How to Be Successful on FictionPress
FictionPress is a website that allows you to post your poetry, short fiction and novels online for others to read. It's free to post (and free to read), so it is not a publishing venue that will bring you a lot of money. However, if you are just getting started with writing and want to receive feedback from other writers and readers, posting your writing on FictionPress will acclimate you to the discipline of writing and posting regularly, and to the vulnerability of reading what complete strangers think about your work. Both of these skills will help you grow in FictionPress and in more profitable publishing outlets.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Find a beta reader (editor) that will look at your work for you. If you look at the top of the Fiction Press home page, you'll find a tab that will take you to a list of editor profiles, with samples of their editing work. Finding a good match will make your work stronger.
-
2
Write a summary for your work that will lure your readers into your story. Even if you're just posting a short poem, a summary that makes your work look intriguing will dramatically boost your page view numbers. Remember -- you're competing with thousands of other writers, and you need to do everything you can to stand out. In the event of a story or novel, preview the main conflict by identifying the story's protagonist and summarizing the struggles she will face in the story. If you're summarizing a poem, present the main image or primary theme of the work to grab reader interest.
-
-
3
Make sure that your first chapter, or the first section of your short story, will catch the readers' attention. Don't start with a lengthy emotional internal monologue; instead, start with an event that will make your readers want to see what happens next. This means that, from the beginning, you need to create interest by building suspense, whether you're writing an action thriller or a heartthrob romance. If you're posting chapter by chapter, make sure that you close each one with a cliffhanger that will cause your readers to look forward to the next one.
-
4
Build rapport with some other FictionPress colleagues within your genre. Read their work and post comments on it, and they will start to return the favor. Use the forums to talk to other writers, developing your own presence and building up knowledge from the experiences of others. Feedback from more experienced writers will help you polish your own style and firm up the speed of your narrative space, as well as market your writing through other websites and offline channels to build a following -- and an income.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Work on FictionPress is easy for others to copy and paste -- plagiarism is a major issue. If you are serious on taking a piece of work to paid publication, don't post it there. FictionPress is a place to build writing skills and an audience -- not to make a lot of money.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
