To be honest, I didn’t know I was birthing a monster. I thought it was only a small, innocent creature that would help writers. I had no idea it would end up changing lives, including my own.
The monster was MFRW. Marketing for Romance Writers — a peer-mentoring group open to the entire literary community has opened doors for writers, trained writers in how to handle promotion, introduced friends who would never have met any other way, and paved the way for writers to network all around the world.
I founded the group on Halloween because that year, there were no kids on my block at all and no one was ringing the doorbell. I was bored and going through my email (again) late at night.
When I saw the same marketing question from three different friends, I thought — what if I made a Yahoo group where all of us could ask a question and then whoever knew the answer could post a response? Would anyone be interested in that? I quickly set up the group, named it Marketing for Romance Writers and emailed a dozen friends.
By the end of the year, there were 100 members. Membership climbed as friends recommended the group to friends. We opened the doors to anyone in the literary community, including publishers, personal assistants, and promo companies.
The biggest thing we required was no promo. None. At. All.
Members love that. It’s the thing I’m most often thanked for when members email me. No promo to wade through. Just business-oriented questions, advice, and opportunities. If one person wants to promote a book — they ask for blog spots with other authors, and offer their own in return. If someone wants to hold a blog hop, they can announce it on the group.
MFRW Growth
Today MFRW boasts over 2400 members, and over 7000 members make up our Facebook group. We have a multiple-award-winning magazine. We have over 400 followers on Goodreads and feature our members books in the MFRW Book Place group. On Pinterest, over 1500 people follow us, we have 55 genre related boards, and almost 1000 pins. Want your book cover pinned on our site? Even if you don’t have a Pinterest account, you can take advantage of our presence there. Join our Yahoo group today and you’ll get information. Services and membership are free.
Come share your tweets on MFRW’s monthly Retweet Day. The hashtags #MFRWorg #MFRWauthor and #MFRWhooks help you promote everywhere.
If you have questions about marketing your books, join us. The MFRW motto is “seek, teach, share, learn, succeed.” Services and membership are free.
MFRW Volunteer Staff
Alice Orr, Barbara Donlon Bradley, Carmen Stefanescu, Emerald, Jessica Cale, Kayelle Allen, Libby McKinmer, Lisa Lowe, Lyncee Shillard, Michelle Davis, Mona Karel, Nicole Morgan, Paloma Beck, Reet Singh, Rochelle Weber, Tina Gayle
Awesome support for authors of any genre!
So true. I’ve often wished I’d had the foresight to call it Marketing for Every Writer 🙂
The volunteers and the members are the real power behind this group. MFRW would be nothing without them.
This is such a great group, the support and learning is endless.
Happy birthday!
Vi
thanks, Viviana 🙂
And we are so glad you did!
Thank you, Caroline. ^_^
Best Halloween present ever!
LOL! So true. Definitely a treat.
Love this group. Thank you for setting up and making certian it’s not just another “buy my book” sight.
You’re welcome! I agree. One of the best parts is the no promo rule.
This is a generous service you provide and I’m sure all of us who participate are grateful.
It’s the work of many hands. The volunteers are heroes.
You founded a great organization, Kayelle, and a lot of us have benefited from it. Thank you.
It was a good idea that got better over time, Linda. ^_^ Thank you!
Thank you for all you do for this group.
Tweeted.
My pleasure. The real thanks go to all the volunteers who make this group shine.
What a great idea you had. I read every post with interest and have learned much. I always tell people it’s not just for romance authors.
Same here. I read everything. Best group out there! Thanks, Janet.
Happy Founders Day, Kayelle!
Thank you 🙂
MFRW is so helpful for authors needing advice. I’m happy I’m part of this huge online family.
Same here! I check the site every day. 🙂