Is there a website where I can submit papers and have them edited/criticized for free by other members?

Question

I read about one on Yahoo!. however, I can't remeber the site. basically you could submit essays, research papers, stories etc. and other people would read and comment on them. I just want to know what the website is(if there is more than one that you know of, then you can give me all the sites). I know there is atleast one out there.

Thanks for all your help!

I'm talking about site specifically related to school essays and such, not xanga (which i already have) or any other blog.

I don't intend to publish it. I'm studying for my SATs and want some people to rate it. These are just practice essays. Nothing I would otherwise share. I just don't have very many people who can grade these essays at home for me. So, I just wanted to get opinions from others.

Answer 1

Yes there are many but I advise you against using them if yoiu have any intention of trying to publish any of the material you intend to post. These days, publishers and agents are more and more refusing to read material previously posted on the internet. The internet is a playground for plagiarists. Anything you post can and will be stolen if it is at all decent. That means if a publisher is considering your work, they have to get their legal dept to work their tails off to determine chain of ownership and establish you as the true owner. In most cases, they will not be possible. If another publisher is considering the same manuscript but with a different author's name, it means court battles and to publishers it just is not worth it.

Many will tell you that you should do the old fashioned "poor man's copyright" where you put your work in an envelope and mail it to yourself and then keep the envelope sealed. That does not hold up in court. There are too many ways to beat it. I could send myself a hundred empty envelopes unsealed, print out anything I see online that interests me, stuff them inside and seal them and I have a poor man's copyright. I can also backdate my computer, burn disks and just like that my claim precedes yours. Getting the idea?

Also, do not send away for copyrights. Publishers and agents consider that unprofessional and amateur. It shows them you don't trust them. You own the work the minute you write it - as long as you keep it off the internet.

And remember that NO copyright is worth anything without a bad **** lawyer to defend it. That costs big money. Especially if the plagiarist is in another state or God forbid another country. It could cost you thousands and thousands of dollars to get your work back. Unless you are Dan Brown, you cannot afford such trials.

And in case you didn't know it, some of these writers websites where people post their work have "fine print" giving the rights of anything posted on their site to THEM. Are you ready to give your stuff away? I'm not. I refuse to post anything here no matter how many people ask me and I closed my website down LONG ago. If you want to read my work, you have to pay for it. I don't write to give stuff away.
So what is your answer? Find a LIVE writers group. Bookstores and libraries have them. Colleges and adult ed schools have classes and workshops. Find a teacher or librarian to mentor you. But never post your work on the internet or it is lost to you by the time you hit send.

I lost a great story that way. I posted it on a friend's website as a favor to him. About 4 months later, another friend e mails me and says "you have to read this story it is great!" I was horrified when I opened the file to find my story with someone else's name on it. There wasn't a blessed thing I could do but count it lost.

If you want you can join Absolute Write Water Cooler and discuss writing with others there, but I would not post anything. Pax - C

Answer 2

http://www.xanga.com

Answer 3

I HOPE SO!!!!!