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| I want to be active on this website that is full of knowledge and wisdom. However... the interface is too crowded. Every time I come here, I leave. There is so much that my brain freezes... Is anyone else having the same? |
| I have been editing my book for 10 years! I started the novel when I was 16 and reached the end within 3 years, but I was always scared of publishing it. I had no one to direct me. I was afraid my ideas will be stolen. In the past 4 years I kept saying I will finally publish it! But it never happened, due to LIFE! But I'm sick of this. I really need to publish my book and be done with it. I have started several other books as well, and I have a lot of ideas written down in my "ideas" notebook for new stories. As this is my first book, it is like my baby. I grew with it. And although it is a fictional novel (mystery; thrillers), it has everything I love in life, everything I hate, everything I want to try, and everything I'm imagining myself experience. And although the novel was born from a diary of my daily life, it is no longer about me. I paid a self-publishing company to put my book out there, but they use normal papers and so the book is too heavy for the reader, as it is 500 pages. I increased the size of the font and now the book is 600 pages! Yea I hate this. There are much thicker books that are less in weight due to the used papers, but this company as I said uses normal heavy papers. Not good... |
Welcome to WdC! There are many people who have published on here, both self-publishing and traditional. You could try publishing as an ebook. But also, if you don't have a social media following or a plan for advertising, don't be too disappointed. Even if you publish a physical book, it's very hard to get noticed, though you can try seeing if places will let you do a reading and sell/sign books. I have a friend who was required to buy 1000 of his own books and a year later, he still has most of them.  If you try self-publishing again, definitely look at reviews and ask around. Though because you are new here, most people won't see your posts on the Newsfeed, so don't get discouraged. As you get to know more and more people, you will start picking up fans...people who have double clicked your plus sign until they see the megaphone. Though even a single click will get them to see you more, but double is better.  And when you find people you want to keep up with, be sure to double click theirs.  Find out what's going on around the community on the Community Newsfeed. Click Newsfeed. This takes you to your Personal Newsfeed. Along the top you will see View the Community Newsfeed. Click that and you will see so much more! Scroll, Like, comment, and start making friends!  |
 Here are some things to check out to help you get acclimated:  "Getting Started" Documentation "Gaining Exposure Within Writing.Com"  "Promoting Your Portfolio URL" "The Writing.Com BidClick System" Other Resources: "The Shameless "Plug" Page" "Writing.Com General Discussion" "Writing.Com 101" "Noticing Newbies" "Information For Writing.Com Newbies" "Invalid Item" "Invalid Item" "Newbie Welcome Kit" "Content Rating System (CRS)" "Reviewing Advice Forum" "Noticing Newbies Newsletter (November 4, 2020)" "Noticing Newbies Newsletter (May 18, 2022)" Everyone here is very helpful, so feel free to ask questions, anytime!   Kindest Regards, Lilli |
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Do you have the site opening to the Newsfeed or The Hub?
I prefer it opening to The Hub.
After that, I will tell you what I did when I started, I explored the links on the left side of the screen. I just clicked one link at a time to see where it took me.
Now, Writing.Com is my second home.
It is an amazing site. The owner is actively involved here and there is something for everyone.
Are you a writer? What are your own writing goals? Are you a reader? What do you like to read?
Folks here are glad to help you find your way around...
When you feel more comfortable, you can view the Community Newsfeed. Though since you have your rating set to E, you won't see too much more. If you're a kid, keep it there. If you're an adult, you can test out different ratings to see what makes you comfortable, but I can tell you that most folks have their ratings set to 18+, but don't actually post 18+ type things on their Newsfeed. Most of what's posted is E or 13+ (unless you start clicking on the links they post which may take you to items that are rated higher than E).
To get to the Community Newsfeed, click "View the Community Newsfeed" listed along the top of your Personal Newsfeed, the default when you click Newsfeed. You can change the rating of what you see by selecting different options in the upper right corner of the Newsfeed.
And like ruwth suggested, just click some links along the left side to see what takes you where. Do it at your own pace. There's a LOT to see and do here, which is great when you get familiar with it. But it can be a bit overwhelming in the beginning.
Again, welcome!