I expect I will upset a few people who do not think we should have a say unless we pay the fee (insight from earlier comments)I wanted to ask why we pay for this forum I understand from talking to my son this is unusual.Whether or not I sign up I would like to say I have been impressed with the high standard of the comment and the way people who are busy with work of their own take the time to read others.
kat

I know I pay for this forum because it's so much better than the others. It seems to attract mainly serious writers (serious in attitude, I mean, not necessarily advanced, yet) who are more interested in getting better and less interested in displaying their egos. The support you get is the support of knowledgeable fellow-feeling, not vapid ego-massage

I like the fact that Jobs and Opps, the news, and the calendar are relatively comprehensive, up to date and well-organised. That takes someone's professional time and that time has to be paid for. Then there's the online costs - they're not nothing. Does the fee keep the advertising fairly minimal too? It feels like that. There's no such thing as a 'free' website, it's just a question of how you pay for it.

Emma

emma
This is fair comment. I have looked around at a few other sites but this looks the best. Some sites only appear interested in saying how great they are with little serious input.
kat

In general, people only appreciate something if they have to pay for it. And that is a necessary trait to possess if you want to succeed in writing (or in anything, pretty much). There is a romantic notion that you just write a novel in splendid isolation, post it off to an agent who immediately arranges an auction and sells your book for a million, with the publisher so in love with your writing that he prints it exactly the way your wrote it. Of course, the rare case where something like this appears to actually happen is eagerly jumped on by the media, thereby reinforcing the myth in anyone unwary enough to believe it.

In actuality, learning to write well enough to get published is a long process and will probably involve all sorts of costs before success comes. At the very minimum – if you don't think you need any additional help – there are the costs of constantly sending out work to agents and publishers. But if you have enough common sense to realise you do need help, then you're looking at creative writing courses, books, independent editorial help and so on. And, really, you should also factor in the costs of building up contacts in the business, by attending talks and events, joining good writing groups, etc.

I joined this site originally simply because I liked the feel of it. I'd been on other sites where fierce cliques ruled, apparently intent on bolstering each other's egos, rather than getting better at their writing. But on the whole, there is a healthy and natural reciprocal balance here. It's also well marshalled, in my view. I'm a freelance editor and one of the reasons I've remained with this site is that I've developed some very good working relationships with writers here. This has happened organically, and was not looked for by me. Normally, I get editing work through agencies or professional contacts, which means there is not so personal an element in the relationship. But with this site, I've been able to comment on people's work which has led to them asking for further help – which is good for me but I think also good for them, because they're able to work with an editor they know, who will be around in future and whose work is readily checkable.

In other words, I'd say this site has managed to succeed where a lot of others have failed and part of the reason for that, I'm sure, is that it charges a fee. Having said that, it's pretty minimal compared with what you receive

Terry

The reason I pay for the site is because I couldn't find a decent writer's group in my area. The only one I did find charged £20 membership a year to sit in a small room with ten oap's (one who's incontinence pads obviously did not have odour control), who's idea of being published was a letter in the local freesheet newspaper about the post office closing down. Therefore I think this site is excellent value for money.

This site has an excellent atmosphere (virtual I know), the writers on here are serious about their work and never dull. I think if it were open to all we would not have the standard of work or the standard of critiques that we have currently. Also being members' only helps people who are nervous of posting their work, they know there's a certain amount of security.

I certainly think it's worth it.

Gina.

One of the advantages of a paying site is continuity of membership. Having paid, people tend to 'stick it out' more and so the feedback received and given is of more value, (in my opinion, of course) since you have a better view of the position it's coming from.

I know that I form opinions of people and their work over time and it's possible to say something like "you can do better" or "this is the best piece of work I've seen you produce" and similarly for feedback recieved. However, it takes time to form opinions and so the real value of the site can't be measured overnight.

Well I had to ask! Now I know I guess I'd better stump up the money.
kat