I am a new member to this forum. I am also a new "writer." I place that inside the quotation marks as an undecided question. Don't misread that as a lack of confidence. It is not. I have two novels written, one on Amazon and one waiting for an agent to declare me a great new find. (Tongue in cheek) The published work is a short fiction novel that I self-published through BookSurge. Now....before you turn up your nose and walk to another thread, I sent querries. Tons of querries. I received several responses, "we're busy," "not our style," "on vacation," "blah blah blah." I had the good fortune to speak with two professionals, one an established author you would recognize, and the other a retired publishing company exec. Both suggested the self-pub route in this market, at this time. Not as an Ad, but more to confirm what I have told you...my title is "It Was Thursday" and Amazon does have a feature that allows you to "look inside." Here's the part that keeps me plugging away...I have four reviews on Amazon, pretty nice stuff for less than two months. I have also given out dozens of promo copies and the responses have all been "very good to Great." No..they are not all family. That kind of talk will turn your head if you let it, but it does raise the question...."is what I do really Good?" That's what I'd love to hear, the truth, whatever that may be. From those who have no axe to grind or agenda. I know this has been long-winded. If you're still here, Thanks ! I'd love to have some of you folks look at the book, if you'd like more I can post sections..(.please tell me where to do that.)... Thanks in advance. DQ
Welcome to the forum. Please have a look through the Forum Rules, and the FAQ as a start. Then take a leisurely stroll through the different areas of the forum to get your bearings. Once you have a good idea where everything, come and say hello in the Lounge or have a look at the items already up for review in the Review section. Please remember that as a full participation workshop, you are required to give two (2) constructive reviews of posted items prior to posting your own work. Remember that two is only a minimum. Feel free to give as many reviews as you please. The more you give, the more you get. And please remember that as a workshop, the intent is to give and get help on works in progress, not promote items already published. We are also a Flame-Free Location and we do not host Pie Fights either. Have fun!
Thanks, I'll try to do that. One thing : That was not the intent. It is a "location" where sections of my work could be viewed, for free. If you took it as an AD, I apologize. I'm not here to sell books....quite the contrary, I'm here for input as to whether or not I should pursue this work. Sorry for any taken offense. DQ
Thank you very much. What part of the Great Lakes are you from? I t'was born in Sault Ste. Marie in the UP.
Hi Don, You will have a PM (private message) in your mail, on your User CP, telling you my exact location. There are lots of fun activities on the Writing Forum to join into. Plus lots of great discussions on how to improve. It's nice to meet you, and I'll be looking for you around the forum.
Hello Don Quixote de la Mancha, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Ware the windmills. They might be giants. Posting your own writing for comment should not be among the very first things you do here. 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 Review Room, 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 Review Room, 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. The Review Room 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 Review Room 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 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!
Hi, Don, and welcome. I checked out some of your first pages, and while I can see the potential in your voice and style, you really need to hammer out the technical stuff. There are a lot of errors and common no-nos, like incorrect semicolons (it's better to use em dashes, conjunctions, or full stops, anyway) and the constant, frequent use of "was" structures. I strongly suspect that is why you were rejected. That is also why self-publishing tends to be frowned upon. You skip the most essential part of the process--thorough self-editing, (for which you first need to develope the requisite skills) followed by professional editing through your publisher. I'd be willing to help you however I can, privately, but I don't want to be the "loophole" for every new member to jump through. It would be very much appreciated by all if you would write out some thoughtful critiques of your own. Feel free to send me a PM if you'd like a hand. But first, I suggest you thoroughly examine the review room. There is a very valuable service offered here, available to all, with no conditions--the opportunity to give a critique and read the critiques of others. In all honesty, having someone help you one-on-one probably won't do you nearly as much good as learning how to critique the writing of another. Doing so will enable you to properly edit your own work, and then get it published! One can hope. Sorry for the lecture, but I really think you ought to keep going, and take this thing as far as you can. It would be a shame for you to turn your back on writing now. So, I hope you stick around for a while, and I know you'll find a lot of answers here, if you look for them.
