I've been poking around on this site so I figured I'd say hi. I've been having trouble finding a community of writers online who are into writing & reading Fantasy as I'm going to start querying a YA Fantasy Manuscript this coming year. Are there any takers in this group?
My goals as a writer are to eventually becoming a full time author and I have a few pieces in the works. Outside of writing I work at a Web Design company doing Search Engine Optimization, am a single mom, who lives out on Long Island in New York but loves to travel. I'm also an ordained Pagan minister (Elementalism/Druidry).
Very nice to meet y'all!
Your welcome
Were a tolerant group to all varieties of writing, jump in, stick with us and I'm sure you'll find a home.
Are you looking for beta readers for the full text, or are you looking to start workshopping it here, and gauging interest?
I'm a speculative writer/reader. I'd be willing to do a beta read for you but my schedule is going to be pretty tight coming up. What is your time frame? Current word count?
Hello, Ria, and welcome to the circus. Just pitch your tent wherever there's room.
Hello Ria, Good to have you. La Emme(Emma) is an excelent fantasy writer you should take her up on her offer to help. You would be well served to do that.
Welcome!
Hey! Welcome to LitReactor. I too am a YA fantasy writer (you can check out my YA fantasy serial novel Madrigal at jukepopserials). It will be good to have more folks here interested in the genre.
And I promise not to make fun of you for doing SEO. Well, maybe a little.
Thanks for the warm welcomes!
Dave: Awesomeness.
La Emme: Right now I'm working on the first draft and hoping to have it completed by Nov 15. I'm at about 10k right now. I'd be much obliged if you would be a beta reader on it. :) From the other communities that I've been a part of I find that longer works don't do so well in the public queues because the mid & end chapters are hardly critted, and the few who do only really offer crits on "grammar". I'm looking for peeps who will focus higher orders of concern, which aren't really apparent in middle chapters. Not totally sure how the queues work here as I haven't set up a paid sub just yet. Going to do some more reading over lunch later today.
Dino: Roger Wilco. *bows*
Jonathan: Thanks for the tip! ;)
Jeffery: Ha. I laugh at the idea of it myself. It's a means to an end--higher pay, same hours, and I can still think when I get home to write. Usually.
It's about the same here, in terms of length and interest. The shorter the work, the more reads it will get, so the general recommendation is to post individual chapters, or chunks no larger than 2500 words. When you submit to the workshop you'll fill in an author's agenda, where you can direct the feedback you'd like to receive. I've found that most reviewers will hew to this agenda. You rate all the reviews your piece receives, so if a reviewer doesn't address your concerns you can rate them "unhelpful".
The workshop is a give-and-take, so it's really important for you to read and review others' work. You'll get goodwill and points to put toward future submissions (the first submission is "free"). If you don't have the time or inclination to do a lot of reviewing for what you're putting in, this isn't the format for you.
If you've not already checked it out, Courtney did an introduction that is very helpful and can explain the workshop process much better than I can:
http://litreactor.com/discuss/an-in-depth-introduction-to-litreactor
PM when you're done with the MS and I'll see what my schedule is like at that point. Or if you'd like me to look at it in pieces starting sooner, that's OK, too.
@JGB Never would have guessed you did YA fantasy. I was guessing pulp horror.
@Ler Erme Nerkerter: I do it all!
::hipster writer:: I've been a YA fantasy fan/writer since before there WAS a YA subgenre! ::hipster writer::
I feel like if all this great 'YA' fantasy that's out nowadays would have been coming out when I was a YA, it would have just been called fantasy, and I would have enjoyed it the same way I enjoyed the shannara/belgariad et al books.
Agreed. After the first beta reads on my manuscript I learned it is in fact YA, something I'm still coming to grips with. Friends keep reminding me that the Earthsea books are "YA", which helps a little.
The hard part will be the agent sell, since my MC ages from 17 to 19 over the course of the book. I've been told this is "unheard of". *gasp*
Thanks much for the link. I only had time to skim before when I found it.
And yep, I third that notion. It's the storyline that's most important to me, not the age of the characters.
welcome aboard! Sometimes the sea gets rocky, and there is an occassional mutiny, but for the most part this ship is tight.
Also, pretty mcuh everyone here is crazy. The inmates have been running this asylum since day one, it seems. If this fits your personality, you'll fit in just fine!
And for real, good luck here. Since joining, I have had a blast.
Ria,
Welcome!
Thank ya darlins!
@Sean: Yeah, I'm a bit off the wall m'self. So far this site seems like a really good fit for me.
Hi, and welcome to the site. Hope you find the droids you're looking for.
Thanks much Avery.
Welcome aboard
Howdy
Welcome, This is a good community, you'll really enjoy it here. Have fun, and safe writing.
Thanks guys.
@Daniel: Thus far I'm having a blast!
@Daniel. I haven't always been good at practicing safe text. Sometimes my stories have
babies.
