Talk to me about Writer's Edge and other submission services...

[Tiata]

Has anyone here used them?

Is it really the only way to get your manuscript seen by the subscribing publishing houses?

What are your thoughts and/or experiences with them?

Thanks...

In Him,
(who knows the plans He has for us)
~T~

[michaelsnyder]

By no means am an the expert here. I've never used these services, so definitely listen to those who have!

That said, I've heard editors/agents discuss submission services at writer's conferences. And the consensus was...?

There wasn't one. I would say 2/3 or more of the editors/agents indicated that they simply don't have time to check submission services, especially with the deluge of submissions they deal with daily. But...I did hear a few say that yes, they absolutely spend time perusing the entries. (Sorry, wish I could remember who said what. That might help sway you if your favorite editor ever was checking Writer's Edge twice a day!).

I may be biased here. But if you want my opinion (and you may not!). As a GENERAL rule, I would encourage folks to save that money and stockpile it for a major writer's conference. That way there's no middle-man, no 'chance' readings, etc. You get face-to-face time with the editors and agents of your choosing. That's always the best if you can make it work out.

Hope that helps a little.

Mike

[kriswrite]

I would do a search of these forums, because this subject comes up regularly.

I've never met an author who has used Writer's Edge or the like, so I can't speak about how good/bad they are. But you can always go the traditional route and find a literary agent. That's not easy to do necessarily, but it will open doors. Also, check the writer's guidelines of the participating publishing houses. Some DO accept unsolicited QUERIES.

Kristina

[Rachel E.]

I sent my manuscript in to Writer's Edge actually. They got it back to me in good time and sent a wonderful set of comments on it. I of course, wasn't good enough to get published, but they did an excellent job on the review. The one thing that was hard, is that the fee is non-refundable...so you really want to make sure your manuscript is worth it first! But I did like having their help on my MS.

Blessings!

[DR-Writer]

This seemed like an interesting subject, so I thought I'd check out the website and see what I'm missing. However, when I tried writersedge.com, I got a "space pen store." No kidding. I don't think that's what you guys are talking about, so I wondered . . . can one of you post the website for us?

I appreciate it.

- Scott

[lynnmosher]

Scott, Here's the link...

http://www.writersedgeservice.com/

[Mouse5]

Lynn, I tried that link and I'm getting nothing. I keep getting a "server not found" message.

[lynnmosher]

Whoops! Forgot to remove the duplicate http. It's fixed now. Sorry!

[Rachel E.]

thank you Lynn for posting the website, I hope it offer's a good help to any of you who try it. The hardest part for me, is the fee. Maybe I'm cheap, but it was tough to pay that.

[Mouse5]

Thanks Lynn. :)