In 2020 I spent time in a coupe different business mastermind groups because I knew that I needed some expertise in how to grow my platform as a business. They brought me some invaluable insight into business, small business management and growth and overall I think it was money well spent on my part. Every time I went into a mastermind call I was excited because I knew I was going to learn something. And every time I left with tools in my pocket and homework that was not only clear, but I was happy to dig into doing.
A few weeks ago I put out a question on social media to authors on whether they’d been a part of an author mastermind. Almost every said no. Then one guy replied, “That’s what this group is.”
I’ve learned not to argue or even debate on social media because it can be counted productive, but I felt a bit badly that he thought a free social media group was the same as a mastermind. The truth is, most free author groups are either trying to be accountability groups or promoting their book while talking/complaining about their writing journey or following a certain person who they expect to give them free content.
Even the group this person was referring to was basically filled with posts of authors talking about their own book and sometimes asking a question about publishing or marketing. Each question would get a variety of snarky and genuinely helpful answers, but none of the answers took it to the mastermind level. Had it been a private mastermind group, the questions would probably get platform on the next call.
Don’t get me completely wrong here. There is a time and place for free social media groups. I’ve met some great people on a few. I have a few as well, but they are not equivalent to a mastermind. In fact, by the time a free social media group gets to about 125 people, it loses most of it’s private, community vibe. The best groups are created around a certain person and their business (think editor or podcaster or writing coach) and most of the posts are made by them and every interaction is filtered through what they want to say or teach. And again, I’ve learned a ton from these different groups and have one of my own.
A mastermind is a bit more exclusive. You pay something for it. Not everyone is going to pay, so already you have people who are a bit more serious. There is also work involved in a mastermind, and not everyone wants to do the work.
A mastermind tends to be filled with people who don’t really want to hang around the water cooler all the time talking about how they SHOULD BE WRITING. It’s filled with people actually writing. Sure, we writers tend to be hard on ourselves so we are always saying that we should be writing more. Time management is definitely something I’ve struggled with throughout my writing career, but I’m constantly working on it. I’m also always looking to learn from others about their tips and tricks and hacks. But I don’t really want to complain with others about how I can’t discipline myself enough to get off of social media…
Because of the exclusivity and the step up of seriousness, masterminds tend to create a fairly tight-knit group. People get to know each other better than in the social media groups and they tend to make longer-lasting friendships. Collaboration is encouraged in masterminds as well. Everyone wants everyone to succeed and the give-receive ratio is much higher than in a free group. You don’t have to promote your book to the mastermind group, because they are just as excited about your book coming out as you are and want to help you however they can.
As with anything in life, there is a time and place for everything. If you are looking to level up your writing, have more community and garner some benefits that you can’t find in free social media sites, check out a few writing mastermind communities. There are great ones out there. Check out the Creative Writing Community as well. We’re not genre specific, but we are serious about writing and about helping each other be successful in their writing career.