Last week, we met for the Community Manifesto Workshop led by an award-winning writer, Annie Hayter. We learned the meaning of such a piece for growing a community and the different ways you can approach crafting your manifesto. If you weren't able to join, you can watch it and access material from the workshop here. Don't miss any other events we have prepared for you — all the details are on the Bootcamp website.
Now, let's get to the nitty gritty of how to approach the writing of your manifesto.
What is a manifesto?
A manifesto is the sharing of ideas that express a common goal in conjunction with your community. You can call it a plan, guideline, or instruction on how to achieve an objective together with others. It is a form of writing that allows you to express an inner goal and align with other contributors.
Important questions to answer before writing your manifesto are:
1. What does community mean to you?
2. What are your specific interests when reading and writing?
3. What kind of writing community do you want to be part of?
Your own manifesto might seem like an abstract idea - how do you tell others about what you want to achieve? Even though this might seem like a daunting task, there are a couple of questions that can lead you to putting your goal into words. After all, you want to create a manifesto for a community that you, yourself, would want to be a part of, right? Then, consider these:
• What would you like to explore in your community?
• How might you collaborate with other people?
• What hopes might you have for the community? These can be big or small, whatever you want to achieve while collaborating with others.
In your manifesto, remember to refer to the things that you wish to explore with your community. These can be genre, style, specific focus, or anything else that distinguishes your vision from others.
While there is no set structure of a manifesto (which is a great way to personalise it and make it truly your own), it is important to make it clear and approachable. Writers tend to follow this order: a clear introduction of who you are, a list of values, and a conclusion, calling others to join or collaborate with you.
Here are some examples of manifestoes that might inspire you to use different formats and think outside of the box.
This article is the first piece of our 1,000 Fans Playbook, a compilation of advice and guidance that helps writers find and grow their community of readers and writers. If that describes you, you might be interested in our 1,000 Fans Bootcamp! Join us and crack the code of Creator Economy 4.0!