Jed's Super-Dooper 'Ask a Mod' Thread (for all your Newbie Questions)

Torgo

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Let me preface this with the disclaimer that I'm not very experienced with forum etiquette in general, and don't know if "double-posting" is even the right phrase. What I'm wondering is, if I've posted a question in one section that turns out to not have much traffic and/or gets no response, and I've found another section that looks more appropriate for my original question, is it generally acceptable to re-post in this potentially more relevant section? And if so, should I delete the original post so that I'm not annoying people who might find the question annoying and/or not worth responding to once, much less twice?

Hello,

Before doing that, PM the mod for the section you've already posted in. It is usually better to move the thread rather than repost it elsewhere.

You can see who the moderator of each subforum is on the main index screen, right hand column, and you can click through to their profile and PM them from there.
 

MacAllister

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Let me preface this with the disclaimer that I'm not very experienced with forum etiquette in general, and don't know if "double-posting" is even the right phrase. What I'm wondering is, if I've posted a question in one section that turns out to not have much traffic and/or gets no response, and I've found another section that looks more appropriate for my original question, is it generally acceptable to re-post in this potentially more relevant section? And if so, should I delete the original post so that I'm not annoying people who might find the question annoying and/or not worth responding to once, much less twice?

Just send a PM with a link to the room mod (or a supermod) and we can move the post for you, and leave a redirect so the people who saw it in the first room can still find it. :)
 

Rae12

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Hello everyone I am a newbie and nice to know what a Mod is. However, I am just starting as a author and have written several children activity books. I can not find anyone to critique my book and give me advise. I have completed the books and would like to self publish but feel uncomfortable without critique. Am I in the right forum
 

Rae12

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Hello again. With the numerous forums.....how do I find the forums that are geared toward children activity books. I have noticed the majority of the books are novels in children writing. Are there any particular forums for children activity books?
 

jvc

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Check out the Share Your Work section (password is vista). You can post for feedback there. Please read this thread first (password is vista), though. You need a minimum of 50 posts before you can start a thread in any of the SYW forums.

And welcome to the watercooler. You can kick off by starting an introduction thread here in the newbie forum and let our wonderful members give you a warmer welcome. Warm welcomes are always good on cold days.
 

Marshein

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Old Posts

How come when I started reading this forum I got messages from 2008? I hope the rest of Planet Water Cooler is better arranged.

By the way I'm Marshein. I'm a writer. Soemone at Goodreads recommended this place.
 

regdog

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That is when the thread was started. The threads are in chronological order so people can
start at the beginning. Posts stay in threads regardless of age. If you want to start with the most recent post go to the last post in thread.
 
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Rockweaver

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it is a setting you need to have it show newest first.
that should fix it :)

that is unless you desire to read the very old post that are out in the lost world of the forums
 

Marshein

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Question: What does New Fish ; Learning About Thick Skin mean? I see it on most posts, under people's user names, even my own.
 

Sophia

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Question: What does New Fish ; Learning About Thick Skin mean? I see it on most posts, under people's user names, even my own.

It's the default user title for new members. You can change it by going to User CP and selecting Edit Options from the sidebar, and entering something new in the Custom User Title box. Click on the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page when you're done.
 

Deleted member 42

Question: What does New Fish ; Learning About Thick Skin mean? I see it on most posts, under people's user names, even my own.

It's a default title based on the number of posts a member has.

This particular title is a way to help people realize that they're reading posts, and conversing, with a new member who might not yet realize how very large a place this is, and the wide variety of people, books, readers, opinions, and approaches, there are.
 

Physsica

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So I've been lurking at this site for a while, and I've noticed that there are opportunities to be paid for what you write. However, some of the people posting those opportunities have been around for less than a month and have little to no information on their profile. Since this site is free to join, and since anyone can, should I get a big red flag when I see something like this? Should a voice come over the loud speaker and scream 'Run Away!' in my conscience?
 

regdog

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You can check Bewares and Backgrounds to see if there is a thread about them, or wait to see how long the site is there and what other members say.

Remember though, if your not comfortable with whoever your thinking of submitting to, don't.
 

Smeasking

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Hiya! So, are all Mods published authors? Do you guys work in writing related fields? How long have you been writing? Did you go to college for writing?

Is it... dumb, and unrealistic to try and get my very first piece of work published, when I never went to college... and never wrote anything before? I mean, I wrote a book. And I think its good, but that's only my opinion, and a few 'probably biased' opinions of others, who know me. That's why I joined this forum. To learn and I guess, to develop my craft.

Even as excited as I am about my book, and how obsessed and how much I love it, I still have moments where I wonder if I'm just wasting my time. That, and its hard when someone closest to me went so far as to tell my husband that she thinks nothing will ever come of my childish project... Granted, she also thought I'd never even finish writing anything. But I did. I wrote a 148,000+ word count story in what I thought was a short amount of time. Still. She's my sister, and having lack of support from family is sorta... disappointing.
 

regdog

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Speaking only for myself. I never went to college, and do not working the writing world, other than writing. There is no reason why if your first book can't be published if it is well written.
 

sic_scripsit

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So, two questions... Sorry if these are repeat questions from earlier in this thread...

Is there anywhere on AW I can go for good writing prompts? Or writing exercises?

I'm also concerned about my work getting stolen if I post it. What are some good safeguards against this?

Thanks! 8^)
 

BookmarkUnicorn

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I was wondering: How safe is it to share your work here? I'm most likely being nerious and overprotective, and I know there are no new ideas under the sun but...
I've heard that posting your work anywhere online counts as publishing? How much truth is in that?
 

Matty lll

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I was wondering: How safe is it to share your work here? I'm most likely being nerious and overprotective, and I know there are no new ideas under the sun but...
I've heard that posting your work anywhere online counts as publishing? How much truth is in that?

I believe the fact that it is password protected on the share your work sub-forums means that you are safe.
 

SaraP

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So, two questions... Sorry if these are repeat questions from earlier in this thread...

Is there anywhere on AW I can go for good writing prompts? Or writing exercises?

Why not try the Writing Exercises, Prompts, & Whimsical Pursuits sub-forum, for starters? :)

I'm also concerned about my work getting stolen if I post it. What are some good safeguards against this?

Thanks! 8^)

From all I know, that hasn't really ever happened here. I can understand your concern, but one of the advantages of being in this writing community is that we all respect our fellow writer, and that includes respecting their writing.

I have found other members on here who have read my stuff and helped me make it better. Sooner or later, you will need people to beta for you, to crit you, to give you insights and ideas on how to make your work better. My experience sharing my writing on here has always been very, very positive.

I've heard that posting your work anywhere online counts as publishing? How much truth is in that?

It's pretty much true because anyone can have free access to it. However, when you post in the password-protected areas of AW, the posts are not Googleable, which means, they're not freely available online. That's why SYW serves as a safe means to share your writing, get positive and constructive feedback on it, in a way that does not interfere at all in the publishability of it. :)
 

GlennDoyle

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Hi. Very new here.

Just have one quick question at the moment.

I noticed on the SYW section for screenwriting it says post no more than 10 pages. Is this a strict rule?
I'm wondering because I have 12 pages I would love to share once I get my post count up.

Thanks.
 

deb22

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Hi, I was wondering about the Animal/Nature forum. Is it ok to post actual writing questions to this forum? It appears that it is more of a help forum for an actual problem. I ask because I write a lot of fiction stories based on my photography. I photograph only wildlife and write both shorts and novella's.
It is highly descriptive and environments are accurate, but it is told through the eyes of a particular animal.
I couldn't even tell ya what genre it is exactly.
Thanks