Does anybody know these sites?

[malena2006]

A friend of mine found these pages and wanted us to give it a try, but I rather check first.
The Next Big Writer
http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/index.html

Youwriteon.com
http://www.youwriteon.com/

They offer free reviewing (providing one reviews as well), but they also hint at the possibility of having the manuscript published. Are they for real? Are those trustworthy places?

Are there similar other places on the WEB? Is there a real possibility to contact agents and getting published (aside from self-publishing) on the Internet?

 

[Phil Lanuto]

Hi,

I don't have much experience with Youwriteon.com although I have heard it is a pretty good site for feedback. I actually posted my writing on TheNextBigWriter.com awhile ago and received some pretty good feedback. The member base there tends to be comprised of older and more mature writers. Some of them have self-published and a few have received contracts from the biggies.

The site itself won't help you get published per se but it does provide a good place to fine-tune your writing based on the feedback of the other members. Everyone is courteous and helpful and they're pretty strict about kicking off anyone who violates the rules.

I think Youwriteon.com is free but TheNextBigWriter has a fee. It's free to come in and take a look as a reader/critter but something like $40 per year to post your work.

I now post my writing on a sister site to TheNextBigWriter called Booksie. You don't get the same level of feedback and its public but it's also free.

I hope that helps.

Best,

Phil

 

[Stewart]

The Next Big Writer and Booksie both look terrible and I would certainly not use them. If I wanted to have my writing critiqued by strangers I would be more likely to use Zoetrope purely on the reasoning that it doesn't have such an exploitative tagline as 'Publish. Read. Get Read' (i.e. it's more used by realists)

And, also, using Zoetrope ensures that your work remains private and can't be indexed by search engines. By publicly publishing stuff to sites like booksie you may be giving up first rights without thinking. Many publishers won't want something that has effectively been published already, albeit on some website.

 

[malena2006]

Thanks to both of you

Is Zoetrope free? What about publishing a chapter, or an excerpt? Does that qualify as giving up first rights?

The Next Big Writer and Booksie both look terrible and I would certainly not use them. If I wanted to have my writing critiqued by strangers I would be more likely to use Zoetrope purely on the reasoning that it doesn't have such an exploitative tagline as 'Publish. Read. Get Read' (i.e. it's more used by realists)

And, also, using Zoetrope ensures that your work remains private and can't be indexed by search engines. By publicly publishing stuff to sites like booksie you may be giving up first rights without thinking. Many publishers won't want something that has effectively been published already, albeit on some website.

 

[Stewart]

Is Zoetrope free?

Yes. But for every piece you want to post, you have to have written a certain number of critiques of others' work. Numbers depend on the medium. But it's good to read others, pass on constructive criticism, and those you help will no doubt return the favour.

What about publishing a chapter, or an excerpt? Does that qualify as giving up first rights?

I don't know the logistics of it all. I just won't post anything I feel has potential in the public domain lest it affect something in the future. I don't mind posting stories that I've since abandoned or can't take any further.

 

[Marquis Rex]

Thanks for posting the Zeotrope link Stewart, it's very useful.

 

[Phil Lanuto]

Zeotrope is a fine place but doesn't really support the critting of novels. TheNextBigWriter is private so you don't loose first rights and it has a much better system for getting a novel critiqued.

In terms of Booksie I guess first rights might be a problem if you intend to go the traditional publishing route. I could be totally wrong but it seems like publishers should jump at the opportunity to publish a book that's been on the Internet and already produced a lot of interest. This model is already working in music and video and lit publishers better wake up.

I'm going to self-publish and so first rights aren't an issue. Booksie provides me with direct access to readers. I've had several hundred readers check out the book in the last month and several have expressed an interest to buy it when I publish the second installment. I do believe that the book will be read by more people by then than the average published novel.

So for me, TheNextBigWriter has helped me refine the book and Booksie is providing a platform to begin marketing it and developing readers. For those who plan to go the traditional route this may not be for you. But for those who are looking for an alternate way you might want to check them out.

Phil

Monarch
http://www.booksie.com/library/index.html/read/7

 

[Nakmeister]

I've never really put work on the internet for the very reason I'd like to get a lot of the work I write published one day. Then I realised that was probably a long way off and what they hell, might as well try and get some feedback. The only website I've used so far is writing.com. It looks quite a complicated site at first but in fact it is really easy to use. I've had several reviews at least for everything I've put up there and I have also really enjoyed reading and reviewing other people's work.

Basic membership is free, however there are upgraded memberships that remove adverts, add more features etc. They start from about $30 per year, however within a couple of weeks of joining I'd been 'gifted' three months upgraded membership!

I haven't heard of the other sites mentioned in this thread but think I will try them out now.