Help / Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some terms to help you navigate through Groups:

Announcement: Group organizers can post an announcement to their group to alert members of news and events.

Dashboard: This is your entry point for the platform to find groups to join, the latest news from groups you’re in, and any pending invites or requests from other members.

Event: Group organizers can post an event to their group, whether for an upcoming meeting or other shared event.

Organizer: Anyone who creates a group is the “Organizer” of the group. They can also assign other members as an organizer, who would receive the same access and responsibilities for the group.

Posts: Members of a group can communicate by sharing a post to start a conversation.

Writing Project: You can create a “Writing Project” to share your writing with your group’s members. Members can add comments to the writing project for feedback and critique. See below for more details.

If you’re new to P&W Groups, you’ll log in and be taken to a page to create your profile. Be sure to go through each field carefully as there are some fields that are required. The more you fill out, the better matches you’ll get from your recommendation engine for open groups to join.

From the navigation menu on the left side of your screen, click on your username, then select “Edit Profile.” Edit any of the information on your profile then click “Save” at the bottom of the form.

On the left side of the screen, click your username, and then “Edit Profile.” Scroll down to the field “Hide Your Profile.” Click to change the slider from left to right and it will turn green. Then click “Save.” 

Enabling this option will hide your profile from members who aren't already in a group with you. You will not be able to request to join a group, and group organizers will not be able to send you an invitation to join, as your profile will not appear in their recommendation engine. Consider checking this box only if you’re already in at least one group and are no longer looking to connect with members outside of your group(s). 

Once you’ve logged in, you’ll find a link to “See Recommended Groups” on your dashboard which lists groups based on your matched preferences—including genres, whether you want to meet in person or online, if you want to meet for critique or accountability, and more. You can click on the group’s name to find more details about the group and “Request to Join” the group.

You can also find the “Browse All Groups” link in the navigation menu on the left side of your screen to look through the full list of groups. 

When you find a group that you’re interested in, click “Request to Join.” On the following screen, write a message to group organizers and click “Request Group Membership.” You can check the status of your group memberships and access the groups you’ve joined by navigating back to your dashboard. 

On the right side of your dashboard, you’ll find “Pending Invitations” from group organizers. Click on the group’s name to read their description, the genres they cover, if they prefer to meet in person or online, how often they meet, how many writers are in the group, and more. Then return back to your dashboard and click “Join” or select from the dropdown to “Decline” the invitation.

Add a writing project to share your work for feedback from your group. From your dashboard, click on the name of the group for which you want to share your writing. On the group’s page, click “Writing Projects” from the menu at the top of the page. Click “Add Writing Project” in the top right corner of the page. Enter the title and content for your writing project. You can also choose to import a Word document. Click the gear icon to open the sidebar panel to select if you’d like to save the writing project as a draft or publish it right away. Then click “Save.” You’ll then see your writing project listed for your group members to find.

From your dashboard, click “My Writing Projects” next to your profile photo. You can find, view, and edit your writing projects from all your groups in one place.  

If you’d like to communicate with another writer, click the “Message” button on their profile. If they accept messages, a mail:to option will allow you to communicate via e-mail. We are currently at work on creating messaging on the platform. Stay tuned for news on that feature coming soon. 

Catch up on all your notifications on your dashboard. There, you can find alerts from the Poets & Writers team, updates from your groups, check your pending group requests, or new group invitations.

It’s always best to communicate with group organizers if you plan to leave a group so that they are aware and can make any adjustments necessary. Be sure to save or delete any writing projects before leaving a group, as you’ll no longer have access once you leave.

When you’re ready, go to your dashboard and click on the name of the group you would like to leave. You’ll find “Leave Group” in the menu at the top of your screen. You’ll then be asked to confirm that you want to leave this group. This action cannot be undone. 

From the navigation menu on the left side of your screen, click “Manage Groups,” and then “Create a Group.” Fill in each page for group details and membership preferences. Then click “Create Your Writers Group” to save it.

If you’re interested in creating a critique group, read our tip sheet about establishing expectations, understanding the role of a group organizer, and how to give great feedback.

From your dashboard, under “Groups I Organize,” click on the name of the group that you would like to edit. Under the group’s name, click “Edit.” Be sure to save your changes.

On your group page, click “Members” from the menu. Find the name of the member you would like to appoint as a co-organizer. Click “Edit Membership” and check the box for “Organizer,” then save. All organizers will have the same access to the group to edit the group’s profile, make announcements, posts, events, accept/reject requests to join the group, edit memberships, and delete the group. Be sure you can trust this member with these responsibilities before appointing them.

On your group page, click “Find New Members” to view a list of writers who match the preferences for your group. Click “Send Invite” and write a message. You will have the option to appoint them an “Organizer,” but be aware of the access and responsibilities first (see above question). Click “Save” to send your invitation.

On your group page, click “Find New Members” to view a list of writers who match the preferences for your group. Click their name to view their profile. Click the “Message” button to send them an e-mail. If you do not see a “Message” button, they are not currently accepting messages via e-mail. You can choose to send them an invite to your group instead.

On your group page, click “Find New Members” and find the “Invite Member” button at the top right corner. Enter their e-mail address send a message to them. You can find their e-mail address on their profile. Click “Save” to send your invitation.

Create a post to communicate with everyone in your group. On your group page, click “Posts” and then “Add Post.” On the right side of the page, click the gear icon to select whether you would like to save your post as a draft or publish it right away. You can also schedule your post to publish under “Scheduling Options.” All members of your group can read and comment on your posts, as well as create their own.

On your group page, click “Requests to Join.” See a list of anyone who has requested to join your group. You can “Approve Membership,” or choose to reject or waitlist the request in the dropdown menu.

The waitlist option allows you to approve or reject a membership request for a later time. You can also choose to message the requestee via e-mail to explain why they are being waitlisted. Under “Requests to Join” from your group page, you can filter by request status to view pending, approved, rejected, or waitlisted membership requests.

On your group page, click “Events” then “Add Event” in the top right corner of the next page. Enter the title, details, and content for your event. For a virtual event or meeting, choose “Online” for the “Event Type” and include your event or meeting URL for the “Event Link.” 

On the right side of the page, click the gear icon to select whether you would like to save your event as a draft or publish it right away. You can also select a future date to publish your event under “Scheduling Options.” Click the save button at the top of the page.

On your group page, click “Announcements” then the “Add Announcement” button in the top right corner of the next page. Enter the title and content for your announcement. On the right side of the page, click the gear icon to select whether you would like to save your announcement as a draft or publish it right away. You can also select a future date to publish your announcement under “Scheduling Options.” Click the save button at the top of the page. Announcements will show up on each page of your group for all your group members to see. You can edit or delete your announcements.

On your group page, click “Members” and find the member that you would like to remove from your group. On the right side of the screen, click the arrow next to “Edit Membership” and choose “Remove Membership.” It’s always best to speak with the member before removing them, depending on the circumstances. See our Resources page for tips on best practices.

On your group page, click “Delete” and again on the following screen to confirm your choice. This action cannot be undone. It’s always best to communicate with your members before closing your group, depending on the circumstances. See our Resources page for tips on best practices.

Your dashboard is the first thing you’ll see after you log in. You can also navigate back to it from other pages by clicking on the star icon for “My Dashboard” in the menu on the left side of the screen.

Your dashboard is your home base for everything you’ll need on Poets & Writers Groups, including pending invitations to join groups, pending requests from members who want to join your group, latest activity from your groups, and announcements and upcoming events from the Poets & Writers Groups team.

The latest activity feed shows you all the recent updates from your groups in chronological order. This includes new members who’ve recently joined your group, announcements from your group organizers, upcoming events, new posts, and writing projects from members. You can click on the title of an activity in the feed to see more details.

On your dashboard, click “See Recommended Groups” under the “Browse Recommended Groups” heading. You’ll find groups open for you to join listed in order of your matched preferences. Visit often as new groups continue to be created as new members join Poets & Writers Groups.

A writing project is writing you’d like to share with your group members for feedback. After creating a writing project and sharing it, group members can make comments on your writing project. Group members will not be able to make any changes to your writing project. Once you’ve received feedback, you can choose to delete the writing project.

You can find all of your writing shared to your groups by clicking “My Writing Projects” on your dashboard located next to your profile photo. If you are a member of multiple groups, you’ll be able to see which writing project was shared with which group.

Yes. When you create a writing project in a group, you can select if you’d like to save it as a draft or share it with your group members in the sidebar panel on the right side of the page. If you don’t see this option, click the gear icon to show or hide the sidebar panel.

From your group’s page, click on “Writing Projects” on the top menu. Find the title of the writing project you’d like to comment on and click “Edit.” Highlight the relevant section of text, then click the comment icon. Group members will not be able make any changes to the shared writing project or delete it. Only the member who shared the writing project can delete it.

If you’re unsatisfied with your group, don’t worry! Sometimes things don’t go according to plan, or disagreements happen. Communication is always key. Sometimes these things can be worked out by speaking directly with the group organizers. Or maybe the group just isn’t for you after all. 

Making these things clear with your group organizer is important so that they can do their best to help everyone feel comfortable and get the group running smoothly. If you plan to leave or take a short absence, communicate that with the group organizer. 

If things don’t work out for you in this particular group, or you’re looking for something else, you can always search for another group in your recommendation engine or create your own group. If you need further guidance, visit our Resources page or e-mail us at groups@pw.org.

If you need to step down from organizing a group, speak to the members in your group to see if someone else might be interested in taking over. Once you’ve made that decision, you can easily switch that member’s role to organizer. 

To do so, head to your group profile and click “Members” from the list of options near the top of the page. Find the member that you would like to appoint as organizer. Click “edit membership” on the right side of the screen. Check the box for “Organizer,” then click “Save.” 

If your group leader has left without notice, reach out to us directly at groups@pw.org for assistance with next steps.

Anyone who joins Poets & Writers Groups must agree to our Terms of Use and Community Guidelines. If you are unable to resolve an issue directly with a member, or see that someone is misusing the platform, please report your concerns by sending an e-mail to groups@pw.org.

If you see anything that does not appear to be in agreement with the Community Guidelines, please report your concerns in detail and e-mail us at groups@pw.org.

You can access your account information by visiting the My P&W page. On your left navigation menu, hover over “pw.org” and click on “My P&W.”

To renew your membership, please visit our Customer Service page or call (903) 636-1119.

To cancel your membership, please visit our Customer Service page or call (903) 636-1119.