Interview with WH,WN Founder Karen Sanders

This month, the Kindred Creativity Club is excited to be shining a spotlight on a wonderful, inclusive writing community —  Write Here, Write Now from Karen Sanders Editing. Without WH,WN and Karen's encouragement, I wouldn't have had the confidence or motivation to even start The KCC.

So, let's kick things off with an interview from the woman herself — founder, Karen Sanders. And over the following weeks, there will be interviews with the WH,WN admins, Clare Bentley, M.B. Feeney and me.

Plus, over on the KCC social media platforms, I will be sharing testimonials, sneak peeks and my own experience being part of this great community.

1. What inspired you to start this writing community, and what keeps you passionate about it?

The biggest reason I started the community initially was because my editing services were so busy that I had to keep turning people away, as I didn’t have enough time in my day to work with everyone. So, the community was created as a hub of writing and editing tips for people to peruse at leisure, as well as a place for authors to create a little network of support. Over time, though, I also realised I had created the exact thing I wish I could have had when I was a new author in order to feel supported and safe to ask a question, no matter how silly it seemed. There are some free writing groups out there, but the way some people respond to questions with a lack of kindness made me want to give people a place where nobody was afraid to ask anything they wanted without the fear of being judged. 

And without a doubt, what keeps me passionate is the amazing community we have made for ourselves. The fact that everyone still wants to learn and help each other is what inspires me to keep it going! 

2. How would you describe the mission or heartbeat of this community to someone who’s never heard of it?

The WHWN Community is a place for authors of all abilities and stages of their career to come together to learn writing skills, improve their confidence, and be part of something fun that drowns out all of the external noise in the book world. Essentially, it’s a writing safe space for those who find other groups a little overwhelming. 

3. What aspect of the community do you think makes it unique or especially supportive for writers?

The fact that our admin team is super knowledgeable is one thing. Amongst us, we have me, an editor, plus a cover designer, a proofreader, and you, who has knowledge of working for a publisher. But it’s more than that. While we do learn and work together, we’ve also created a little calendar of additional events that allow us to bond and forge genuine friendships. We play as hard as we work, and there is no jealousy or competing. We go hard for each other, and it’s really beautiful to see. 

4. Can you share a memorable moment or success story that happened because of the community?

There are actually quite a few of these, but amongst my favourites are how proud I am of our community for not only reaching number one in Women’s Short Stories on Amazon with both of our anthologies, but also that we raised several hundred pounds for Hopefull Handbags UK. For some of our members, the anthologies were their first publications. Their joy at seeing their words in print for the first time was amazing! 

Also, the moment when our very own Clare Bentley was chosen as our first Music March (annual flash fiction contest) winner and was so overwhelmed that a Costa Short Story Award nominee had picked her. It felt like a real moment when she began to believe in herself. I think of that moment often. 

5. What role do you personally play as an admin, and how has it shaped your own writing journey?

As admin, my job is to organise our events each month, with the help of my team, and that involves deciding on dates and finding the right people to come in for guest talks, or creating masterclasses and workshops that I host myself. It also involves always being on top of writing world news so the members are up to date on things that might affect them. And of course, just to be there to support and encourage anyone who needs it. That itself hasn’t shaped my writing journey as such, but it has helped me learn to be organised! 

6. How do events like writing sprints or accountability sessions support members’ creativity and consistency?

We now run eight sprints a month and two Work/Chat sessions (basically a co-working session) to help those who struggle to create writing/work time for themselves. We’ve found that if a writing session is set up for people, they are more likely to come along to work with others than to sit down by themselves to do it. It also brings a little healthy competition of who can write the most words during a sprint! What this means is that our authors are able to write a book a little faster than they would if they did it alone. 

7. What’s something behind the scenes that people might not realise goes into running or supporting this community?

So. Much. Planning LOL. Although the members only see the events going up and attend them, behind the scenes, we have to co-ordinate dates, pick people for masterclasses, create graphics, schedule posts, remain creative so that there is always a new post in the FB group every day to teach or inspire, plus create new lessons frequently. Then, if we are organising something bigger like an anthology or Music March, or some other event I have concocted, that is additional hours of work on top. It can be a LOT, but it’s always worth it. 

8. What are some of the biggest challenges you've encountered in building or maintaining the community, and how have you overcome them?

What I’ve often found challenging is trying to reach the right people to keep the community growing. It typically grows at a slow, steady rate, which I love, but I do struggle to ensure I am connecting to the people who could make the best use of it, as we do have a lot of helpful things to offer. Within the community itself, though, there is rarely a problem. There were some in the very early days, but now, it’s nothing but love, guidance, and banter! 

9. How has being part of this community impacted your own writing or personal growth?

I always strive to remind people that, while I am an editor and very knowledgeable, I am also just another author. I don’t consider myself “done” with learning, and I learn something from the community every single day.  

10. What hopes or visions do you have for the future of the community?

I would love to keep it growing. My aim is to have 100 members so that we have a bigger support system, and so I can work with more people. I would also really love to have an overall Amazon bestselling anthology for the community because it would be such an enormous achievement! Mostly, though, I want to always keep it as friendly and fun as it has always been! 

• A no-pressure, fun community where you can connect with like-minded authors who are ready to make you feel welcome.
• Tools, tips, and encouragement to help you write more, stress less, and shine brighter.
• Regular doses of inspiration, motivation, and accountability to keep you moving forward.

Warning: Joining this group may cause unexpectedly high word counts, serious self-belief boosts, ridiculously good friendships, and a noticeable improvement in your writing.

JOIN THE WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW COMMUNITY