For an author, constructive criticism could mean the life or death of a yet-to-be-published work. The members of the Coffee Shop Writers Group are all for giving such critiques.

“I’m glad to be here because I get such great feedback,” Linda Barrett, a writers group member, said.

The group, which was founded in 2003, meets monthly in the coffee shop of Weinrich’s Bakery, located in Willow Grove.

Weinrich’s Bakery, a family-owned business, has given the writers group several opportunities, providing members with a venue where they can recite their work to the public, as well as publishing the group’s first collection of poems, titled “Icing on the Cake.”

“I think it’s wonderful,” Stella Weinrich, Weinrich’s Bakery manager, said. “It’s nice to be a part of a community, and it’s nice for the community to be a part of us.”

Members of the writers group take turns sharing new and original work in the hopes of gaining much needed and welcomed feedback from other local writers of all levels and experiences.

According to the group’s founder, Willow Grove resident Ruth Deming, it’s often hard to receive rejection when trying to get work published.

“If you submit this stuff, and you’re rejected, it’s like a slap in the face. It really hurts,” Deming said.

She continued that writers groups can help an author to first refine their work through honest, but always constructive feedback.

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The Coffee Shop Writers Group meetings are free and open to anyone willing to share their work and constructive opinions.

The next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 20.

For more information, contact Ruth Deming at ruthdeming@comcast.net or visit ruthzdeming.blogspot.com.