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This week: Why Use Access Restrictions? Edited by: Crys-not really here  
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| Hello! My name is Crys-not really here and I'm proud to be your guest editor for the For Authors newsletter today! |
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Why Use Access Restrictions?
Did you know that all members of Writing.com have full control over who sees their work? You can keep your stories private and give passkeys to those you want to see them. You can restrict Registered Users (gray cases) from seeing your work. You can even make your work visible to your membership level and above if you want.
To read all about Access Restrictions, see Access Restrictions in Writing.com 101.
So, why would an author want to restrict access to his or her work? Isn't the more exposure, the better? Sometimes. Let me give you a personal narrative of how I use Access Restrictions to protect my work.
Let's say I have an item in my portfolio that I want to submit for publication. I set it to "Registered Users and higher only" in order to get some great feedback from this site's members. (I hardly ever set my work at "Make PUBLIC, allow EVERYONE," especially when I know I'm going to be submitting it for publication.) After some time, if I'm really serious about getting it published, I'll set it to "Group Only: Let's Publish!" so that my friends over at "Let's Publish!" can tear it to pieces. While I value all members' opinions, the folks at Let's Publish! take publishing really seriously and are fantastic with helping me fine-tune my work. I usually do multiple revisions. When I think it's ready to be sent out, I set the item to "Keep PRIVATE: for my eyes only!" I don't want to risk a publisher or lit mag Googling the title and finding it at the site, because some of them would consider it "previously published." (Just to note, I've only ever had that happen to me once, but I believe it's better to be safe than sorry.) Some members set the work they submit to "Registered Authors and higher only" and the Membership Restriction to "Upgraded Members or Higher," thinking that chances are lit mags and journals don't have paid accounts at WDC.
Here are some other reasons why you might use Access Restrictions:
"I don't want just anyone critiquing my work. I want to know that they are serious writers, and that they've been on the site for awhile, so they know how to review.- Try setting the items you want thorough critiques on to "Registered Authors and higher only." Although I believe everyone, even Registered Users, have valuable opinions, there are times when you may want to restrict items to those who have an established record one the site.
I have an activity/contest/raffle for only Preferred members and above. How can I prevent Registered Authors from seeing it?
You can set your Access Restriction to "Preferred Authors and Higher Only." Note: You can only set access restriction to your own level and levels below. For example, Preferred Authors cannot restrict item access to Moderators and higher.
I want people to be able to Google my name and find my work at the site.
"Make Public: allow EVERYONE" is the best setting for that!
 Did you know that you can restrict access by type of membership as well? Look for the drop down box "Membership Restriction" below the Access Restriction box to customize access even further. For example, you could choose to set your work to "Basic Membership or Higher," "Upgraded Membership or Higher" or "Premium Membership or Higher."
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Today, I chose to highlight a few static items by members of all case colors!
| | | My Wish [13+] #1451182
Knowing a girl you want for a friend and loving wife.
by Kings  |
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I got an overwhelming response on my newsletter about writers disliking certain genres, which was published July 28th! I heard from many of you who feel the same way I do about vampire novels. It's great to know that I'm not alone in the world. And to those of your who took offense to my dislike of them-- Yikes! You're certainly protective of your favorite genre! I get it, really I do. I hope the majority of my readers took my advice as it was intended-- as advice from one serious writer to another about being your own individual and writing what's inside you, not just what's popular. I couldn't include everyone's comments-- there were so many-- but I wanted to highlight a few especially great ones. They show that dislike of genres are varied but that many writers dislike some genre or another.
I don't do horror or suspense. I won't read or write (or watch) those genres because I don't like being creeped, grossed or stressed out. However, I've found that I've sometimes used elements of those genres in my stories. And certainly some elements cross genres, such a monsters which can be found in horror and fantasy. -sarahreed
I disagree with you , the genre is flooded with bad vampire fiction. It is largely poorly researched dependanton Abrahamic mythologies. Both Ann Rice and Stephanie Myers are prime example of cannot get out of the box. Vampires are predators- and yes, I am writing one.
I hate romanace novels where women are not true equals. I think that they send a bad message. In nature, women are the stronger sex. -vladsgirl 
I had to write to this to express how glad I am to know that I am not the only one who hates the 'trend bandwagon' as you tactfully put it Crys! I avoided reading Harry Potter for the very same reason. I had a close friend who was a 'Potter' fan and she begged me to read at least the first page, and then...I was falling into the other pages like Alice into Wonderland! Anyhow Twilight really did not pique my interest at the least! At least it did prove that we all have a chance out there to paint our names BIG!  -Karasu
Hi Crys!
I completely agree with you about trends. They may exist, but we don't have to follow them. I'm anti-trend, like you, and haven't read the Potter series or the Twilight one, but I remember living and working in NYC and trying to keep up with the latest bestsellers. That was a long time ago, but I enjoyed being introduced to Tom Clancy books.
You're right about sticking with our own individuality. Who wants to be a copycat? I can't tell you how many awful vampire rip-offs I've seen recently.
One question. You wrote:
I'm not about to have a dead vampire novel sitting on my desk.
Wouldn't that be an undead vampire novel sitting on your desk? 
Great newsletter! -- Laura LJPC - the tortoise
I couldn't agree more! Twilight is so Romper Room to me--so teeny-bopper that it almost makes me nauseous. I bought the series for my daughter for Christmas because she wanted them, and any time a kid asks for books for Christmas it's a good thing, right? Anyway, I forced myself to watch the first movie (two hours of torture is better than the two days-worth I would have experienced had I read the book), but I couldn't make it through 15 minutes of the second movie. It was so melodramatic and ridiculous. I know we're in the minority here, but give me Hemingway or Capote any day! -Shannon 
I don't read romance. It's boring and cliche.  -Veritas
Great newsletter, Crys! I would love to branch out into those genres that have scared me thus far, but I can never come up with an idea that I think might be well-received by the more expert writers (and readers, and publishers!) in those genres. That's one of the things I think prompted contests/anthologies are great for. -Lorien
Yes! My point, exactly! One of the best ways we as writers can explore genres way may not feel comfortable with is to enter a contest or submit to an anthology. It's not the commitment of writing a novel, and if we fail at least we haven't spent a year or more writing it!
Hiya. I very much agree with you that all authors should follow what they like to write, rather than just what is popular at the time. There are two genre's that do not much interest me for reading or writing, they are horror and sci-fi. I will read them, but I find their point is usually lost on me. Thank you for this newsletter, it helped me to remember to be true to what I like, and to use original ideas, rather than trying to meld in with the crowd. ~AJ ~A.J. Lyle~
"Who knows how long that will last before the next big thing comes along?" Well, let's see? Dark Shadows, the cheesy vamp movies from the 70s and 80s, Buffy, the Vampireslayer, Angel, {Twilight, and now, at least 4 vampire TV shows on regular stations. That's 50 years of vampire stuff, so far. I wouldn't pooh-pooh it. Then again, Buffy and Angel were fun because of the snappy humor. I sought vampires since Dark Shadows. I also wouldn't write Erotica or sci-fi epics, if they made me the next J.K. Rowlings.
But, I also know I've changed my mind on several genres based on dang-fine writing from people on WDC. I'd say, "I'm too old to learn," but too many are teaching me otherwise. atwhatcost
Excellent point. I neglected to think about how vampires are still going strong after so many years. I'm sure the current competition for vampire TV shows and novels is fierce, which is all the more reason to find an open niche and aim in that direction instead!
There are plenty of genres I haven't tried yet (Sci-fi, Western, Historical Romance), but none I wouldn't attempt. My lack of knowledge in weaponry, and my inability to conjure other worlds are typical reasons I haven't wandered into some genres. However, when I do stray outside my genre (when I wrote Speculative fiction or Erotica, for example), I learned a great deal and enjoyed stretching my style -- even when the resulting stories weren't hugely successful. -NickiD89 
Thank you for a well-written, informative, and inspirational newsletter. We all need to be reminded occasionally to remain true to our unique individual voice, regardless of what style and genre of writing happens to be popular at any given time.
I personally don't enjoy reading Sci-Fi because I prefer reality-based prose. Even if publishers were only accepting Sci-Fi, I still couldn't write in that genre because my voice wouldn't be authentic. -Budroe
It used to be that I hated factual writing. I have a very active imagination and pride myself in being able to enter any world that a fictional author tries to convey, regardless of his/her skill. It wasn't until recently that a teacher, who became a good friend of mine, taught me to analyze what the factual authors were doing, thereby greatly extending my understanding of the pieces. I have a firm belief that any aversion comes from the lack of something, whether it be lack of interest, lack of understanding, lack of cultural connection, etc. For me, I now read may factual pieces and have come to enjoy many authors of that genre, particularly Stephen Pinker. However, I still would not choose to write it if I have a choice. Joyous |
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For Authors: August 25, 2010 Issue [#3928]
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