NaNoWriMo is shutting down.

That is previous information.

However, nonetheless related.

The writing group that hosted the enormously widespread Nationwide Novel Writing Month every November, together with smaller writing prompts to encourage writers all year long, formally closed its doorways in April of this yr (2025).

When November rolls round, the gaping gap the group left behind will probably be felt by many.

So, what occurred?

How can a company that was such an integral a part of the author expertise lose its footing, seemingly in a single day?

Because of the transparency of interim director Kilby Blades, we now have an in depth account of what induced the group’s surprising closure.

This text isn’t about bashing the nonprofit group, however slightly taking stock of what might be discovered from such a tragic loss after 26 years.

In case you are a self-publisher in search of methods to construct the perfect enterprise attainable, there are some worthwhile takeaways from NaNoWriMo’s shutdown that we’ll focus on intimately beneath.

A short historical past of NaNoWriMo

Writer Chris Baty began what’s now referred to as NaNoWriMo in 1999. He, together with 21 different writers, got down to full a 50,000-word novel in a month. That is how he described their begin:

I wasn’t positive most of us have been going to make it by the primary week. I believed we might begin writing, get overwhelmed by our personal ineptitude, drop out, and by no means discuss it once more. Nevertheless it turned out to be extra enjoyable than we ever dreamed. –Chris Baty, SmallPrintMagazine.com

Over the following seven years, the recognition of the yearly occasion grew, and by 2006, with over 75,000 contributors, it grew to become a registered nonprofit group.

2011 noticed web site updates to maintain up with demand, in addition to an announcement from Baty that he would step down from the manager director place the next yr.

In January 2012, Baty moved to “board member emeritus” standing, and Grant Faulkner grew to become the brand new government director. The identical yr, the group sought donations for a web site redesign to maintain up with the group’s progress.

The subsequent decade noticed continued progress in NaNoWriMo’s yearly participation from writers, together with a deal with children and teenage writing with their Younger Writers Program.

In 2017, the group reached out to the group once more for donations to revamp the web site. The up to date web site launched in 2019.

In 2023, Grant Faulkner stepped down as government director, and board member Kirby Blades moved into the place.

Within the aftermath of the group’s abrupt closure, we now know that extra was occurring behind the scenes. In keeping with Kirby Blade, rather a lot was occurring that was not made public information. Based mostly on her detailed accounts of the occasions, let’s take into account 4 challenges the group confronted and the methods we are able to use in our personal creator companies to keep away from comparable pitfalls.

The quotes (together with timestamps) from interim government director Kirby Blades beneath have been pulled instantly from The State of NaNoWriMo – A Neighborhood Replace – March 2025 video.

1. The necessity for fiscal integrity

Blade’s quote (1:46):

Nanorimo operated at a finances deficit for 4 of the previous six years, which implies it wasn’t netting sufficient in donations and different revenue to assist itself. Throughout these years, money reserves have been drawn from to make up for finances shortfalls. And when money reserves jumped up once more in 2020, that was as a result of a $150,000 COVID aid mortgage that was taken out by earlier management. With out that mortgage, the group would have operated at a deficit for 5 out of the previous six years slightly than 4. Most nonprofits which can be struggling to this diploma and that have extended difficulties go to their communities with candor concerning the seriousness of their state of affairs. However in the event you look again on the fundraising messages that went out to our group over this era, there’s little or no signaling that the group was in misery. Construct sturdy communities by transparency

All through the video, Blade factors to the group’s monetary struggles and lack of transparency to the general public. In case you’ve run a enterprise, you perceive the inherent challenges of coping with cash. It may be a slippery beast.
P. T. Barnum mentioned it greatest:

“Cash is a horrible grasp however a superb servant.”

Among the finest definitions I discovered on monetary integrity got here from the UNDP (United Nations Improvement Programme) web site. On it, the group gives the next definition:

Monetary integrity is about guaranteeing that the monetary system operates in a clear, clear, and accountable means. That financial and monetary actions are carried out in keeping with the legit monetary guidelines and requirements, and that these are contributing to sustainable improvement.

Whereas the UNDP is referring to governance on a a lot bigger scale (i.e., establishments, states, societies, and so forth.), these phrases are relevant throughout the board. Whether or not we’re speaking NaNoWriMo or our one-person creator model, understanding our finances, the place it’s going, and how you can preserve it within the inexperienced is important.

The quote that “cash makes the world go spherical” is nuanced for positive since a number of issues affect how the world features, however you get it. We’d like cash to do stuff, together with working our companies efficiently, and it’s not simply having cash in our possession. It’s understanding what to do with it when we now have it, and how you can get extra if essential.

Blade admits that NaNoWriMo wasn’t fully clear concerning the group’s monetary struggles, which successfully tied off one in every of their probably profitable streams of monetary assist.

Within the articles we publish on the self-publishing college web site, we frequently focus on the significance of building a finances, advertising and marketing successfully, and considering outdoors the field in the case of financing your publishing journey, together with inviting others to be a part of the method.

As you construct your creator profession, know your numbers and how you can ask for assist in the event you want it. Having fiscal integrity will turn out to be useful when making selections that instantly affect the success of your online business.

2. Illustration issues

Blade’s quote (7:03):

We found that though we had an all-ages coverage on our principal NanoRimo web site and a devoted younger writers program with its personal web site, none of our workers or our 800 volunteers had accomplished state-mandated little one security coaching. We found that workers had not subjected volunteers to formal purposes that required them to provide us their authorized title, handle, telephone numbers, or any verified figuring out data. That’s vital as a result of when the board obtained concerned with accusations made towards the moderator and contacted the FBI’s Nationwide Heart for Lacking or Exploited Youngsters with a view to perceive what we should always do on this state of affairs, we have been requested who this volunteer was, however we actually couldn’t inform the authorities the authorized id of this individual. The group didn’t preserve these sorts of data.

As self-publishers, we’re the creator and writer. This implies we now have to be additional vigilant in our analysis in the case of who we add to our groups and the businesses we align ourselves with—i.e., learn the tremendous print. Whether or not it’s an editor, beta reader, cowl designer, or advertisements platform, do your due diligence. Not taking note of particulars, taking shortcuts, or selecting the most affordable possibility can chunk you later.

Preserve data in your safety and keep in mind that not everybody can have your greatest curiosity in thoughts, so belief your intestine. If it smells humorous, stroll away.

3. Put fires out rapidly

Blade’s mentioned (7:58):

By December of 2023, lower than a month after the complaints have been dropped at mild, I voluntarily resigned from the board and got here in on a six-month contract foundation to be the interim government director. The concept was to herald somebody who understood youth-facing organizations who had expertise with the required statemandated coaching. My different skills have been additionally fascinating given the group’s monetary issues. Formal enterprise and fundraising expertise was a serious purpose why I had been recruited to the board.

In case you’ve self-published a ebook earlier than, then you realize to count on the surprising. I don’t know a single creator who has ever had a seamless publishing expertise, whether or not conventional or impartial.

There are SO many shifting items within the publishing course of, from ideation, writing, and enhancing, to design, publishing, and advertising and marketing. Highway bumps like these can occur:

• You’re a 3rd of the way in which by your manuscript while you understand your principal character is passive—the motion is occurring to her as an alternative of her initiating the motion and shifting the story ahead.
• You want an replace to your ebook cowl design, however the designer is not on the platform.
• You found in a 1-star evaluate that three of the pages out of your ebook are lacking or have been put within the incorrect order throughout printing.

These little fires can turn into massive ones REALLY quick. The worst factor you are able to do is sit on them and hope they’ll get higher. Assess the harm, take motion by fixing the problem as rapidly as attainable. Letting little fires fan into greater ones solely causes extra issues later.

4. Sustain with expertise

Blade’s mentioned (3:37):

For anyone who does Nanorimo yearly, you realize that we now have our share of technical issues and that our web site seems and features prefer it was constructed years in the past, which it was. Our final main expertise improve was 7 years in the past in 2018. Persistent underinvestment in each our Nanorimo and our younger writers program web sites have made each websites exhausting to take care of and close to their breaking factors.

Know-how strikes on the pace of sunshine. Twenty years in the past, print-on-demand was the brand new expertise. Early adopters (me included) discovered a solution to play the publishing recreation with out the draw back of saved stock, maxed-out budgets, and distribution limitations. I can confidently say that if I hadn’t discovered about print-on-demand after I wrote my first ebook, I most likely would have saved it in a drawer someplace and forgotten about it. Spending hundreds of {dollars} on stock and storage was not in my finances, so I sought different methods to publish my ebook.

E book publishing as a profession was not my authentic path. I fell into the publishing business due to expertise, and I don’t remorse it.

I’ve discovered to embrace expertise as a software, not a substitute for my creativity, and that has labored effectively for me. I don’t consider that each new technological development is right; in actual fact, most of the productiveness apps I’ve tried have made my work harder, so I select old-school strategies that work for me.
Nonetheless, not embracing some types of expertise can do extra hurt than good.

You don’t must embrace each new expertise that comes out, however you additionally don’t need to be caught again within the Stone Age. Preserve your hand on the heart beat of technological developments that align with our business, and ask your self these questions:

• Am I as productive as I need to be as a author?
• Is my creator web site clear, straightforward to navigate, and aesthetically pleasing?
• Are there any new publishing platforms that may be a greater match for my model?
• Do I would like a software to assist me keep centered?
• Is there expertise out there to assist me enhance my workflow?
• Might automation assist me with duties like newsletters, outreach, or ebook launches?
• Am I utilizing analytics to know my viewers so I could make enhancements?
• How am I defending my work from cyber threats?

Know-how is available in all sizes and shapes. Some you barely know are there, whereas others fully take over. Assess your wants and resolve on the extent of assist that works greatest for you.
For instance, when you have an creator web site that hundreds slowly and is tremendous exhausting to navigate, you’re going to lose guests. In case you can, rent a web site designer to enhance consumer expertise (UX). If hiring somebody will not be in your finances, a number of platforms are straightforward to arrange (e.g., Squarespace, WordPress.com, and so forth.) that embody easy-to-install templates that look nice.

Key takeaways

For all of NaNoWriMo’s struggles, it obtained numerous issues proper, particularly making a platform and group that gave authors a spot to develop their craft alongside different like-minded writers.

I used to be one of many writers who jumped on the NaNoWriMo prepare after I began my fiction-writing journey. It was eye-opening to be within the firm of so many writers similar to me. The experiences helped floor me within the writing tradition and confirmed me that irrespective of how isolating writing can really feel generally, there are others on the market experiencing the identical factor, so we aren’t alone.

Who is aware of? Perhaps there’s one other writing group simply across the nook, able to take up the mantle that NaNoWriMo needed to put down. In that case, let’s hope they get it proper.

In the video round timestamp 11:32, Blade talks about “being intentional about ways in which we might serve our mission excellently…” As we method our careers as authors and self-publishers, enthusiastic about excellence in serving our readers is a good place to begin.

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