I’m excited to announce Objective Standard Institute’s brand new “Republic of Letters.” This is a meetup group for active writers who have taken (or are taking) one of OSI’s writing courses or have published an article with The Objective Standard. I will host biweekly meetings where participants can bounce article ideas off the group, get feedback on works in progress, discuss writing challenges, ask questions, share resources, and network.

As I wrote in Seven Steps for Writing in Defense of Freedom (an ebook available to course participants),

During the Enlightenment, great thinkers solicited feedback on their ideas from others all over Europe in what became known as the “Republic of Letters.” Today, that republic has moved online. You may meet intelligent and interesting people at conferences who live in other parts of the world—people who would love to read your drafts and offer their thoughts in exchange for some measure of your own time and effort. Take advantage of the voice and video technologies at your fingertips to hear them out.

I’ve heard from multiple course participants, though, that they are having a hard time implementing this bit of advice. Writing is solitary work, and these are solitary times. So I’ve decided to make it easier by tapping into the massive network of writers who have taken an OSI course or published with TOS—more than 275 bright minds.

I’ll be sending out a recurring calendar invite shortly. (If you’ve taken an OSI writing course or contributed to TOS and don’t receive the invite, please email me here.) I’m open to holding these at a different time, but for now we’ll try Thursdays at noon Pacific time, running for about an hour, beginning on February 18. Join as often as you can, whether that’s once a month or once a quarter. Despite the elevated name, meetings will be informal. Prepare for fun, enlightening discussion. Bring your article ideas, questions, issues, book recommendations, and so forth. And, if you have a draft to share with the group, please send it to me ([email protected]) in a Word or Google doc, preferably a day in advance.

Let me know if you have any questions. 

I hope to see you soon!

Jon Hersey