Since you joined AW...

I joined and learned everything I could about self-publishing. AW really helped me know what to do, and more importantly--what not to do.

And I'm with you, Cathy...it's helped me be more social.

I stumbled upon the Bewares section of AW while researching publishers. It's how I came up with a list of places to submit. I don't think I would have found my current publisher without this forum.

It's also helped connect with other authors and be more (electronically) social. (I usually join the monthly AW blog chain and just participated in the Absolutely Erotic Blog Hop)

Oh, boy. As a writer, what AW hasn't done for me would be a short list.

What AW has done is (the biggie): I'm much more confident about writing and publishing as a whole. This ranges from grammar, to manuscript setup, how to research agents and publishers, approaching agents or involvement in writing conferences, to the publishing industry as a whole.

Because of AW: my query is in much better shape and garnered much more attention. I would have fumbled a great deal in looking for an agent or a publisher to the point I would likely have given up long ago. AW has provided a bright spot in me otherwise busy day. AW's P&CE discussion has changed or shifted my thinking in a number of things.

In short, because of AW members' guidance, AW is in the Acknowledgements of my novel being published in August!

So many things.

The monthly blog chains which forces me to write about things I normally wouldn't, in a manner that's different from how I usually write.

The Bewares and Recs. Cause a girl should know who to bring home at night and who needs to be kicked to the curb.

The Romance and Erotica Forums, where I have met so many talented people who are beyond nice.

Calls for submissions I would have missed because I wasn't looking where some of the other folks on AW tread.

Just being more knowledgeable about the realities and vagaries of agents, publishers and some inside scoopage of authorship.

It makes me feel kinship, cause I know no matter what is happening, someone on AW is going through the same thing or been there, done that and SURVIVED.

I don't know what else. It's just awesomeness.

I'm fairly new, but I've enjoyed the write 1/ sub 1 area where I see people struggling and being victorious with short stories. I enjoy reading questions posted in different forums, and posting a few of my own. It's nice to talk shop because most people I know in person aren't writers.

The Bewares area has been most helpful for obvious reasons.

AW Roundtable is great because people talk about writerly things like Authors Behaving Badly, Big Six/Five/Four mergers, Amazon's latest shenanigans, etc.

I'll second Snowstorm with AW making me feel more confident about my writing and helping me hang in there when when waiting to hear back on a sub. It's just nice to be in a space where everyone has a love of books and healthy respect for writing of all kinds.

AW is also great because people tend to be more socially aware so the BS -isms that many of us have deal with in other spaces online aren't tolerated.

It's mainly helped me find the fortitude to go indie with my next novel (HELLO AGAIN, a contemporary) and with SEASONS IN THE MIST, whose rights have reverted, and its sequels.

The depth and breadth of knowledge I find here, plus the camaraderie (waving at Christian genre-thread-dwellers!) is invaluable.

The Bewares area has really stopped me from stepping into some publishing poo, that had I not known of their (pub house) backgrounds, might have signed away and been duped. Just wish I had found it before my first major publishing snafu. No, not PA. But damn close.

Oh, the index of publishers and agents = gold mine.

tri

I had just written my first book when I stumbled across AW while doing a Google search to find information on publishers. I had no idea what to do with this shiny new story I had written.

Thanks to the great info on AW and the encouragement I got from so many wonderful writers, I submitted that first book and got accepted for publication. I've completed five more books since then, all of them published, and AW has been a huge part of the journey. I still remember how excited I was on my very first release day and how my fellow writers here cheered me on.

I've learned so much more than just how to improve my writing, although that has definitely happened. I've learned how to market myself (I just participated in the Absolutely Erotic Blog Hop!), I've gained confidence and I'm learning to branch out and push my boundaries.

It's hard to believe it's only been a year since I joined AW. My life has changed so much since then and my experience with AW just gets better and better. I love it here and don't ever want to leave!

I learned a lot about agents, good and bad, here during my querying process. Lots of great info. Grateful!

Well, I was still a shy lurker back then, but I found my publisher here on AW. I now have one contemporary romance out there swimming with the big fish and another coming out next fall thanks to seeing that post.

I'll start with this one... Before I came here, this is how I wrote dialog:

" Hey, Sara! Where do you think you're going? " Jayden reached out and grabbed her arm. " The car is that way. "

Man that looks weird now... And I wrote like that (with spaces after quotes) for years.

What else? Well...

1. I find encouragement, knowledge and friendship on the various forums I visit. (Especially here, YA and the Self Publishing forums)

2. I started a blog, and later focused it into a book blog, because of things that happened on AW.

3. I've received great feedback on my work in SYW and got help with the title and blurb for Sealer's Promise, as well as tons of feedback on my contemporary romance ("The Mansion You Stole")

4. I'm an extremely social person, yet writing can so often be a solitary art. AW helps me deal with that; it fills a gap that gets me through the stages of starting a story idea, writing the story idea and knowing not to release the story until it's ready.

To put it really simply: if I'm spending time on Absolute Write, you can bet I'm *also* writing something. When I don't, it's likely that I'm not.

I'm a daydreamer and a procrastinator, but seeing others actually moving forward with things reminds me that the stuff in my head, until I've put it in writing, is only a dream. If I want to share it, I've got to have the guts, will, and determination to get it down on paper / PC.

I haven't released a story yet, but I do know I've written more in the past two years then I have in the rest of my life combined.

It's only a matter of time.

Bewares and recs, hugely helpful for obvious reasons, but also because it makes the whole process a bit less me-against-the-world.

Reading in different sections/different genres, I think it helps no matter what you're writing.

Romance, sigh. At this point, I think being here recently (I joined years ago, was active and then derailed for a long while) has helped me to realize it's time for me to stop writing romance. Strong romantic elements, those will stay.

AW has helped me in more ways than I can really express in one post. First and foremost, I met my critique partners here, and without them I don't think I'd be published or agented.

It has also helped me to research my genre and publishers. And helped me to learn to write good queries. It has also given me a place to chat with other writers so I don't feel so alone in a somewhat lonely profession.

I can't recommend this place enough.

I've learned a lot by reading other people's threads, for me mostly in the arena of self publishing, but certainly others as well. The thing that has impressed me from the get-go is the willingness of other writers, etc., to take time from the busyness of their own lives to answer questions. That has to come from a giving heart. Also, the support and encouragement I've gotten from so many has been great! So thanks to all of the contributors in any and every capacity on this site.

I've been trolling these boards since 2010, but I just signed up this month. I'm not sure what took so long, lol. I usually try to read the board on every agent I query, especially if I'm unsure about them--sometimes I think an agent is legit, and the boards inform me they're not, and vice versa. I don't think I've ever queried an agent (or submitted to a publisher) if the AW has something negative to say (many negative comments, not just one disgruntled "customer").

Primarily, it has taught me that there are people like me out there.

Otherwise, I believe I was better able to write a synopsis for my WIP. I spent a day on it, but I finally got it!

AW allowed me to kick my Usenet habit....

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Found two beta readers here...after finding out what a beta reader is.

Had never attended a writers conference, and had no idea how agents "found" writers there. Ask the Agent cleared that one up. I attended my first such conference and got a request from an agent. And learned a huge amount from watching said agent's body language.

Have learned a lot about querying. I'd had two books published, but neither involved a standard query, so I had (and probably still have) a lot to learn.

Met a lot of nice and better-than-nice people.

Probably lots of other things, but that's the gist.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

If I hadn't found AW, I don't think I'd be published.

I would've never considered subbing to an epublisher if I hadn't learned about other peoples' experiences and successes.

I learned so much in SYW, not just in improving my writing, but learning to critique other writers' work. Then I found some wonderful beta readers here who helped me with my stories. I've also made some great friends.
And, yes, the 'Bewares' section has definitely helped me to decide where I submit my stories and places I wouldn't touch with a forty foot pole.

So, yep, in the 4 years since I joined AW my writing career has taken off.

Hmm let's see

Found betas here
Found my RL writers group here
Found my agent (or the info about him) here
Got lots of help with all aspects of story.
Made friends
Got my arse handed to me in QLH, but ended up with some good queries
Found out about my first publisher here
Sold 9 books (which I would not have done without this place. No joke.)

This thread is so great.

I've learned so much from AW. I've learned about publishing, I've learned about writing, I've learned about people; I've learned how to put together a cohesive argument and how to cope with trolls, and I've realised how all writers deserve respect for their efforts.

AW is a wonderful place, and my life would be smaller without it.

I've met some really great people, even seeing a couple IRL at RT Booklovers Convention. It was really fun talking shop and BS'ing with them over breakfast or coffee.