Just one more perk of Camp NaNoWriMo. I discovered this writer’s group and have been on it ever since. Membership is free although there is an annual charge of $65 for premium membership.
What is Scribophile?
It is a large online writer’s workshop. Writer’s of all genres can read and critique others work, ask questions on various forums, post their own work (up to 3,500) words at a time for critique and learn about ways to improve their writing through the Scribophile blog and academy. And one other thing, there are contests. The prizes for these contests are either karma points (the currency of Scribophile) or actual cash, which is quite nice.
If you are wondering how you gain karma points, I’ll enlighten you. It is all about remaining active on the site. The more you read, critique and post, the more karma points you’ll have. How do you use them? Posting your own work requires you to pay five karma points which means that everyone will have to do their part. If you want feedback, you first have to give it.
There are also smaller writing groups that you can join or be invited to. These groups often have their own set of standards such as posting for critique once a week or how often you should review each other’s work. In that way, it is much like an in-person group. These small workshops, from what I can tell, are set up by either genre, targeted readership or style of writing.
What about if I want to publish later?
Don’t worry. The posts you put up for critique don’t last forever, either you can delete them or they will be locked after a certain amount of time. This way you get the critique you need and you can still submit for publication after you have edited.
Yes, it is true that no publisher will publish what can be found for free but Scribophile takes this into account. You can only post work that is relatively short, you get feedback and you move on. How do they ensure this? If you choose not to upgrade to premium you can only have so many pieces up for critique at a certain time. Therefore, you will never be able to have a large portion of your work up.
Additionally, they have a place where you can announce a publication. After your work is published you can delete it from the site without worrying about any flack from your publisher. Many authors and poets have gotten the work they shop on Scribophile published. Using a site like this does not, in any way, diminish your chances of publication because it is, at its core a place to workshop.
Overall Thoughts?
I think this is a great site for writer’s and suggest you take a look at it for yourself. Annual membership isn’t that expensive and any camper or NaNoWriMo vet can get access to a code for 20% off.
The site offers a place to receive constructive criticism while preventing plain old negative comments. If anyone sees a comment that is just negative without any critique they can anonymously report and delete it.
Additionally, it is user-friendly and easy to navigate. From the moment you are on the site you easily understand how to use it through the guide they offer as well as the “Getting Started Checklist.” And although this isn’t all that helpful, I think it is a nice added touch so I am just going to mention it. At the bottom of the site there is a section called “An Interesting Tidbit” and each day it is updated with a factoid or quote. It is just really cute and if you are into that sort of thing, well, there you go!
Are there any Scribs out there? How often do you use the site? Do you enjoy it? I would love to hear your opinions and if you know of any other sites I should review, comment down below or head over to my contact page. I would love to hear from you.
Happy writing,
Chyina
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