Thank you, 2022
...a year in Potluck review and a question about 2023
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This column began in January 2021 to occupy time during the pandemic quarantine. Friends shared it with friends, and by April of that year, I started to get subscribers I did not know.
In January of 2022, a column I wrote titled Rage was shared over 50 times, resulting in another spike in subscriptions.
In June of this year, I offered a paid subscription option and launched a Monday Zoom lunch as a perk for joining. We hold these sessions most weeks, taking time off during holidays. We’ve had mayors, former governors, experts on hiring, artists, authors, and jurists. We’ll have newly elected officials and an Iowan who owns racehorses that compete in the Kentucky Derby.
Proceeds benefit the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat, and I expect to be able to offer at least 20 scholarships to emerging journalists and writers thanks to them. We now have 250 paid subscribers, some of whom even became founding members and donated more than the annual subscription fee of $75. Thank you! You are changing lives, one by one.
I got a note yesterday from a 2022 scholarship recipient who said attending the retreat gave her confidence again, and as a result, she landed a great job with benefits, made new writing friends, and says she owes it to the retreat. She’s coming back as a paid participant in 2023, making room for another emerging writer to have a scholarship.
THIS, is what keeps me going.
When I realized some readers were willing to pay to subscribe, I dreamed up the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative idea to support local journalists needing to supplement their income. In July of this year, we officially launched the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative and are now up to 25 columnists from Davenport to Storm Lake. Most publish once a week, but there is no requirement they do so. Combined, our subscriber base is close to the size of an established mid-size newspaper. And we just started this five months ago.
Iowa Capital Dispatch, a hard-hitting local news and information digital platform under the watch of veteran journalist Kathie Obradovich, runs columns by our members in exchange for linking back to their columns. This is then available to local newspapers to print on their pages and other partner organizations around the country. All of this is contributing to the rapid growth of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative.
Tonight, at 7:30 p.m., the entire segment of Iowa Press is dedicated to this experiment. Chuck Offenburger, Teresa Zilk, Ed Tibbetts, and I show the flag and discuss this venture's ‘what and why.’
To be a columnist member of the collaborative, one must have made a living as a writer at some point in their career. We have ‘big name’ columnists and writers you might not have heard of before but are growing to love. If I start naming them now, I’ll want to list all 25, so take my word for it, subscribe to the weekly roundup of our Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, and enjoy. You do not have to pay if you don’t want to. Sample the columnists (see list below) and find the ones you want to have in your inbox, or just read the roundup once a week.
As a result of the collaboration, the number of subscribers to this Potluck column has more than doubled because we recommend one another. Over 150 of you have discovered the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative in the past seven days.
This proves what we believe to be true. Linking readers directly to writers of thoughtful commentary works. And about 10% are willing to pay for the privilege. We value all of our readers and understand not everyone is in a position to pay to subscribe to 25 columnists or even a couple. That’s ok. As long as about 10% do, we’re good. It’s still better compensation than if a major daily metro paper runs one of our essays. And this way, the writer maintains their subscribers, who will, hopefully, re-up annually.
As the collaborative founder, I’ve brought on all of our writers so far, with consultation from some in our group for approval. In 2023, a smaller group of us will be meeting to think about the future and how we want this to look down the road. We want to identify younger voices and add to our geographic mix.
To date, I couldn’t be more thrilled with the diversity on display each week. Spending a Sunday morning reading our columnists gives one a sense of Iowa not found on any other platform.
Today, at noon, we are holding a Zoom session for our paid subscribers to participate in the Office Lounge. We launched the first of these on Oct. 28. (Offenburger wrote about it when it was announced)
2023
As for 2023, I intend to keep learning, growing, and meeting with Iowans around the state. The Okoboji Writers’ Retreat is now an established tradition. We held it on the campus of Lakeside Labs last year, and the setting was idyllic. Since we’ve sold out in previous years, the temptation was to keep growing. But sometimes growth isn’t a good thing. The Okoboji Writers’ Retreat wouldn’t be the same if it were held in some large conference center, so we’ll keep it right where it is - on the 147+ acres of woods and trails along the shore of West Lake Okoboji.
I’ll cap enrollment at 200; we already have 62 signed up. I should probably think up a prize for those who will have perfect attendance all three years. And another award for newbies. Stay tuned.
Why is this event special? It is. We’ll have over 30 speakers (speaker list), all of whom are real pros. Because we have so many, the group sessions can be small and intimate. There is an established culture in that speakers support the participants, whatever their skill level. Some come to write a better holiday newsletter. About half of our participants are professional writers who want to continue to grow. Some have a novel they are working on or don’t know how to get started. Some want to write a memoir. We have poets in our midst.
We added a couple of new workshops this year:
How to Write an Obituary
How to Bake a Pie - memoirs come in a variety of forms.
Some participants don’t know why they want to come, but they do. And they love it.
Throughout life, we accumulate a lot of stuff. But it is our experiences that we remember. Come to Okoboji and experience the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat. It’s magical.
Take advantage of an Early Bird discount available through January 15. Why not save your place? The fee is refundable (less the bank service charge) until September 1.
Back by popular demand! Our participants chose this as their favorite bag, so we are bringing it back for 2023:
Is it too soon after the holidays to pay in full? So do you want to reserve your place with a deposit?
WHY NOT? IT’S REFUNDABLE (less the bank service charge). I had several people on a waiting list last year who couldn’t attend, so don’t miss out!
Do you like Podcasts?
Another idea for 2023 is in the works. One of my recently retired dearest friends wants us to start a podcast. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather do this with, so stay tuned. Would you subscribe? Do you listen to podcasts? What’s the right length? The technical stuff would be another learning curve, but it shouldn’t be too hard.
What do you think? Would you like to ‘eavesdrop’ on our bestie conversations and rants? It could be peppered with a guest interview or two.
Finally, 2022 is almost over. For me, there have been several highs - which are easily reported here - but that doesn’t mean there weren’t lows. Many of you have had more than your share of tough times and sadness.
Loss comes in many forms. Please don’t construe this relatively upbeat column as diminishing your life's real challenges. The end of a year is a time for reflection on all of the above, yet the beginning of a new year can bring a time of hope. Take new action. Learn something new. Be open to love. Change. Growth.
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Columnists
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake
Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley
Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji
Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames
Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla
Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines
Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines
Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politic Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines
To receive a weekly roundup of all Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnists, sign up here (free): ROUNDUP COLUMN
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Heck, yeah. I’ll subscribe.
My mother grew up in Manchester. I wouldn’t currently define it as a small town, but when my family lived there from the 1920s-1960s, it probably qualified. My mother used to to drive through town with my Auntie Marge, pointing out the home of every family friend. My grandmother played the piano for the silent pictures. And being that that my grandmother couldn’t get out much, my grandfather parked in front of that same theater so she could talk with her friends when the movies let out.
Small towns hold an entirely different kind of societal fabric that no other type of community can emulate, except perhaps churches.
When I hear these stories I always have felt not just a nod to history, but a sense that I somehow missed out on something special.