The Serial Collective Explained

Hello Writer. Welcome! The Serial Collective is where you will finally find the inspiration, motivation, and accountability you need to finish writing, editing, and/or revising your book.

It’s also the place to build your blogging habit, prep and polish short stories for submission, and craft your non-fiction.

Okay. But what is The Serial Collective? How does it work? What is it for?

You have questions, I have answers. And I have some questions for you, too.

The Serial Collective is an interactive workshop and community of writers who are serious about producing consistent, high-quality content, week in and week out. It is a place to share your work with other writers as you produce it.

Skip ahead for how this works, step-by-step.

Jump straight to the registration form and payment button.

The Serial Collective has a price tag and requires a commitment. You don’t have to be the best writer ever, or even an accomplished writer with years of experience. You can be new to the process, determined to hone your craft as you go. You can be anywhere in your writing journey, determined to finally establish and maintain a regular writing habit that reinforces your creative identity.

But you do have to take your commitment seriously. Fortunately, you get to choose from a few options to design your commitment level and set your pace. Click here to see your commitment options.

Who is The Serial Collective for?

The Serial Collective is for writers who plan to publish their work. You are engrossed in writing a book, or you’re nurturing a blog, submitting articles to online or print publications, or building a collection of short stories. You are serious about crafting publish-worthy stories and information to share with the world.

Am I ready for The Serial Collective?

If you have a creative habit, meaning you have already identified and made use of time and space in your regular routine to focus on writing, then yes, you are ready–even if you’re not sure about the quality of your writing (newbies welcome).

If you are craving a creative habit, meaning you have tried and failed to write on a regular basis, but you really, really want to make it happen and all you need is motivation and accountability (and an official reason for family members to give you the time and space to write), then you might be ready–even if you’re not sure about the quality of your writing (newbies welcome).

If you identify with any of the following statements and get a spark of hope from reading our response to each one, you’re ready.

  • You stop and start, not sure where you are in the story, who wants to read your work, or whether it’s any good. But you know you have to write this thing; it just won’t leave you alone. There’s a writing coach running the show (hey! that’s me!) and it’s my job to help provide clarity and support for all of the above.
  • You need motivation to keep slogging away. Writing alone is hard and you’re riddled with doubt. Sometimes, you wonder why you bother, but you can’t just give up. That’s where this community comes in. We are so happy to have you writing along with us and we’re practically begging for your next piece. This includes me! As a writing coach, my first passion is writing and just like you, I need external motivation to keep going.
  • You need accountability to keep you on track and producing content at a steady pace. Here we are again, we other writers in the collective, reminding you that you owe us the pleasure of reading what comes next! To be storytellers, we have to love story, right? We are hungry for story, day in and day out. Feed us your story, please! One bite at a time.
  • You just need to know if your writing is good enough. You can ask for proofreading support for the basics, but you’ll learn more about your skill-set when you sign up for positive feedback, which identifies what you’re already doing really well without damaging raw work, or join The Critique Pool to give and receive thoughtful evaluation of each piece as you write and submit it, so you can grow as you write.

Here’s how The Serial Collective works, step-by-step:

  1. Choose your commitment options (below) and write your chapter, scene, post, article, or short story.
  2. Email your piece to me, Bronwyn, at [email protected]. I’m the group’s firm but gentle coach, head cheerleader, and basic facilitator. I will skim it for typos and missing words, then post it on serialcollective.org on your password-protected personal page. Your page features a maximum of three chapters, scenes, blog posts, short stories, or articles for review and critique at a time. Once there are three pieces up under your name, the first piece will revert to draft to make room for the fourth and so on. This creates a situation where both you and your readers take your deadlines seriously. This decision is not based on a lack of belief in everyone’s good intentions; this decision is based on data gathered over seven years of working with writers, writing groups, and beta readers. Write/Life balance is a universal teeter totter.
  3. Read the works of other writers and review according to your promise. Every member is required to provide at least three but no more than five critiques and/or positive feedback (C/PF) every time they submit work. Your promise to the collective is to deliver three C/PF. You choose whether your C/PF are for the same writers, different writers, or a mix.
  4. Come back for the reviews you requested from others. Absorb their comments or take them with a grain of salt, revise your work or keep forging ahead; it’s up to you. Just remember to meet the next deadline.

When can I join The Serial Collective and start enjoying the benefits of membership?

You can apply for membership at any time. Your membership begins when the next cycle opens. Payment is required no later than 10 days before the cycle begins. The Serial Collective workshop cycles open January 1, April 1, July 1, October 1. New members of the Serial Collective are required to attend at least two online Proof of Writes in the weeks leading up to their first submission. Cycles close to new members within three days of the first official day of the new cycle.

How long is this workshop?

One cycle is three months. Memberships renew on request and with payment; it is not an automatic process. The Serial Collective cycles run January – March, April – June, July 1 – September 30, and October – December.

What if I sign up, pay for three months, and then find it’s not for me?

As soon as you realize you’re struggling to keep up or the workshop simply does not work for you, please reach out to me – your coach – to see if I can help. I have been mentoring writers on and off for about 20 years, running a writers support group and community since 2014, and coaching since 2017. There are many different labs, workshops, and retreats on my schedule that might be able to give you more of what you’re looking for. Refunds are not available after the first week. However, the money you invested in The Serial Collective can be used for any of my future labs, workshops, or retreats to support your writing journey or gifted to another writer to support theirs.

How much writing do I have to do and how much of my work can I share at a time?

That’s up to you, within reason. Depending on what you’re writing and whether you like to write then edit or edit while you write, you will write within your chosen commitment options (below). Some writers will share chapter by chapter and others share scene by scene, while bloggers will share post by post, etc. There is a 2,500-word limit per week so we don’t overwhelm each other. Your personal, password-protected page on this website will display no more than three samples of your work at a time. When a new piece goes up, the oldest one comes down. You own the rights to your work at all times.

You set your pace; The Serial Collective holds you to it.

You set your length; The Serial Collective holds you to it.

You set your commitment to other writers; The Serial Collective holds you to it.

Commitment options:

  • Pace options: Submit weekly or bi-weekly
  • Word count options: Submit 0-800, 800-1500, 1500-2500 words each time
  • Review options to request: Proofreading, positive feedback, critique
  • Review options to sign up for: Any of the above, however, to be fair, for every critique you have asked to receive, you must return the time and attention to another writer. It’s not okay to ask for critiques and then give back proofreading, but it is okay to ask for proofreading and give back critiques (that level of generosity is your choice).

PRICE: $297 per 3-month cycle.

Space is limited. Register now.

For more information, email [email protected]

Existing clients and customers, send text or FB message by March 25, 2021.



This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Serial-Collective-banner-books-1024x576.png