My Top 10 Reasons for Starting WRITEDAY
Subscription Box
When I take online quizzes, the results are generally the same regardless of the intent of the quiz. How much weight do you want to lose? Is your mindset fixed or flexible? What are your top five strengths? The final explanations generally note that I’m a CURIOUS person. That’s always been the case, and it’s a quality that serves me well as a writer and a human.
The first place I learned about my curious nature was on a career prospect survey the entire ninth-grade class had to take before attending a mandatory career counseling session with the school guidance counselor. I already knew I was going to be a published author and teach writing. At the time, I’d already been a published columnist in two newspapers and won several writing awards. I was also secure about my college and career path.
Nonetheless, my guidance counselor informed me that my survey results indicated that I should be a researcher. Talk about vaguebooking. Or a sales clerk. Flash forward and I have ended up doing all four jobs:
· Published author of historical fiction
· Requires a ton of research,
· College English professor and book coach
· Retail salesclerk in my own dance supply store
Now I’m mashing up these experiences and starting a subscription box for writers and readers. It’s called WRITEDAY, and it’s rolling out in September 2023. But why am I adding yet another job to my freelance W-9 (independent contractor) classification? Because I’m curious.
My curiosity about how other people write has led me to this place. WRITEDAY, which will also be known as MY WRITEDAY, satisfies my interests in shopping (retail therapy,) helping other writers (writing teacher/book coach,) and research (learning how to operate a subscription-based business.)
Here are my top 10 reasons for having a subscription box business devoted to writers:
CONNECTION
Writing is a solitary occupation. Not particularly lonely, but a job that only a singular human (here’s giving the middle finger to you, AI) can do. One person sits (or stands if you have one of those newfangled lifted desktops) and writes. Even when a co-author is involved, the general nature of the business of writing is akin to solitary confinement but in a good way. Writers usually have unrestricted access to the refrigerator and the bathroom. My number one reason for a subscription box for writers is to remind them that while the writing process is individual, there must also be some form of connection to others and the outside world. I want to connect with other writers and connect them to each other with a monthly WRITEDAY box.
CONVENIENCE
While the contents of WRITEDAY will follow many themes, genres, and contain products made by writers for writers and readers, I intend for the boxes to supply writers with convenient refills on things like tea and coffee, unique variations of office supplies such as paperclips that also hold a pen, and colorful organizer thingies to straighten out all the damn cords under your desk. One of the highlights of WRITEDAY will be products made by writers who are also crafters. By including these items, I want to demonstrate that writers are NOT one-dimensional, but creative makers in more than one field.
CONVERSATION
Despite it being their mandate, social media is a dismal failure at encouraging and supporting meaningful conversations. One reason is that it takes so much time to wade through the piles of muck to find a valuable dialogue that once arrived, the researcher is too exhausted to engage. WRITEDAY subscription boxes will contain writing by writers (from books to poetry) in a magazine where the work has already been curated and the reader can relax and enjoy the writing. Then contact and engage with the author at their convenience.
The remaining seven reasons for my starting WRITEDAY subscription are
A source of revenue
Fun planning the contents every month
Being something of a personal shopper
Surprising subscribers with fun and practical gifts
Expand my own customer base
Learn something new
Bring joy and encouragement to other writers and readers
You can join the waitlist to be in the know about when WRITEDAY is live HERE!
Want to get your books and stories into the hands of buyers specifically interested in what you write? Are you a writer who makes bookmarks or something else for writers and readers? Got other ideas or suggestions? Stay tuned for how you can be a part of this start-up. Subscriber, product supplier, cheerleader, advertiser, and more opportunities will be explained soon. MY WRITEDAY is on the way.
All good things,
Joy
Congratulation to L.J. Longo, winner of the Writer Wellness Ultimate Gift Set giveaway!