27 April, 2011

This is Book Country

OK, I will try really hard to not make unnecessary Hunter S. Thompson references, and will instead focus on the really cool thing that just happened in my world: Bat Book Country. Sorry. It got away from me there. I'll be better.

Anyway, if you a) read or b) write, you have reason to be as excited as I am. Because Book Country is super sweet. Go ahead, check it out. I'll wait here. 

So? Pretty sweet, huh? How cool is this idea? I kinda wish I'd thought of it first, and I'm very excited about getting involved. It's basically a win-win: read other people's books, get them to read yours, get industry information that can help you find an agent (edited for clarity from original post). When worst case scenario is reading more, you can't really go wrong.

I joined yesterday, and I'm working up the nerve to submit my own book. And by "working up the nerve" I mean "glaring dourly at whole chapters that I thought were pretty OK, actually, until I considered someone who hadn't taken vows to love and support me reading them." But I'm getting there. You should too. When and if I finally get the chutzpah to put chapter one up, I'll let you all know. But even if I don't, go take a look at all the great work the good people at Bat Book Country are doing. I'm so sorry. I can't help myself. 

2 comments:

  1. Hey there!

    Thanks for the Book Country mention. I actually wanted to clarify something, however.

    Book Country is a workshopping site for writers of genre fiction to upload works-in-progress to receive peer reviews and helpful advice on how to make the work better. It isn't a way to circumvent the slushpile, however. I'm afraid that some of the reporting on it has left out key aspects of the community.

    Unlike other online writers workshops you may have tried, there is no "game" to get to the editor's desk. It's really all about making your work better, and educating writers.

    That being said, we hope you enjoy yourself on Book Country!

    Colleen Lindsay
    Book Country Community Manager

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  2. Hi Colleen! Thanks so much for coming by, and for the clarification. I didn't mean to imply that Book Country was a "quick fix" to publishing, but looking over my post I can see I might not have been as clear as I could have. I feel like the service you guys are providing is a great way to get read and to make my work publisher-worthy, so I blame excitement. :)

    The thing I'm most excited about is the ability to get unbiased feedback on my work (as opposed to the dreaded "it's good" from well-meaning friends and family), and the opportunity to get some insights from people who actually work in publishing. Again, thanks for stopping by and commenting, and especially for making something as awesome as Book Country happen!

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