I have a confession to make.
I'm cheating.
But it's not just me! Dynamaso is doing it too!
We are posting various and sundry writings at abctales.com.
This is a British writer's site, so lots of "pissing myself" and other expressions I have to research to understand. Heh.
BUT...generally this is how it works.
You sign up for an account. It's free.
Then you post your stories, poems, whatever.
The editors choose the best selections of the day and give them "cherries." When you are given cherries, your story goes on a special list on the homepage. (Kinda like being featured here.)
Then every three months they publish a magazine with certain writings from the site.
You don't get paid for it. And you have to print the magazine yourself (pdf). But they take the time to do a bio of the author, a picture, and make it look professional. I've looked at a couple past issues (linked on their site) and most of the authors are already published (for Money), teach creative writing, or are in the business somehow.
So basically if your work is chosen, you get bragging rights. It also gives you exposure to published authors and who knows, maybe someone in the business.
Here's the kicker. The stuff I read which gets cherries on the site is usually really good. But I will say with no pretense, that most of the writers in our own JUWC are as good and better.
The only draw backs are:
1. You can only submit 3 entries a day. (Because the editors actually read them all....or so I was told when I posted like 20 Chapters of Cade in one day...hahahaha...an editor sent me an email and asked me to have mercy, then they made it an official rule, only 3 a day....buwhahahaha)
2. It's an English site, so some of our colloquialisms don't translate well. (I'm assuming this because some of theirs leaves me scratching my head.)
I teased Maso and said they were Anti-American because I was never featured. Then GUESS WHO gets featured right off the bat? MASO...why I otta...hahahahaha. It must be because he's Australian.
What?
That doesn't sound plausible?
Pffft.
Talk about Karma..once I told Maso about the site...I was cherry picked. (thank you, thank you)
Ok, back to draw backs...
3. There is a comment section on the bottom of every entry...but you will see that prior to about a week ago few people leave comments. I don't know if its a British thing or what. But I can tell you once I started leaving comments, things took off...ok maybe not took off, but at least more people are commenting now.
I get the sense people are leery about stepping on other people's stuff...stiff upper lip and all that. How will anyone ever get better?
4. You might get addicted. Some of the writers are that good.
5. You might feel much better about your own stuff. Some of the writers are that bad. Heh. Just kiddin.
The great thing is, you don't have to write anything new today for it. Take some of your older stuff from the JUWC and put it up. Everything I put up there so far, I also posted here.
And HONESTLY, every single member of JUWC can do well there, I mean REALLY well.
You all got skills...ya know it.
So now you know.
Maso and I are having an affair of the art.
Wanna play?