Hi, everyone! I've written a novel, and I want some feedback before I ship it off to a publisher's "unsolicited pile." I'm looking forward to participating, and I'm already enjoying reading and reviewing others' work. A J
Hey A J, Welcome to the forum, and congratulations! Finishing a novel is no easy task, and you should be proud of yourself for doing so. There will be plenty of people happy to review your work, though it is important to understand that A) Posting your work here, or anywhere online, harms your chances of getting that work published. It is considered self-publishing, and publishers will not want to pay you for work that is already available online for free B) You must critique the work of others before posting your own. This is explained in more detail in the Writing Workshop, and also the forum rules. Other than that, enjoy your stay! It's a great community and one I'm sure you'll fit right in to I look forward to reading some of your work. Regards, DB.
Welcome to the forums! I'm actually working on a novel of my own right now, so I'd be more than willing to review yours - or at least parts of it. What DBTate said, however, is 100% correct. Posting your work anywhere decrease the chances of getting it published. It's best to just post a small part of it, and have a few close friends or advisors review the rest. But like I said, I'm always willing to help! Enjoy your time here!
@DB: I read all the rules, and I've been reading some of the posts, and I totally get both your points. I've already been contributing constructive critiques, and nobody worry that I'm going to try to put my whole novel online! Mostly, I'm thinking once I've earned the right to post, I want to put up the prologue and half of the 1st chapter. If the beginning is as solid as possible, then I might get a reader interested enough to finish. As far as publishing goes, I've already gone too far and will need to self-publish. Got some advice about setting up my own website, so now it's out there and I can't take it back... A self-published author friend of mine told me that first-time authors don't really receive a lot of support from publishing houses anyway. I would still need to be hustling up an audience, myself. I wonder if that's been anyone else's experience? I just don't have that many published friends... Do any of us? A J
Hello AJ, Welcome to the Creative Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Writing Workshop before you try to post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here anyway. It is worth taking the time to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Word Games, or the Writing Workshop, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the forum rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Writing Workshop, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. We also impose a two-week waiting period before you may post writing for critique, to give you time to become familiar with what is expected and how the site operates. The Writing Workshop forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Writing Workshop forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
