my story would serve people and were worthy of being seen and then, I needed help to make that happen.
Hope*writers helped me realize it's not enough to write words, I need to serve my readers and I have to invite them to the table.”
Alia Joy, first book under contract with Baker Publishing Group
writing teacher
"Being a writer can feel like being adrift at sea. It can be lonely and difficult to navigate as we try to grow in our craft and our publishing know-how.
Hope*writers serves as an anchor for me in the deep sea of publishing, giving me a safe place to explore all of the necessary elements of a writing career with fellow travelers on the same journey. Hope*writers is an investment in my future as working writer, and I’m grateful to have their support, experience, and teaching available whenever I need it.”
Kimberly Coyle, writing teacher at Fairleigh Dickinson University
Ask us questions.
What if I join and decide it's not for me?
You can cancel your membership at any time.
How often is enrollment open for hope*writers?
We used to be open always but have now decided to open our doors just three times a year in order to better serve our current members.
I am a writer but I'm not ready to write a book and am not even sure I want to. Will this still help me?
If you are a writer who wants to share your words with a reader (no matter the format!) then hope*writers is for you.
Is hope*writers only for non-fiction writers?
Our philosophy on writing and the writing life can help all writers as our goal is to equip writers to do their good work forever. However the training and teaching will focus primarily on the path of the non-fiction writer.
What if I can't watch the live training on Tuesdays? Do I miss out?
Never! We have members from all over the world and realize not everyone can join us for our live elements. Everything we provide live will also be recorded and available in the member library.
Is there homework?
There isn't homework but we do provide simple benchmarks and checklists to help keep you on track as you move through the various writing stages at your own pace.
Is hope*writers only for faith-based writers?
Hope*writers is for any writer who wants to offer hope to the world. While many of our members find their hope in their faith (and for many that's Christianity, as hope is a pervading message of that faith), any writer with a message of hope is welcome and will be embraced and helped. It will not be assumed that you hold certain beliefs.
Okay but is it only for women?
It didn’t start out that way, but the hope*writer approach seems to be attracting far more women than men.
We do have a few men (and two of our co-founders are men!) The fellas are welcome as long as they are comfortable with pink.
Who is hope*writers NOT for?
Cut-throat competitors: We know how to work hard and we take our work seriously, but we don't have time for the drama and anxiety of comparison and competition. We don't compete with each other, we champion each other. Success for one is success for all.
Self-promoters: There is a difference between sharing your work and self-promotion. If you don't know the difference yet, that's okay! We welcome writers who want to learn to share their work better. But if writers come in just to grandstand, we'll know.
Robots: What works for one may not work for all. We understand that and work hard to encourage hope*writers to find ways to do their good work without going crazy. We're looking for writers with heart who want to share their work with a reader while also becoming more fully themselves in the process.