Virtual Coworking for Creatives

Once upon a time, I quit my day job to write a novel, record music, and craft poetry full-time. I knew it was the right thing to do because I was burning out, and all I wanted to do was focus on creative pursuits. It turned out to be way lonelier than I thought. I’m betting you can relate at some level, so I wanted to talk about it.

Creative Work Feels Lonely When You Do It Alone

For me, over time, being alone all day every day was a recipe for me-not-doing-well-emotionally. I had fixed one problem of escaping a job that was leading to burnout, but I found myself with another problem: I did not want to pursue art full-time if it meant being alone this much. Some people thrive in an environment like that (I already know some of you are reading this going, “That is my dream!”), but it’s not for me.

Since then, I’ve held several different day jobs while working on my art as my “other job”. It’s a way better setup for me to have both a day job that’s not in a creative field and a secondary job as a self-employed, independent artist. My happy place is diversification. I enjoy going into a workplace, being with people, collaborating, and having someone else be in charge of payroll, then leaving that behind me and going home to escape into stories and songs. I need that variety.

If I’m alone too much, it tears the life from me. If I have a job that taxes me too much, I have no space in my brain or emotions to create. The past 10 years have been me searching for that happy medium.

I often need a lot of space, long stretches of time, where I can think, process, and experiment with words, thoughts, feelings, emotions, sounds. Sometimes I even need to be the only person in the house. But, in my experience, the loneliness of creative work can take its toll. Sometimes you wonder why you’re doing it, if it’s worth it, or if you’ll ever finish anything. Sometimes the motivation just isn’t there.

Accountability for Artists and Writers

I’ve found online co-working spaces to be really helpful for me as an artist. A virtual meet-up where we show up together to work on our art. In these spaces I have found accountability and a place to feel less alone.

For me, every time, there is just something about knowing other people will be there, other people who are working on things that matter to them, and that it takes guts for them to show up to their work just for themselves. It gives me a sense of camaraderie that spurs me on. It’s neat to look up at the screen every once in a while and see people working hard on all sorts of things. Also, I get stuff done when I take part in these co-working times!

Whether I’m there an hour, two, or three, my commitment to show up collides with other people’s commitment to show up and it creates a momentum that helps me get one step further along in the process.

Pricing & Options for Virtual Creative Coworking Spaces

There are a lot of great virtual co-working spaces out there, but I’ve found they’re either out of my budget or they offer too many bells and whistles. So when I launched my Patreon page, I decided to offer a tier that included a regular, online co-working space. I wanted it to be a place that wasn’t expensive and that honors wherever you’re at in the process of your creative work: if you have goals and want to be super productive, do that; if your desire is to play and experiment with no end goal in mind except to just enjoy yourself while you create, do that.

For $15/month, we meet weekly, sometimes twice a week, for two hours at a time. So, that’s at least 8 hours a month for you to carve out space for the work that matters most to you, in the company of other creatives. The nice thing about it being part of a Patreon package is that you’ll get benefits associated with sponsoring me as an indie artist, including postcards in the mail from me, unreleased song demos, short stories, cover songs, a members-only chat, updates on all my projects, etc.

If you are feeling alone in your creative process, or if you’re stuck on a project and just need a reason to sit down and do the work, someone else in the room, or to know other people are out there doing it too…come try it.

How Virtual Coworking Sessions Work

The days and times may change, but it will mostly meet on Friday mornings 10am ET or Sunday morning 10am ET.

We show up online (Zoom link is posted once you join), quickly say hi and what we’re working on (or don’t – you’re welcome to not say anything out loud or in the chat), have a short mindfulness moment, then mute our audio (but not our video) and work on whatever we’re each working on (could be anything from songwriting to video editing to coding to journaling to painting to studying to designing a website to all-the-things). I’ll be there working on my novel or writing songs.

I built this space because I needed it, and I don’t think I’m alone in needing it. Click here to learn more and sign up.