[Submission Service] Writer's Relief

areteus · Dec 20, 2011

shelleyo said:
FTW!

The babysitter works out much cheaper, I think, after a glance at their rates.

Shelley

I can offer quite reasonable rates for babysitting. For a small extra amount I can educate them too. Actually, the education comes free most of the time because I do it naturally...

Now, I am off to create the webpage for 'Literary sitters' my new babysitting service just for writers... you get time to write and they get selected extracts from the Primary Literacy Strategy (and the Primary Numeracy Strategy if you want that, but that costs extra cos I hate maths...).

Plus, for an extra £290, I will show your baby to JK Rowling so she can assess them to see if they are publishable.

AphraB · Dec 20, 2011

I used a writer's query service a few years ago -- can't remember if it was Writer's Relief or not. And it wasn't a scam because they did provide the service -- I had 150 agent rejections to prove it.

But looking back on it, I realize that using such a service marked me as a total amateur -- which led to my being preyed upon by one unscrupulous agent, ill-treated by a flighty one ("Ooo! I love your query! Overnight the ms to me so I can read it on the train!" -- then . . . radio silence and more pain when I tried to follow up with the flighty person's agency. Fun. Not), and then offered lavish praise by another one who then dropped me like day-old dog stuff.

It was super, super painful experience all around,

and I'm glad I was only out the $ from the agent query service, and that I knew enough to reject the predations of the unscrupulous agent.

Old Hack · Dec 20, 2011

HapiSofi said:
It's infuriating to see books like Gone with the Wind and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance presented as evidence that editors have no idea what they're doing, when in both cases perceptive editors saw promise in them at a very early stage, and gave them every encouragement.

FWIW, those circulating lists of writers who were supposedly self-published are just as bogus.

We have a useful thread in Self Publishing which discusses how certain famous names actually found their success, and whether self-publishing played a part.

We could do with a list which discusses all those famous rejections, too. I'm sure we have a post or two about it.

Leanna · Feb 24, 2012

The whole book marketing/submission thing is as foreign to me as a desert is to a fish, so I was on the verge allowing Writer's Relief to seduce me but you all convinced me to do it myself. Thanks.

shhhman · Jun 6, 2013

Writer's Relief.com

Hey y'all,
I just received an email from this website, and I was wondering if any of you have heard anything about them or not? It looks like they got my email from Writer's Digest. I haven't fully checked into their web page yet, so I have no idea what they do for writers other than maybe take their money? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

AphraB · Jun 6, 2013

shhhman said:
Hey y'all,
I just received an email from this website, and I was wondering if any of you have heard anything about them or not? It looks like they got my email from Writer's Digest. I haven't fully checked into their web page yet, so I have no idea what they do for writers other than maybe take their money? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

You are wise to suspect that perhaps all they do is take your money.

If they are sending you e-mails that you have not solicited by establishing a relationship with them, then they are spamming you.

shhhman · Jun 6, 2013

Thanks

Thanks...just wondered why I got the email. AW and other free sites are better than anything this service provides, I am sure. Blessings!

Asmodeus · Jun 6, 2013

just a scam?? (merged into BR&BC thread)

Got this e-mail from Writer’s Relief asking for submissions to be added to their client list but on their web site it states it is a service that asks for $150.00 for use of their services. The e-mail sounds like it is a free entry only by going to their site did I see the cost just thought I would give a heads up I almost fell for the e-mail.

Chris P · Jun 6, 2013

Welcome to AW! There is a thread on Writer's Relief in the Bewares, Recommendations and Background Checks forum. You can send a private message to a moderator to have this thread moved for you.

And if they ask for money, move on.

CaoPaux · Jun 6, 2013

(moved from AW History and merged.)

PVish · Jun 6, 2013

I received the Writers Relief spam today from Writer's Digest Partners via F&W Media:

Here’s my personal invitation: Submit your work for our consideration. We want to add a few new clients to our list. We are accepting work in the following genres only: novel/memoir, poetry, and short prose (fiction or personal essays).

If you are like other writers we know, you often don’t have time to write. We know how to fix that problem.

Hire us to do the research and the legwork, and you’ll have more time to write.

Submit your work today using our quick and easy online form. Click this link: http://www.writersrelief.com/review_board

Deadline for submissions is right around the corner: Wednesday, June 12.

Admission to our client list is “by invitation only,” so please send your strongest work. Please note: Not all work is accepted. Submission guidelines may be found at this link: http://www.writersrelief.com/submission-guidelines-for-review-board

Important Tip: Reading dates have dramatically changed as the publishing industry responds to online submissions and online markets. These changes have opened up hundreds of creative writing markets that are accepting work through the summer months. You can increase your odds of acceptance by making submissions in June, July, and August, when fewer writers are sending work to agents and literary journal editors.

We’ve been helping creative writers find the best markets for their work for over 19 years.

We look forward to reading your writing sample.

Sincerely,

Ronnie L. Smith
President, Writer's Relief, Inc.
(866) 405-3003 (toll-free)
www.WritersRelief.com

P.S. Whether or not our reviewers send an invitation to join our client list, every writer who applies to our Full Service will receive a FREE copy of our digital workbook The Goal-Oriented Writer: How To Define And Organize Your Writing Goals once they’ve submitted work for Review Board consideration. We love this workbook, and we think it will help you become a better writer.

aliceshortcake · Jun 6, 2013

We want to add a few new clients to our list. We are accepting work in the following genres only: novel/memoir, poetry, and short prose (fiction or personal essays).

Yes, because novels and memoirs are the same thing and there's a HUGE market for poetry, short stories and essays.

James D. Macdonald · Jun 6, 2013

We are accepting work in the following genres only: novel/memoir, poetry, and short prose (fiction or personal essays).

The only genre they left out was drama.

dennis7490 · Jul 25, 2013

Writer's Relief (merged into BR&BC thread)

I just came across this company, "writer's relief" which takes care of all your submissions, etc.
Has anyone used them, and are they any good?

thanks,
Dennis

Corussa · Jul 25, 2013

I assume you mean this site?

I wonder if this should be in the Bewares forum...

Anyway, my first thoughts (and I know more experienced people here will pick up on more important points) are as follows:

They are, to be fair, upfront about the fact that they charge... but they don't even give a ballpark figure as far as I can see.
As part of their services, they compose query letters. I believe the author of a work is in by far the best position to do this, so why ask someone to do it for you?
Their proofreading page has at least one definite error (I'm mean; I always hunt these sorts of pages for errors), though I've seen sites offering editing/proofreading services with far more glaring mistakes!
They seem to contradict themselves - on their home page they claim 'We can help you get published!' but under services they admit 'We can’t guarantee success'.

Overall: I don't personally see the point of this service. I imagine it costs a lot (as they say you're hiring a team of personal assistants when you hire them), and it guarantees nothing. It also takes a lot of the fun (do I mean fun?

) out of querying. If you've worked that hard to get to that point, you should get to do that bit yourself too. Otherwise, to me, it's like running 25 miles of a marathon and asking someone else to do the last mile or so for you. And I say this as someone who's very close (I hope!) now to finalising my manuscript for querying.

dennis7490 · Jul 25, 2013

Some very good points. Thanks for the insight. Submissions coming from a 3rd party might put some agents off, too.

Old Hack · Jul 25, 2013

Queries written by anyone other than the author of the book under submission will be immediately rejected by many agents.

These services are no help to writers who are serious about their careers.

authorMAF · Jul 7, 2014

2014 WRITER’S RELIEF, INC.

I wasn't sure where to ask about this, but the website http://writersrelief.com/ has editing services, contests, etc. but I was wondering if they are "legit"...? Has anyone ever used their services or participated in their contests?

PVish · Jul 7, 2014

There's already a thread about Writer's Relief here: <snipped>

authorMAF · Jul 7, 2014

PVish said:
There's already a thread about Writer's Relief here: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107722

Oops! I'm sorry; I missed that!!!

NateSean · Dec 5, 2015

My writer's group just got targeted by these guys. I'm glad there's already an apparently lively debate about their legitimacy.

akaria · Jun 25, 2016

I'd never heard of these guys until a friend asked me about them the other day. She was accepted by them for her poetry. I told her about Yog's Law. She's brand new to the submissions process and writing for money. I sent her here. I hope she takes my advice.

So, looking at WR pricing I almost fell out. It looks like my friend could've paid $389+ or $589+ every two months! I get people are busy and research takes a lot of time, but damn, these prices are steep and I know my friend doesn't have extra cash like this to throw into the wind.

[Submission Service] Writer's Relief

areteus

AphraB

A faithful friend & a good library

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Leanna

shhhman

AphraB

A faithful friend & a good library

shhhman

Asmodeus

It's official... Reality is wrong.

Chris P

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless

PVish

Cat hair collector

aliceshortcake

Wilde about Oscar

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

dennis7490

Corussa

I fight like a dairy farmer

dennis7490

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

authorMAF

PVish

Cat hair collector

authorMAF

NateSean

Vulcan/Time Lord Hybrid

akaria