A Ning is an online group where like-minded people share information and support each other in their common endeavors. It’s like Facebook for professionals.
Not too long ago, I joined the YAlitchat Ning, a group for YA writers that grew out of the #yalitchat hashtag discussions on Twitter. For non-Twitter-ites, that’s like a scheduled discussion that occurs on Twitter, where people follow a conversation by adding a hashtag (#thisgroup) to their tweets. It’s fast, furious, funny, and so popular it morphed into a Ning.
If you are a YA writer, I highly recommend you hop over and check out the YAlitchat Ning.
Within the Ning, there are 32 different groups, from a First Pages group (where writers post their pages for critique) to a Craft Masters group. I was invited to post on the Experts group, talking about my background in science and engineering and fielding questions writers might have to help with their MS. There are 65 experts in this group, with experience in everything from medicine to computers, helping out their fellow YA writers.
It’s a fun place to be! Check it out (see my sidebar addition –>)
p.s. Ning recently decided to start charging for their services, so soon there will be an annual fee to join YAlitchat. I think it’s worth it, plus the fee allows YAlitchat to start offering scholarships to its members.
I'm a member of YAlitchat, but I haven't been using it. I guess I'll have to check it out again sometime soon.
I can't follow it on Twitter. It gives me a headache. 😉
@Stina I know what you mean – it crosses my eyes, the tweets fly so fast! But the ning is like the chat without the ADD. 🙂