No-Mo NaNo

Goodbye NaNoWriMo

By: Heather E. Andrews

On March 31st, an email came down saying that NaNoWriMo, the nonprofit that organized a worldwide writing marathon in November every year, is closing its doors.

My first thought? April Fool’s Day joke?

But no. The organization that helped me foster my love for writing and reading is retiring.

For those unfamiliar with it—or those living in a hole in Madagascar—NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and was founded by Chris Baty in 1999. Participating authors accept the challenge to write a novel in November (or at least 50,000 words) and motivate each other as they go.

It was a huge hit and motivated a lot of people. After all, doesn’t everyone want to write a novel in their lifetime?

But why would an organization that touched so many people’s lives shut down?

My first instinct was—oh, they couldn’t recover from the youth grooming scandal (more on that later). And that’s partly true. So, I did some research. Let me spill the tea:

For several years, NaNoWriMo has been experiencing financial difficulties. As a nonprofit, they were relying too heavily on merchandise and sponsorships (over fifty percent, according to their reports) instead of participant support.

Their budget was only $1.5 million a year, which is a ton to the average person, but for a nonprofit of their size, it should’ve been much larger. On top of that, they took out a Covid relief loan, which had to be paid back, and donations didn’t cut it. Before the loan, their debt had climbed to six figures by 2020. It’s been so bad that, in the last year, many of their workers, including the director, have been unpaid.

TLDR, they should’ve focused more on donation-based fundraising.

They didn't properly maintain the workforce and their volunteers. People who work with youths are required to have background checks; there’s mandatory Child Protection Training so they become mandated reporters. This would have likely prevented the incident that occurred in 2023 involving a moderator of the Young Writer's Program.

Volunteers weren’t required to provide basic identifying information. So, when the complaint about the moderator acting inappropriately came in, NaNo had no way of reporting it to the FBI. If anyone could register as a moderator or educator without being verified, predators could easily pretend to be “safe” people and have access to minors.

TLDR: the Young Writers Program couldn’t bounce back from the controversy.

Technology hadn’t been updated since 2018, making it impossible to keep up with the demand placed on the system. As a result, the forums on NaNo were overloaded and poorly moderated. Many participants would break off and create smaller groups online and within their communities. Volunteers organized these groups, and the main organization didn’t regulate them. As a result, these smaller groups “false affiliations,” using the NaNoWriMo logo, giving participants the false security of being protected by the main organization.

NaNo couldn’t practically support the level of organization it’d become without more funding. They pared back on digital program features and experienced a backlash from users and participation petered off fast. 

TLDR: too much to do, not enough cash or time.

Backlash about a partnership with Inkitt and statements about AI. In 2022 NaNo partnered with Inkitt, an online publishing platform. Some users contended Inkitt was taking advantage of young writers, referring to them as “content farms” which then spurred a controversy revolving around artificial intelligence.

NaNo says they attempted to remain neutral, though words like “classist” and “ableist” were used when referring to people who condemned AI. Then accusations were thrown around about NaNo mistaking AI for tools as those designed for assisting people with disabilities.

TLDR: tons of miscommunication among a time when AI use was blossoming.

In the end, the organization should’ve been supported by the people who participated in the event. With over 400k participants in 2022 alone, if everyone had given just five dollars, the non-profit would’ve had no trouble following all safety guidelines. It wouldn’t have had to rely on partnerships with for-profit groups or cut costs on tech. Also, had they maintained and reported their finances, it would’ve qualified them for education grants instead of needing loans.

With a struggling tech team and under-supported staff, NaNoWriMo was an organization pushed to its limits and, as a result, it crumbled. It's just another example of a neglected arts program — many visual and music organizations have seen the same fate.

It’s important to remember that this was about the failure of NaNoWriMo as a non-profit organization, not about the celebration of the National Novel Writing Month. Chris Baty founded NaNoWriMo in 1999, but he established the non-profit organization in 2006.

I think it’s important to distinguish the “holiday” from the organization. We can find different ways to support each other. Lots of other groups are running nano-like writing events in November for us to partake in. The celebration of novel writing will go on in perpetuity and though it had a rough exit from the room, we have a lot to thank NaNoWriMo for.

I’m embarrassed to say I had never actually “won” a NaNoWriMo challenge. I guess I never will ….

Check out Heather E. Andrews’ blog at www.heather-e-andrews.com/studioblog where she spins yarns, pondering all things reading, writing, and romance.