You have a ‘new members’ forum, why not have a ‘Published Members’ forum? It would be interesting to see posts from members who have published – a place where successful members could specifically detail what they have published, and how.
I'm not sure it's really necessary. The "New Members" forum is for introductory threads. What would a Published Members forum be for, aside from self-promotion? Besides, there is already an option to state whether you are published, on your personal profile.
If you ask, any one of the members would be happy to point you towards those formites that have been published.
plus, then we'd be opening things up to the age-old debate as to what is considered 'published' with the self-published and freebie e-zine-accepted writers battling for equal status with those who have paid credits... and even there, would a writer with a single $5-earned poem in a magazine with a circulation of only hundreds have the same expertise to offer and be seen as 'successful' as a writer with columns and short stories in slick magazines and newspapers, or an author of several traditionally published books? although i am a published-for-pay writer in a variety of mediums myself, i don't see any good coming from what would in effect be establishing an official 'elite' group [an iffy one, to boot, if members aren't thoroughly vetted] within the forums...
This has been raised before, and rejected before, for the reasons stated above. We don't need features to separate members. Our goal is to bring writers together.
“What would a Published Members forum be for, aside from self-promotion?” The point would be to conical individual experiences in their literary adventures in orders to primarily educate others and secondly to perhaps encourage and inspire. The aim would not be to self-promote, but to share information about actual real life methods and means by which individuals have seen there work come to print. There is much on this website in the hypothetical; there is a great deal of ‘how I would’ but little chronicling ‘how I was’. Personally the latter is of more interest to me that the former, although it seems I am in the minority! “Besides, there is already an option to state whether you are published, on your personal profile.” Yes there is, but that option does not in any way serve to do the above. “Our goal is to bring writers together.” …and how does the above wrench them apart? “plus, then we'd be opening things up to the age-old debate as to what is considered 'published” Excellent! But seriously, I imagine the thread would be open to comment from those who have published by any means and in any medium rather than degenerate into a debate on petty matters. If people wish to self-publish, fine! Lets hear of their experiences. If they signed a million dollar book deal, fine! Let’s hear likewise. If they were paid $5 for a poem, good on them! That poem was worth $5 to someone. Awesome! Let’s hear how they marketed and sold it. I would hope that all this may assist others in making an informed decision about which direction they wish to struggle. “i don't see any good coming from what would in effect be establishing an official 'elite' group.” I think the ‘good’ would emerge out of hearing how people have been published in order to inform others of the real life process and experience, no matter the medium or method. The reality of publishing is that it is a tuff game and I think much could be learnt from people who have been successful and either found or forced their way into print. If you find that elitist I am sad for you.
The published writer status sows up only if you view the detailed profile of a member, so it's not trumpeted out next to every post. For most purposes, whether or not a member has published yet is not relevant to their standing on the site. We don't need a separate area to discuss experiences with getting published. That alreadyexists in the Writing Issues->Publishers forum. There is no need to artificially separate experiences from questions. Those experiences do become clearly visible in that forum anyway, without setting them apart.
that bears repeating, since what you propose would be mostly just a duplication of that section, since what you're asking for is already found there...