Day: May 30, 2009

OWW

~ Scott W. Baker ~ 4 Comments

owwAfter seeing references to it pop up all over the place recently, I finally joined the sff online writing workshop (OWW).  First month is free so I intend to poke around, do some reviews, and get a feel for the place before shelling out $49 for the year.  Assuming the the reviews I get are helpful, I’ll be happy to pay.

I’ve been a Critter (critters.org) for a long time so the critiquing game is not new to me.  Why the switch?  A few reasons:

  • Many writers who are just above my current status herald OWW.
  • There are numerous professionals that are reportedly active there.
  • People paying for criticism are likely to be both more qualified to give it and more likely to benefit from it.
  • I felt like 9 out of 10 critiques I was getting at Critters were little more than grammar police or writers looking for a reason to not like a piece (despite not offering reasonable advice on improvement).
  • 19 out of 20 stories I read there were very weak.  If I read too many, I found my own prose slipping.
  • While reviews are necessary both places, they aren’t time sensitive at OWW like they are at Critters.  I can take a couple months off from reviews and not have to do a ton to catch back up.

What I’m going to be looking for is a signifcant upgrade in the quality of the critiques.  Sure, I want to know if I use the word “leach” fifty times when “leech” would have been more accurate (yes, I did it and Critters caught it), but I’m looking for advice on something beyond the surface.  What is going to stop this story from selling?  Why isn’t this character likeable?

Too often at Critters I would read a critique and think “is that it?”  I was a beginner once and I reread some of the critiques I wrote with a frown. It deeply resembles those 9 of 10 critiques I didn’t really find beneficial.  I’m not looking for advice from beginners anymore.  I want to be on the low end of the talent in the group.

Sure, Critters has pro members.  When I go pro [knocks on wood], I may go back to offer my insights to beginners.  But the pros are few and far betwixt; some of the ones I discovered there were not all that.

So I’m giving OWW a try.  Advice from the experienced is appreciated.  I’ll post something there soon, but I think I’ll start by reading other members’ work and offering my own insights first.  Now I just need to pull in at least $50 a year writing to offset the cost.  I’ve only had one year so far where I made this, but my production is way up and the workshop should help me that much more.

Critters is still a fine program for writers of different levels, especially on the side of critiquing the work of others.  My post about how to get the most out of Critters is linked to at the top right of this page (sidebar).

Faster than a speeding “no thanks”

~ Scott W. Baker ~ 4 Comments

Wow.  Clarkesworld took less than 24 hours to reject “Secondhand Rush”.  It usually takes editors several weeks to decide I suck.

So what now?  I printed it out, stuffed it in an envelope, and it’s off to Q3 of WotF.

Why am I bombarding WotF with my stuff?  This will make one per quarter for this contest year.  (Another will surely be ready by the fourth quarter.)  Well, there’s nothing quite like an “honorable mention” rather than a form rejection.  That’s not to say I’m guaranteed at least an HM (if I were, I probably wouldn’t be satisfied with one), but it gives me the “at least it wasn’t a flat rejection” to pad my ego.  The HM also becomes a tidbit to toss on the cover letter, as if to say “relax, editor, this isn’t pure junk”.

WotF also limits my competition tonon-pros.  Even at small mags you have to compete with pros and “friends of the magazine” who repeatedly have their work printed there.  I feel like I get a tiny bit of favoritism from Sams Dot Publishing because I’ve been associating with them for so long (since it was ProMartian under the late James Baker, no relation).  Maybe my quality just fits their needs, but better than half my published stories have been there.  So entering into a blind competition with other semi-pros is a good place for me right now.  Can I win?  Eventually, I bet I can.  (If Jordan can do it… 😛 )  Or maybe I’ll go pro before that happens.  Either way, I think WotF is a good market for a writer in my position to pursue.

-Oso