apologies

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Wed, 2007-03-14 19:02

russ2000_uk

apologies

A few weeks ago, I came onto this site and spammed my website freeyourimagination.com. I would just like to apologise for this. My intentions for doing this were not malicious, nor to con anybody, but rather looking for honest feedback (and maybe get a few people to look at it), but it did not seem that way to many people. Regardless, it was wrong and I apologise unreservedly to anyone who was offended or angered by this. There is no excuse. It was wrong. End of story.

The premise of the site is simple: it posts unpublished stories and then offers readers the chance to buy them. The idea is to generate some income for writers and to give them an idea of whether or not their work is actually suitable for publication through the acid test medium: sales. It may be a foolhardy concept, it may not, but only time will tell…

A couple of points should be cleared up first, though. This website has no connections to any agents or publishers whatsoever. To those who have accused me of posing as an agent, look again. I’m doing no such thing. Secondly, there IS a clause in the terms that stipulates that authors will agree to give 2% of future earnings from work discovered through the site. Let me clear this up. It is for work discovered THROUGH the site. As in, as a result of the site. It’s unlikely, I’ll confess, but a possibility all the same. 2% of nothing is, after all, nothing. If you make a million as a direct result of using this site, I dare say you won’t cry about 2%.

The idea is that, eventually, this site will be free (there is a introduction offer at the moment but, after that, it will be charged at $19.95 per work submitted) but websites cost money and I don’t sleep on a mattress full of cash so, until it generates income from elsewhere (suggestions, if you please!) then I can’t afford to do it for free. I have to pay a guy to put your work on there, after all.

I hope that clears some points up and I’m sorry for any confusion, anger or offence caused by myself previously. Thanks for your time and, hopefully, forgiveness. Stay well,

Russell

Wed, 2007-03-14 20:10

Yan2

for a moment there, ie: first two lines, I thought, 'Hey! Now there's a guy!' Then I read on. Shame that you're helplessly spamfested - get well soon. There's nothing more mind-teasing than the incomprehensible eagerly avowed - Dennett

~It's a maze for rats to try, it's a race for rats to die.~

Thu, 2007-03-15 14:03

tcook

Strange that he didn't write to me and ask if he could post up his free advert first, isn't it? I haven't been to his site but I suspect that bargepoles are in order.

Thu, 2007-03-15 18:35

russ2000_uk

Just trying to explain myself and retort to those who have thrown accusations my way. If you don't like it, I couldn't give a sh*t.

Fri, 2007-03-16 20:19

bobblehat2023

"The idea is that, eventually, this site will be free (there is a introduction offer at the moment but, after that, it will be charged at $19.95 per work submitted)." I don't know whether I've accused you of anything yet but I'd just like to state that if you really think people will pay you $19.95 to post their work on a website, you are definitely an idiot. Why would someone pay you to put writing on a website no one's heard of when they could post on here - or a nice blog of their own - for free? Many well intentioned entrepreneurs make this mistake but the value of a service under any market-based system is not the amount it costs you to deliver it, it is the amount that some people are prepared to pay you for it. If the first one is more than the second one, there's a serious flaw in your business model.

Fri, 2007-03-16 20:40

maddan

I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that I will post anyone's writing on my website for only $10.

Fri, 2007-03-16 21:34

Sean Playfair

"...but websites cost money and I don’t sleep on a mattress full of cash so, until it generates income from elsewhere (suggestions, if you please!)..." Er, here's one...ADVERTS! "I have to pay a guy to put your work on there, after all." Jesus Tonight, he has to pay someone to put writing on a website. The next dot-com millionaire, anyone? Sincere apologies to all for sending this rancid slime masquerading as an apology back to the top.

Fri, 2007-03-16 21:44

russ2000_uk

Oh my God! I wish I hadn't bothered now. The website will be defunct soon enough, as I've already wasted enough time on it. But I still think the idea is sound. I've used plenty of writer sites and there's always praise, and some suggestions, but I have always wondered if someone would pay to read it if it was on the shelf in a shop. That's the point. Besides, I'm sorry I seem to have offended so many people. Not my intention. Forget the website and good luck with your ambitions to be published.

Fri, 2007-03-16 21:57

Yan2

"If you don't like it, I couldn't give a sh*t." For a blatant salesmonger - that's a bad line! There are seminars you can attend to help you. I've been less offended by double-glazing reps myself ;) There's nothing more mind-teasing than the incomprehensible eagerly avowed - Dennett

~It's a maze for rats to try, it's a race for rats to die.~

Sat, 2007-03-17 13:25

#10

Sean Playfair

Okay, Russ. I see you've posted your work here, as well as on your own site, so I'm prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt -- and believe that you're a genuine, wannabe writer, with a hopeless idea ; rather than a money-sucking, desperation-exploiting leech. Here is some honest, constructive feedback: the site looks and navigates pretty nice. The principle -- a showcase on the net for first-three-chapter manuscripts, designed to attract publishers -- isn't in itself the worst idea I've ever heard, but here's where it falls down: The pricing structure is ludicrous. 2% of all future sales -- and the onus will be on you to prove the publisher discovered through YOUR site -- fair enough. But then you admit it's unlikely the novel will be discovered through your site, yet still have the cheek to charge FIFTEEN DOLLARS per submission. Regardless of success. It only costs a few quid tops to send a physical manuscript right under the publisher's nose. At least if you do it that way, your novel comes under the category of "things I'll have to have a quick look at eventually" in the publisher's office. Your site is charging fifteen dollars with absolutely no guarantee nor hardly a notion that publishers will push aside their mountain of manuscripts for a while to trawl the net and your website for even more unsaleable shite. You're competing with a lot of free sites, as you've probably guessed as you're struggling to get a submission from ANYONE (other than yourself) even while you have the "first 50 submissions free" offer. Trust me, you will never ever get fifteen dollars off anyone to post up some writing. We all know it takes no time to do. No reputable agent would ever ask for money up front. Even if a very successful agent asked me for fifteen dollars up front, I'd tell him to crouch down and pucker up. So when somebody with (one presumes) no experience of the industry asks for fifteen bucks with the wishy-washy idea that a serious agent or publisher might look at it -- well, what do you think?

Sat, 2007-03-17 15:26

#11

bobblehat2023

Agree with Sean's points on the business model. Not clear what point you're making here: "But I still think the idea is sound. I've used plenty of writer sites and there's always praise, and some suggestions, but I have always wondered if someone would pay to read it if it was on the shelf in a shop. That's the point." The clear answer to your wondering is "in 99.8% of cases, no". That's because the supply of new writing vastly exceeds the demand for it. Even if you're website was completely free and backed by a large initial promotional, the chances of it ever being visited by publishers and agents is virtually nil. They're not short of unsolicited manuscripts.

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