Writers Cafe is changing the business model for co-working spaces – a marketplace

deal with Writers’ spaces only have as many members as their desks, but in a city like San Francisco, where rents are so high, small, intimate groups can’t create a sustainable business model. So, Janice Cook Newman, an author herself, opened Page Street using a subscription model in an old cafe in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley neighborhood.

“The beauty of this model is that it allows me to make it affordable for writers who don’t have a lot of money, but it also helps me do it in a standard way,” Cook Newman said. “So for $160 a month, you have unlimited access 24/7. For $80 a month, you’re a half-time member, and you’ll have access six times a month. For $50 a month, you’re a standby member, and you can log in three times a month.

Fortunately, Cook Newman saw her passion for space. She said she receives two to three applications each day, but there is a short process to get accepted, which includes a questionnaire and a focus interview.

“The person doesn’t have to be published yet, but they have to be taken seriously in their writing. And they have to be good because we’re all in that space together, so when I’m interviewing, their personality counts a lot,” Cook Newman said.

Finally, she is happy to provide such a unique space for up-and-coming and published writers in a city that is the epicenter of the tech industry.

Cook Newman “I think it’s important to have places that are not dedicated to technology, especially in San Francisco, to go back to the idea that there are places dedicated to the arts,” said Cook Newman. “Because the goal isn’t just to make Page Street work together. A space, but also a community, a place where writers support each other.

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