Self-Publishing: Forums/Message Boards
When I first started to write I quickly discovered that a very popular method of showcasing one's writing is to post your work on the internet. There are numerous ways to accomplish this but the focus here will be on forums, or as otherwise commonly referred to as message boards.
Writing forums are a great way to post, and in many cases archive, your writing for registered forum/message board members and the general reading public to view. Registered members are able to post comments in the forums expressing appreciation and constructive critique of your work.
Forums are a great learning tool as well as a way to get a feel for how others react to your writing. If you are intending to publish your writing in hard copy on the retail level then forums are one way to help you evaluate your skill level and how well you capture a reading audience.
Forum memberships are free and easy to get registed and posting quickly. An important thing to keep in mind is that you will only get out of a forum what you put into it. You MUST post comments/critique on a frequent and regular basis for other writers if you want to see them do the same for your own writing that is posted.
Be aware that one thing that often occurs with forums is that there will be a small number of members, almost without fail, who join with their own agenda and seem to be intent on creating havoc on the site with confrontational or mean-spirited posts that often reflect personal angst rather than constructive critique of another's work.
Some members will find this kind of negative posting frustrating and take things personally. In order to have a positive experience with forums or message boards you must be in a mind space that filters out nasty postings. The administrators of such sites normally have strict guidelines that do not allow for bashing/confrontational posting and offenders are corrected on this type of negative behavior and at times banned from the site for noncompliance.
There are some sites, however, that fail to uphold their own "Terms of Use" or "Terms of Service" that governs the manner and content of posted writings. Where there is not a cohesive structure in place to deal effectively with those who abuse the site's posting facilities the overall environment of the site tends to break down and valued membership is lost.
As stated earlier, forums or message boards are a good place to gain exposure for one's writing and an initial or ongoing assessment of how well your writing is received. If there is good, constructive critique occurring on the site it will give you invaluable insight into areas of your writing that need improvement.
Constructive critique is an important part of a writer's development as an author and expert in whatever genre of writing undertaken and it is important to receive and accept such critique as a stepping stone on the road to a better writing experience for yourself and your reading audience. Learn from others of experience and skill and do not take constructive critique as a personal attack.
There are a great number of forums and message boards out there and each individual writer will find strengths and weaknesses in the sites they visit and participate by posting their works. One of the most gratifying experiences for a writer is to receive acclaim for their work so the first step, although sometimes a little scary, is to hit the "enter" key on the keyboard and get your writing posted for the world to see!
Before signing up as a member of a forum take a few moments to read carefully the Terms of Use/Service to understand the intent of the site and what content it will allow. Usually such guidelines will clearly spell out what is permissable and prohibitted. If you stay within the guidelines you should have an enjoyable experience, hostile posters excepted.
Another good step is to view the content of the forums to see how members interact with each other. After monitoring a site for a short time you should be able to get a good feel for the environment of the site and whether it will be suited to what you are looking for.
In the world of writing you will quickly discover that with skill there sometimes comes big egos...take it in stride and enjoy the online publishing experience.
Please post any comments you may have regarding this, or my other posts on this journal. Pay a visit to my website too at http://www.apoetsview.org and while there please sign my guestbook!
Keep writing! Enjoy.
Don MacIver
Copyright 2005
Writing forums are a great way to post, and in many cases archive, your writing for registered forum/message board members and the general reading public to view. Registered members are able to post comments in the forums expressing appreciation and constructive critique of your work.
Forums are a great learning tool as well as a way to get a feel for how others react to your writing. If you are intending to publish your writing in hard copy on the retail level then forums are one way to help you evaluate your skill level and how well you capture a reading audience.
Forum memberships are free and easy to get registed and posting quickly. An important thing to keep in mind is that you will only get out of a forum what you put into it. You MUST post comments/critique on a frequent and regular basis for other writers if you want to see them do the same for your own writing that is posted.
Be aware that one thing that often occurs with forums is that there will be a small number of members, almost without fail, who join with their own agenda and seem to be intent on creating havoc on the site with confrontational or mean-spirited posts that often reflect personal angst rather than constructive critique of another's work.
Some members will find this kind of negative posting frustrating and take things personally. In order to have a positive experience with forums or message boards you must be in a mind space that filters out nasty postings. The administrators of such sites normally have strict guidelines that do not allow for bashing/confrontational posting and offenders are corrected on this type of negative behavior and at times banned from the site for noncompliance.
There are some sites, however, that fail to uphold their own "Terms of Use" or "Terms of Service" that governs the manner and content of posted writings. Where there is not a cohesive structure in place to deal effectively with those who abuse the site's posting facilities the overall environment of the site tends to break down and valued membership is lost.
As stated earlier, forums or message boards are a good place to gain exposure for one's writing and an initial or ongoing assessment of how well your writing is received. If there is good, constructive critique occurring on the site it will give you invaluable insight into areas of your writing that need improvement.
Constructive critique is an important part of a writer's development as an author and expert in whatever genre of writing undertaken and it is important to receive and accept such critique as a stepping stone on the road to a better writing experience for yourself and your reading audience. Learn from others of experience and skill and do not take constructive critique as a personal attack.
There are a great number of forums and message boards out there and each individual writer will find strengths and weaknesses in the sites they visit and participate by posting their works. One of the most gratifying experiences for a writer is to receive acclaim for their work so the first step, although sometimes a little scary, is to hit the "enter" key on the keyboard and get your writing posted for the world to see!
Before signing up as a member of a forum take a few moments to read carefully the Terms of Use/Service to understand the intent of the site and what content it will allow. Usually such guidelines will clearly spell out what is permissable and prohibitted. If you stay within the guidelines you should have an enjoyable experience, hostile posters excepted.
Another good step is to view the content of the forums to see how members interact with each other. After monitoring a site for a short time you should be able to get a good feel for the environment of the site and whether it will be suited to what you are looking for.
In the world of writing you will quickly discover that with skill there sometimes comes big egos...take it in stride and enjoy the online publishing experience.
Please post any comments you may have regarding this, or my other posts on this journal. Pay a visit to my website too at http://www.apoetsview.org and while there please sign my guestbook!
Keep writing! Enjoy.
Don MacIver
Copyright 2005
posted by Don MacIver at
2:41 p.m.
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