Re: Online editing service for writers and publishers

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From: Wilson Heydt (whheydt_at_kithrup.com)
Date: 04/29/04 

Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 23:21:01 GMT

In article <bd895950.0404291442.7eb54248@posting.google.com>,
RoadRunner <pkeeley@si.rr.com> wrote:
>I posted this ad about my friend's website.
>
>I am not an editor, just a webmaster helping a firm that offers a very
>good service to find writers who need their services.
>
>Opinicus: So what makes this a scam??? The fact that it's unsolicited
>commercial advertising in a public forum.

Taht makes it *spam*. It is a *potential* scam becasue many
services that use very similar descriptions *are* scams. Experience
makes such claims suspicious.

>This comment seems to confuse me. My question: How private is this
>"public forum"?

This is a *very* pulbic forum. It is accessible anywhere in the
world that can achieve any sort of internet access that doesn't
block it.

>I thought a "public" forum was a place to discuss various topics in an
>open manner. Am I wrong?

This, and the other newsgroups that comprise usenet, have charters.
These charters spell out what topics are appropriate for discussion
within them and what general ground rules should be followed. One
of the general rule of *this* forum is "no advertising". To find
out what the socail customs of a group are (which may be looser or
more restrictive that the charter and the FAQ are), one should
should read the group for a couple of weeks. less if you are very
familiar with usenet and quick on the uptake, longer if you lack
such familiarity.

>I may have a little off-scope with some of the forums I placed my ad,
>but it was not a random choice for placement. I was looking for forums
>that might welcome such a service and this forum seemed to match my
>criteria.

That's called "off topic" in newsgroups--which suggests that your
knowledge of the relevant usages is somewhat sketchy.

>My friend offers help in the form of a paid online editing service.

Is your friend willing to tell an incompetent author that he is
incompetent and refuse to take his money? If not, then i for one
would question his ethics.

>Oh, by the way. I believe it IS true that new authors who skip a
>professional edit of their work ARE taking a big risk.

Can you name a single author that got a publishable work solely by
having an unpublishable one editted in ways that he could not do so
himself? If the answer to that question is "no", then one must also
question just what it is that such an editting service actually
*does* (other than give false hope to the self-deceived).

>First, I was not spamming newsgroups! I targeted specific types of
>newsgroups just right for my message. Please find fault with my
>message and not where I put it! But for the record I was wrong posting
>it in several news groups at the same time, and I won't do it again!

Including at least one that specifically does not want advertising!

>Second, my message was not as heavy-handed as your comment implies. It
>was not a threat saying, "Use an editing service or lose your ability
>to get published!"

heavyhanded replies of this nature are *usually* an indication of
'Oh! No! Not *another* one!' because very very similar messages have
been posted many many times before. Remember what I said up there
about reading newsgroups *before* posting. That's one of the
reasons why you should do so.

>I directed my posting to a few groups that were related to MS Word
>documents. At the time, I felt it was appropriate since my friend's
>editing service only works with MS Word documents.

Ha... Have you read the threads here? One of the current one is a
debate over the merits of using editors like MSWord *at*all*. The
topics under discussion on this newsgroup relate to writing
speculative fiction. The mechanics of what editor/markup
language/WYSIWYG to use get debated, but no (so far as I know) ever
uses that to determine where they might seek to get help if they
thought they needed any (at least of *that* nature).

>I have used newsgroups in the past to promote my own and other
>websites without having this sort of reaction occur.

Depends on what newsgroups you posted to. So groups don't mind.
Some do. This is one that does, and it has been hammered home
repeatedly. You are merely the latest in a long string of nails.

[About the dearth of authors known to have used manuscript doctors.]

>I don't think those who are likely to use it will want others to know
>their shortcomings. That seems to be against human nature.

have you *seen* the sorts of things that people reveal about
themselves here? Hiring an outside editting service pales beside
some revelations. You couldn't publish fiction about some people's
lives as dicussed openly here, fiction, after all, has to be
believable at some level. 

--
	Hal Heydt
	Albany, CA
			My dime, my opinions.
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