Am I in right category? Don't beat me up if I'm not

[Jeannie812]

Yikes, my girlfriends think I can write. I really stink at it. I can write a funny email here and there but I ain't no writer. GF won't leave me alone about it. They say get a editor/publisher to modify my work. Don't it cost a bunch of money to get a built-in English teacher to correct my papers?

[brownmouse]

I would imagine that if you send your work to an editor and it is liked they shouldn't charge a thing 'cept a cut of the profit. But I am not sure . Joining a writers guild or club is a good way to post some of your work and get free feedback. I just joined SCBWI (society of children book writers and illustrators) and am waiting for my membership card (really, I just checked my email to be sure of the name and read that I have one on the way ). I have yet to post anything ....just waiting on approval (and a good set of cahones (sp?)

[dsurrett]

The best thing to do would be to join a local writer's group. You could get your work critiqued that way and also have a chance to look at other writer's work. Check with your local libraries to see if they know of any groups in your area. If that doesn't pan out you could try to find an online critique group. And by all means, get Stephen King's "On Writing."

[cwalrus]

I sent my writing to a couple of places recently so no feedback yet, but I expect that it will be rejected since this is the first time I tried it. I just sent a couple of short stories to some literary magazines. I'm really not sure where else to start. For the most part, they are free. All you have to pay is the postage with a SASE. There are a couple that charge "reading fees" but the legitimate ones shouldn't charge more than a couple of dollars. American Short fiction Magazine charges a $2 fee, and I know it's a real magazine because I see it in the magazine stands at my local bookstore and I know that some O'Henry prize writers have been selected from it. There's also some online magazines, but that's a send at your own risk thing as far as I see it. Narrativemagazine.com looks legit but they charge a $20 reading fee, and I'm not sure if it's about it.

The best thing to do if you really want to look into writing which is what i'm just starting to do is pick up a copy of the Writer's Market at your local bookstore. They have different books for different genres such as Novel & Short Stories, Poetry, and Children's so get the one that's best suited to what you write and check out the listings for literary magazines, online magazines, publishers, and agents. That's what I did.

Other than that I'm just as lost as to where to begin myself.

[tillyn]

There are web sites that you can get on , you write your story and people rate you and make useful (hopefully) comments on your story.

[Jeannie812]

Wow, I actually got responses to my post! I'm amazed. I appreciate the feedback. I will dapple with writing. Either I will find out I can write, or I will find out I can't, and then I will be sure to tell my girlfriends that I can't, and leave me alone about writing GF.