A good website were writers can be discovered?

Question

I love to write and I love for people to read my writing. But the problem is I don't feel that posting blogs on Myspace is good enough. what is a good website were i can have my own profile and my own writing to be read, and maybe discovered by a publisher?

Answer 1

There really is no such place. Poetry.com is a MAJOR scam and should be avoided. Publish America is a major scam too. The last time I checked, Absolute Write Water Cooler had a special forum just for complaints about Publish America and there were over 56 THOUSAND posts.

The only real way to be discovered is by getting yourself a copy of Writers Market, reading it and doing the old fashioned leg work - sending queries to publishers and agents. There is no such thing as being discovered online.

If you go to my profile, you will find I star all good Q and A related to publishing and writing. Print out the ones that you think might help you. It is a long and tough road. There are no shortcuts. If there were, don't you think everyone would be using them????
----
They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

I don't know of any such website. If you can afford it, (and some art/computer students are very hungry), hire someone to make a website that is your own. Advertise at schools and libraries, etc. for this.

You want another person's help both for the computer skills and the graphics... it will be good to have some great, attention-grabbing colors, pictures, just overall design-- you know what I mean. You will approve everything and make suggestions I assume, as you will want it to reveal something about the kind of things you will do on your site.

Then write. Post it on your own website. Go to groups online like http://www.writerscafe.org (a fine site) where writers gather and look at each others' work, and, after some visiting and talk of their work, invite them to your site.
Invite everyone you can think of to look at your website when it is ready and you have at least one piece written and placed on it.

You never know what word-of-mouth can do for you and your work. A publisher MAY hear of it.
It seems more likely that an agent may look at it. And an agent is exactly who you want to have look at it, way before a publisher!
Good luck...

Answer 3

Publishers don't have to troll the web looking for good writers. They have plenty of submissions delivered right to their mailbox. In fact, they have so many they never read them all.

The way to get published is to submit your writing to them. Get a copy of WRITERS MARKET. Follow it. Keep in mind that magazines and smaller publishers are easier to get into.

The other system you can use is go to www.fictionwise.com and bring up the 100 best selling books in your genre. Check who the publishers are. Then you go to Amazon and make sure the same books are listed there. If that's so, look for the publishers website and get their guidelines.

You do not want to bother with ANY PUBLISHER who does not have books listed both at Amazon and on www.fictionwise.com. Never pay for publication.

Answer 4

well, I started to read this One Piece story called seven deaths on some guys site and he had a link to FF. I loved it so much that I made an account and I've been a member for almost 1 year now... I'm a frequent writer...and the first story I wrote was called..ehh...humorous revenge(but I deleted it cause I didn't like it)

Answer 5

Sorry S A, but that's not the way to go.

Stay away from Publish America. Check out these sites for directions to safe publishers and agents.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/

Abolute water cooler is a must for people who want to take up writing, either as a hobby or full time. Scroll down looking to the left side to The Conference Room and click on Bewares and Background Checks. You can also do a search on what you're looking for. Absolute Water Cooler is a place you can join also.

Another is Preditors and Editors

http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubagent.htm

Click on Book Publishers for starts. Choose the 'P' since the search is in alphabetical order and check out Publish America. You'll notice they are 'STRONGLY NOT RECOMMENDED.'

Click on Agents and Attorneys. Once again alphabetical order.

Here's some very good advice I give to everyone who truly wants to write.

Writing a book takes more than just sitting down and putting your idea into words. There are a lot of things that you have to consider.

You need a good grasp of the English language. Spelling and Grammar. You will also need to check and recheck your work. Editors are very expensive these days.

You need to know how to write an effective ‘query letter’ to a literary agent.

Can you write a synopsis that will hold the interest of the agent, and want to make him or her ask for the first three chapters of your work?

Do you know how to outline?

You’ll need to know how to format your manuscript. This includes the fonts that most agents, editors, and publishers want. You will need to know Industry Standard Format and follow the submission guidelines set down by the agent, editor, or publisher. Doing it wrong means a reject.

Do you know what Point of View is? (POV) Do you know how to write in First Person Point of View? The can’s and can not’s?

Do you know how to write dialogue? How to format dialogue?

It’s a good idea to know some of the publishing laws. The use of names and places.

These include
o Delivery Of Satisfactory Copy
o Permission for Copyrighted Material
o Grant Of Rights
o Proofreading and Author's Corrections
o Advances and Royalties
o Author's Warranties and Indemnities
o Copies to Author
o Option Clause
Do you know how to get a ‘word count?

Do you know what a prologue is? An epilogue? Do you know how both of them are used and why?

Do you know what the word ‘genre’ means?

You’ll need to know how to use the proper ‘page set up’ for your work. Margins, indents, paragraphs.

Are you prepared to do a lot of ‘research’ involving your work? Many professionals such as, doctors, lawyers, nurses, public accountants, judges, architects, bricklayers, engineers, and police officers read, too.

Do you know what a plot is? A sub-plot?

Can you take rejection and constructive criticism? If you’re easily hurt in the feelings department, then this hobby is not meant for you. Critics will tear you apart or build you up. The best writers in the world “King, Patterson, Koontz, J.K. Rowling, and many others” have been torn up one side and down the other. You can’t please everyone.

If you decide to hire an editor, remember: Your manuscript will be double spaced, which means there will be twice as many pages. A 600 page novel could cost you around $1800.00, some even more depending on what the editor charges a page.

These are the things you must know to work at your craft. But don’t let these things deter you from writing. There are books in libraries and bookstores that can teach you all of these things. Buying these books (if you want to be a serious writer) is the best thing to do. Why? Well, because you can use a yellow marker to highlight all the points of interest. Then you can use the front of the book to make page references to those markings in order to check back on them at a later date, when you need to.

You’ll need to get a copy of Writer’s Market for the current year. This has literary agents whom you can send out query letters to. Some of them allow email queries.

Start out with short stories and check around for anthologies to submit them to. Just check with the above links before you do anything with a publisher or agent. There are a lot of scams out there.

I wish you the best of luck!

Answer 6

You can try www.fanfiction.net
But if you want a publisher to discover your books you can directly find publishers on www.authors.com

Answer 7

just use your own creations it much more better