Hi, Writer-friend!

You need the 540 Writers Community. And the 540 needs YOU.

Vision: The 540 Writers Community is a faith-based 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to educating, encouraging, and equipping writers to create clean, clear, compelling, life-changing content.

Mission: The 540 Writers Community seeks to remove barriers (e.g., finances, location, caregiving situation, medical limitation) for writers by providing free, virtual opportunities to access stellar education.

The difference between a published author and someone with a half-finished draft isn’t luck, money or talent–it’s determination and hard work. Writing isn’t always easy (sometimes it’s the opposite), but WE CAN DO THIS.

And yes, it’s forever free.

Join fellow procrastinators–I mean, writers–as we nag harass encourage each other to keep writing.

What’s the 540? 

TL;DR: Writers encouraging writers to write.

Longer answer: the 540 is a free community for writers. Together, we write, hone our skills, and encourage each other in the writing journey. Sign up below to join the conversation.

What can I expect? 

  • Weekly Zoom sessions (Thursday, 7 p.m., ET)
  • Write-ins 
  • Special speakers
  • Thriving Facebook group
  • Encouragement

We’re an enthusiastic community of writers who love opportunities to interact, learn, and encourage.

What’s up with the name? 

Our name:

If you write 540 words per day, you’ll have a 100,000 word draft in under 6 months. (This isn’t a requirement. Just a fun writer-math fact. 100,000 words sounds attainable now, right?) The idea isn’t to write a certain number of words per day, but to break large projects into workable pieces.

Writing 540 words per day IS NOT A REQUIREMENT, just a reminder to write regularly.

Do I have to commit to writing 540 words per day?

Nope. Some of us write much less, and some write more. We’re all at different stages in the writing journey. The only true commitment is to encourage other writers. Willingness to learn (even if you’re a published writer) is a plus.

If you think you already know everything about writing, the 540 is probably not for you.

I dream of writing, but my biggest accomplishment is our family Christmas letter. I’m afraid I don’t qualify. 

We’d LOVE to have you. The 540 community embraces writers at all stages in the writing journey (which is more like walking in circles than a mountain climb). If you’re interested in writing, open to learning, and willing to encourage others, come on! 

The 540 is a safe place for newbies.

I’m an industry leader and although I’d love to encourage and learn, I’m tired of being mobbed when I join a group.

You’re in luck. We don’t care if you’re Karen Kingsbury or Stephen King. Here, no one is royalty. We’re all just writers.

The 540 is a safe place for not-so-newbies.

I’m not a writer, but I have industry experience and I’d love to encourage writers. 

We welcome writer-adjacent members (publisher, agent, editor).

Oh, and it’s free. No strings. 

We don’t have membership cards, decoder rings or bumper stickers, but we learn something new every week. 

And, hey, maybe we’ll finish our manuscripts.

If you’re struggling to finish a project, you are definitely not alone. We’re in this together! 

Sign up for the 540 Writers Community in the orange box (top right)! Don’t miss fun opportunities to learn and connect with other writers.

The form on this page ONLY connects you with the 540 community; your information will never be shared or sold. 

You can also click here to Join Our Facebook Group

Special thanks to Hank Phillippi Ryan for sparking this idea by explaining the magic math of 540 words. Check out Hank’s fabulous books at hankphillippiryan.com.

*Encouragement from published authors is used with permission and does not indicate endorsement of the 540 community. 

540 logo hand-crafted by Patrick Antkowiak.

47 thoughts on “540 Writers Community”

  1. Dear Becky:

    I’m searching for the elusive Orange Box! I’m a writer, having completed a book I want to self-publish. As a past member of The Christian Writers Guild, I had wonderful mentors, but I need more encouragement from others to keep pursuing the focus of self-publishing. I also need more direction of inclusion of Biblical references into my writing without it being “preachy.” Thanks, Becky!

    1. Hi, Judith, somehow I missed this comment. I hope you’ll see the reply. I’d love to chat. If you’re on FB, we have a group (540 Writers Community) and you can easily reach me there, or you can send an email through the website. I look forward to chatting!

  2. Hi Becky,
    I’m interested in critique groups. Do you have them? I didn’t locate any from the menu above. If you don’t that’s alright, but that’s where my interests lies now. I’m willing to help other writers and want help from others.

    1. Hey, Michael!
      Have you checked out Word Weavers? We don’t currently run critique groups, but we have write-ins each weekday (two on Monday). While the intent for write-ins is writing (ha), sometimes we give input when a member asks. If you’re looking to learn, our Thursday night Zoom meetings are educational sessions on a wide variety of writing and publishing topics. Hopefully we’ll see you there!

      1. Thanks Becky. I checked out Wordweavers and learned that there is a charge for joining the groups. That presents a difficulty because I don’t have that kind of money. Is there another option that you know about? Thanks again.

        1. I don’t know of any free ones but I think Word Weavers is only $30 per year (I could be wrong). You might try contacting them to see if they have any scholarships–the group is great. If you saw something costing hundreds, you might have been looking at the conference.

  3. Hi Becky,
    I received an email notifying me that someone posted here, but can’t seem to find the elusive Orange Box. Please just subscribe me. Hopefully the Zoom meetings are at various times. When I tried to subscribe to your own list I got a generic website error message.
    Thanks

    1. Hi Becky,
      When did you send it? I only got one informing me of the post. I selected All on the pulldown menu, so that could have been it :).
      Thanks

  4. Hi Becky! I have been a member in name only for awhile now. While I was working, I never seemed to find the time or the energy for my writing goals. Now that I’ve officially retired from my day job, I’m looking forward to seeing where God leads me. I have three questions for you. Is the goal of 540 words per day meant to be for seven days a week, or maybe for five or six?

    Also, how to begin? Do I just jump in on the write ins and community meetings? Do folks usually try to attend all of them or just pick one write-in session that best fits their schedule?

    Thanks!
    Toni Wilbarger

    1. Hey, Toni! I’m so excited you’ll be able to be with us more–congrats on retirement! Do you get the newsletter? If you signed up in the past but haven’t seen it, try searching your inbox for “540,” because sometimes it ends up in spam or other folders. If you don’t see it, you can go to 540writers.com and add your email to the ORANGE sign up box (if you see the purple one, just ignore it–I need to fix that). The write-in sessions are listed in the newsletter (it comes out each Thursday). You can attend whenever is best for you–we have zero rules. (Well, okay, we do have a few rules, like “be nice” and “wear clothes on camera” but I think those are self-evident.) 🙂 Educational meetings are every Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, and write-ins are at various times (see newsletter). I look forward to getting to know you!

  5. Hi there – Is it possible to participate without using Facebook? If not, I suppose I can create an account, I never used it much and haven’t for years. I really enjoyed very briefly meeting you (Becky) at the Christian Writer’s Conference in Spartanburg, SC!!
    Thank you,
    Donna

  6. Hi there! I just signed up for the newsletter but I don’t use Facebook. Is there another way to join? I saw you at the Christian Writers Conference at First Baptist in Spartanburg, and I really need to encouragement to keep writing!

    Looking forward to writing together!
    -Donna

    1. Hey, Donna,
      BTW, I removed your contact info from your comment (I’m not sure if you meant to include your email address and your phone number, but I didn’t want you to end up getting email/phone calls from spammers). 🙂

  7. Hi Becky … I re-signed up. I know I’ve been MIA for awhile, and honestly will continue to be at least through the summer, but I do want to stay connected and get back as soon as I can. Thanks for all you do.

  8. Happy to be here! I read, write, and edit young adult speculative fiction. I have a short story being published in an anthology with my Christian writers’group in April. I am still in the midst of creating my author/editor website, so if anyone knows anyone who could help me that’d be great ☺️

    1. Hey, Kelsey, are you in the FB group? Francine Trendler is fantastic with website stuff and her contact info is in one of the posts (she’s also a member). I’m so sorry–not sure why I didn’t see a comment notification, but I totally missed this.

  9. Hi, I happened onto this group while dipping into workshop videos from the Fall 2022 ACFW VA writers conference. Love reading. Love writing. My first novel will be released this year by Elk Lake Publishing. I’m usually out of breath jumping from one thing to another with family. It feels like I’m never at my desk long enough to accomplish much, but this group sounded like a friendly place to visit and converse.

  10. Hello,
    I just heard about your group and it sounds like a fun and relaxed place to get motivated. Just curious if you ever offer other Zoom meeting time options. I am presently travelling but might be back in the EST zone in a few weeks.
    Thanks
    Selah

    1. Hey, Selah!
      I apologize for the late reply–I totally missed a bunch of comments, and yours was one of them. We do have other Zoom times. Do you get the newsletter? Some are listed there and there’s also a note about where to find additional sessions. It comes out on Thursday each week.

  11. Hi. My apologies. I’m not finding the orange box to sign up for 540 writers group. Is there another way to join the group? Blessings
    Liz

    1. Hi, Liz,
      I am SO SORRY. I have no idea what happened but I see you sent this months ago and I’m just seeing it. Try entering 540writers.com–that should take you to the correct page–and then scroll down (if your on a phone) or possibly to the side (if you’re on a computer) and you should see the orange box. If you don’t, please email me through my contact page and I’ll be happy to help. Again, my apologies!

  12. Looking forward to start joining zoom meetings .
    I’m a brand new writer .
    Actually never wrote in my life but have some pretty amazing testimonies and stories to share for those that a change or transformation in their lives .

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *