How to Be Published With Little Effort
Fledgling writers trying to get their works published have heard
this oft-repeated proverb: "You can't get published without an
agent and you can't get an agent without being published."
Sadly, for the masses of eager writers who fail to reach the
airy heights of John Grisham fame, the slush pile is a familiar
haunt. But it doesn't need to be. Writing.com offers a haven of
free publicity for even the would-be author who has literally
plastered his or her walls with rejection slips. From the
college freshman jotting down poetry in the margins of homework,
to the middle-aged freelancer, all walks of life are welcome to
publish their voices for the online multitude to read, rate, and
review. Sounds too good to be true, right? Wrong. Becoming a
member of Writing.com in order to publish your works online can
be done in a few simple steps.
Step one: Sign onto the Internet and direct your browser to
www.writing.com. The main page will immediately open with a form
for registration. But before you do that, you should decide how
many of your works you want to publish. The good stewards of
Writing.com ("The StoryMaster" and "The StoryMistress") run the
business of Writing.com out of their own pockets and have
created a membership hierarchy based on financial sponsorship.
For example, say that you wish to use Writing.com but do not
wish to contribute financial assistance. This is no problem. The
first level is the "Free Membership" which includes an online
portfolio to store up to five separate items with a limit of
around thirteen pages single-spaced, a storage place called "My
Favorites" for keeping track of your favorite authors and other
hangouts, a notepad where you can quickly type ideas and save
them for later access, a free e-mail account, the ability to
give and receive feedback from the community, the freedom to
enter in various writing contests, and best of all, the ability
to use gift points. Gift points, commonly called "GPS," is an
award system used by all members and also functions as
Writing.com's own economy. Gift points are earned every time a
member logs onto their account within a twenty-four hour period.
They can be used to buy Writing.com merchandise, to advertise
your items, to show appreciation for another member, and to
purchase a higher-level membership, Basic, Upgraded, or Premium.
Therefore, if you as a free member earned enough gift points
(through winning contests or another member's generosity), you
could buy a higher membership without spending any of your own
money.
Step two: After registering for your membership level of
choice, your new portfolio should be filled with your best
works. Posting your best will attract attention and gain you a
following of loyal readers. Publishing the online item is easy
enough after simply following the step-by-step instructions
provided. As large as Writing.com's member base is (approaching
50,000), new members will not be lost in the shuffle. A special
group of Moderators roam the portfolios of new members every day
so that nearly every new member is almost guaranteed at least
one read by a veteran member. But waiting for the reviews to
come is a bad way to get attention directed to your new
portfolio.
Step three: Armed with the item's ID number, a handy way of
linking to the portfolio's contents, you can find hundreds of
online message forums on Writing.com to advertise your
portfolio. Veteran members of Writing.com (especially the
yellow, blue, and purple portfolios) will help you find your
feet on the website via these forums and e-mail. Although
Writing.com is easy to navigate once familiar with the system of
browsing it can be overwhelming at first to a new member. Most
of these forums will allow advertisement of your works and some
forums will even be designed specifically for reviewing a piece
when asked. One of the first things you should do after becoming
a member is immediately go searching for something to read on
Writing.com. Once something that piques your interest is found,
you should review the item and then do it again with someone
else's story. Most older members will reciprocate the review on
their piece and will check out your portfolio as a courtesy.
It is that easy. Best of all, you as the author maintain all
rights to works posted on Writing.com. Therefore, if a publisher
happens to send an acceptance letter instead of a rejection, you
still have legal power to say that the piece does not belong to
anyone else but yourself. Writing.com is not a substitute for a
publishing house but it can be a starting point, a testing
ground, or even a "processing plant." The more constructive
criticism received, the better the piece will be and better
prepared for "real" publishing. I know of at least two members
that have launched their writing career from Writing.com but I
am sure that there are more. On a personal note, registering for
a Writing.com membership is worth it if only for the growth in
my own writing that I've noticed. Without Writing.com, I would
have had no place to share my stories and get helpful critiques
that showed me what I was doing wrong, what I could do to
improve, and then apply that knowledge from then on. I am a
better writer today because of Writing.com.