A wonderful thing about coming back to the O.C. Writers’ leadership team is that so much is the same. It’s still not your average writers’ organization. We don’t collect dues, we don’t have eligibility requirements, and we don’t do drama. What we do is what we’ve done since I launched the group in 2012 and that’s offer a welcoming place for published and aspiring authors with opportunities to support, encourage, and learn from each other, hone our craft, and stay up to date on the ever-changing world of publishing.
When Greta and Megan said it was time for them to step away to nurture their new venture, I was thrilled to be at a place in my writing life where I could step back in to keep the group going.
As we make the transition, you probably won’t notice many differences. We’ll continue to have the friendly and informative Facebook group (http://facebook.com/groups/OC-Writers), where we support each other, share our good news, and exchange helpful information. The weekly in-person groups also will continue unchanged.
FAMILIAR FACES, NEW ROLES
A change you may have already noticed is that a couple longtime members have stepped into expanded roles.
BARB DELONG, who leads the Monday morning write-in in Foothill Ranch, has assumed the additional role of Community Director, which means she’s the main contact for coordinating writing event announcements and being a liaison with O.C.’s literary leaders.
KRISTY TATE, a multi-published author who has also been a longtime O.C. Writers member, has accepted the role of Social Media Director and will keep our Facebook Group conversations flowing with regular conversation prompts. She also has plans to coordinate future programming as well.
We’re also grateful for the continued leadership of CASEY DORMAN, who organizes the weekly morning roundtable discussions in Lake Forest every Thursday.
CEE CEE WAKEFIELD is doing a fantastic job organizing an in-person critique group that welcomes all genres and meets in Foothill Ranch after the weekly Monday write-in at Patch Coffee.
GRETA BORIS and MEGAN HASKELL will also continue to have a hand in O.C. Writers as Education and Workshop Coordinators, which will open some exciting new opportunities for members.
WEBSITE, EMAIL CHANGES
Another change will happen on March 16, when we’ll retire https://oc-writers.com and move to https://oc-writers.com. The old website address will continue to work through July, so it will give us all some time to get used to it. We have plans to redesign the website, too, and that will take place in phases starting later this month.
If you’ve been using info@ocwriters.network to reach us, that will be changing as well. Please use programs@oc-writers.com for event information, info@oc-writers.com for other messages, or deanna@oc-writers.com if you’d like to reach me directly.
We’ll also restart a monthly newsletter in April.
MORE TO COME
Once the dust settles, I hope to announce some new O.C. Writers programs and events, and I also look forward to hearing what you’d like to see from the group.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, you can always reach me at deanna@oc-writers.com.
Thank you for being part of O.C. Writers, and together, I hope we can make it better than ever.
Happy writing!
~DeAnna
DEANNA CAMERON is the founder and managing director of O.C. Writers. She’s also a hybrid author who is currently writing YA dark fantasy as D.D. Croix. Learn more at www.DDCroix.com.
Excellent, DeAnna. I think you’re super wise to keep things as they are! There’s a “dynamic comfortability,” if you will, in the way you set this group up and in the way Megan and Greta continued in your footsteps. I love and appreciate everyone I’ve met through O.C. Writers, and I’ve learned more than I ever knew there was to learn. Casey has been a rock for the Thursday Long Table discussion. Just the fact that he is so incredibly prolific inspires and energizes us, plus he’s incredibly informative–and kind to boot!)
I really am amazed at how I found this group several years ago. My husband and I were new to California, and I was writing all by my little self at home alone. (Not a bad thing to do, but a bit on the lonely side.) I kept searching Google using various terms but never thought to search “OC” because that’s just not a thing in MN. Luckily, my mind finally went there, and I found OC Writers. I love this group and can’t thank you enough for forming it.
You are so kind, Billie! And you are such a wonderful part of O.C. Writers. Your enthusiasm and optimism are infectious, too 🙂