Welcome to Clubhouse
I’ve had the privilege to create the inaugural Clubhouse room for the Editorial Freelancers Association. We’ve met twice, and it seems to have been well-received. I enjoy participating in Clubhouse conversations with authors and audiobook narrators and producers, but it’s rare for me to be in charge.
Until now.
I’m the lead on the EFA Clubhouse room, and wow. It’s nerve-racking! I’ve been trying to use Clubdeck because I thought it gave me better control and I’d have to switch only screens, not go back and forth between my phone and my computer monitor, but after twice now struggling to access the chat and close out the room (and with encouragement from one of the author participants), I’m going to use my phone for the next session. We’ll see how it goes!
Because I’m AuDHD, I do best with scripts, so I created a script to help folks new to Clubhouse become accustomed to the app on that first day. It’s really long, though, so I’ve posted it here so people have access to the info but don’t have to listen to me go through it before we get future rooms going. If you’re hosting a room, feel free to borrow the language I used, but please credit “Your Publishing BFF” when you do.
Pin to room: https://www.the-efa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Anti-Harassment-Policy.pdf
Welcome to the Editorial Freelancers Association inaugural Clubhouse room! I’m glad so many of you can be here today. Gotta say, as this is my first time hosting a room on Clubhouse, I’m somewhat nervous, but I’m encouraged by the many familiar faces here.
Encouragement – It’s one of the reasons I instigated this room. Clubhouse is one more tool through which editors and other publishing pros can connect for professional development and moral support. I have designed these first few weekly conversations to address topics related to our profession, but I hope we can personalize them as well.
But before we get into that, a few notes. Closed captions are available in the Clubhouse app on iPhone but not on Android. Desktop users may access Clubhouse through the Clubdeck app, which uses an Otter.ai plug-in for live captioning.
Additionally, replays are turned on, and a recording of this conversation will be uploaded to the EFA’s YouTube channel. If you do not want your voice to be recorded, please refrain from coming to the stage and speaking.
Now, I want to give folks an overview of Clubhouse and how it functions, as well as lay out the social etiquette for this room.
First, congratulations on finding your way into this room! If there is a bell in the upper-right corner, click it to be alerted to the next time this room opens.
When you join a room on Clubhouse, you’ll automatically be part of the audience. You’ll be able to hear the speakers, but they won’t hear you. To express your thoughts, you can click on the speech bubble on the lower-left corner to access the chat or swipe left to right. When you want to leave the chat, swipe the page from right to left.
How do you speak on Clubhouse? The area where my profile picture, my face, is located is called the stage. Only people on the stage can speak so others can hear. To join the conversation, raise your hand by clicking on the – you guessed it – hand in the lower-right corner. When a moderator is alerted that you have your hand up, they can choose to invite you onto the stage or decline your request. When invited, you’ll receive an alert, which you must accept to be moved onto the stage.
But wait! There’s one more step…
Once you’re on stage, you must activate your microphone by clicking the mic in the lower-right corner where the hand had been. When you’re finished speaking, you must click the mic to deactivate it. Leaving the mic on creates a “hot mic” and allows participants to eavesdrop on your meal preparations, chiding of the dogs, shenanigans from the kids, etc.
Now, the social etiquette of Clubhouse. In the author spaces where I hang out and what we will apply here, the convention is to wait until moderators – the people with the green symbols by their names – verbally invite you to speak or there’s a gap in the conversation. Unmute and say your name, speak your peace, then indicate you’re finished speaking by saying something like “I’m done,” “I yield the mic,” “I yield the floor,” “I’m finished,” or even “I’ve landed the plane” before muting yourself.
A few guidelines for conversations, both audio and in the chat: Please be yourself, but try to keep language PG. The EFA anti-harassment policy applies, and I’ve pinned it to the top of the room above my head. If you violate the policy, you will be blocked and removed from this room.
Individuals may also block other users by clicking on their face and then clicking on the hamburger menu in the upper-right corner. Occasionally, spammers pop into rooms and post messages about bitcoin and such; we will boot them as quickly as possible.
On a happier note, if you’d like to react to what speakers are saying, long press on your face and a selection of emojis should open. Click one, and it will show on your icon for a few seconds. You can access sounds by clicking on the Sounds tab and find GIFs by selecting the GIF button.
Tapping quickly on your face reveals your profile. Touching the area below your face opens the profile editor. It’s recommended to include information about you and/or your business in your profile so moderators know you’re authentic and have relevance to the rooms in which you request to speak. Additionally, profiles are a good way to advertise your business!
Oh! And those of you who have flair on your picture – congratulations! You’re new to Clubhouse. (Mention meanings of other symbols if showing.)
Our upcoming events include Networking for Success on March 14, Is your website wonky? On Mar 21, and DEB, Conscious Language, and more. Oh my! On March 28. I’m also working on a discussion about editing for audiobook narration.
Would y’all like to test out these functions? Please raise your hand to come up on stage, and once you’re up here, introduce yourself, tell us how you’re involved in publishing, and what topic you’d most like to learn about or discuss with other publishing pros.
