# Furry Writers Guild



## duroc (Apr 26, 2010)

I'm currently working on a site for writers of anthropomorphic fiction.  Just to clarify, this is not a site designed for posting people's work.  There are plenty of those places already out there.  At the moment, my idea is more of an information hub, though the site may branch out into other areas as I learn the ins and outs of building a website.  My question is, what sort of features would people like to see in a website designed to fit the needs of furry writers?


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## GraemeLion (Apr 26, 2010)

The needs of a furry writer? 

Hmm. 

All I can think of are active markets, their submission information, and .. well, that's it, really.

I don't know what else is necessary that isn't already achieved at other sites.  Perhaps some guides on building an audience and that nature.


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## kitreshawn (Apr 26, 2010)

I'm actually kinda surprised this sort of thing doesn't exist already.  If that is the case this is a good idea.

One thing to keep in mind is that like pretty much anything involving furs it may end up a target for trolls at some point.


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## M. LeRenard (Apr 26, 2010)

You're really going through with it, huh?  Free webhosting, or are you paying out of pocket?  The latter option would make me feel bad.
If it's an information hub you're talking about, I guess the first thing I'd want would be a links page.  Something that links to author pages, places to download or buy relevant books on the subject, book reviews, home pages of anthro fiction magazines, things like that.  It might be fun if we all pitched in here to help build one up (and we kind of already have).
Um... I don't know what else, really.  Maybe you could elaborate a bit on what you're designing?

Oh, and if you want some artwork to spruce the site up, like some banners or background images or something, I'd be willing to do that for you free of charge.


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## KyleAwesome (Apr 26, 2010)

Sounds like it'll be a static site. With regards to hosting, I may be buying some in the near future (for a furry-related website and possibly a gaming community), so I certainly wouldn't mind hosting your stuff. That is, of course, assuming I actually go through with it!


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## sunandshadow (Apr 26, 2010)

Matchmaking?  For writers who want co-writers, writers who want to team up with artists for a manga, and other group projects?  Not sure if this fits the focus you have in mind.


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## Altamont (Apr 26, 2010)

Hey, this is actually going to happen! Man, I was upset when the original thread for this died...some great conversation there...

In regards to features...perhaps a place where aspiring yet unpublished authors can go to find people that can help workshop them in to publishing quality?

Lol, I hope that made sense to people other than me.


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## duroc (Apr 26, 2010)

M. Le Renard said:


> You're really going through with it, huh?  Free webhosting, or are you paying out of pocket?



I'm working on it through Google Sites.  The only money I've put out so far was for the domain name.




M. Le Renard said:


> If it's an information hub you're talking about, I guess the first thing I'd want would be a links page.  Something that links to author pages, places to download or buy relevant books on the subject, book reviews, home pages of anthro fiction magazines, things like that.  It might be fun if we all pitched in here to help build one up (and we kind of already have). Um... I don't know what else, really.  Maybe you could elaborate a bit on what you're designing?



Right now, it's kind of vague and the site is pretty bare bones.  I'd like to have a page focused on places where writers can submit anthropomorphic writing to publishers through links that I'll be keeping up to date.  For members, there will be links to their work, websites, etc., depending on what the member wants.  I'd like to have a featured author spot on the front page, as well as keeping the site up to date with news on members.  For example, if a member has a book coming out, a story appearing in an anthology, are the guest of honor at a convention or if they'll be participating in panels, things of that nature.  I'd also like to have collective information on places writers(both new and experienced) can find things of value, like writing blogs, sites for getting critique, or places where they can read how-to-dos and get advice.  Basically put everything in one place, so it's more convenient for people.  At least that's sort of the general idea at the moment.



M. Le Renard said:


> Oh, and if you want some artwork to spruce the site up, like some banners or background images or something, I'd be willing to do that for you free of charge.



I was actually planning on commissioning you for that.    I'm just not really sure what I want yet.



sunandshadow said:


> Matchmaking?  For writers who want co-writers, writers who want to team up with artists for a manga, and other group projects?  Not sure if this fits the focus you have in mind.



Well, in my opinion, something like that really should be left up to the individual to coordinate.  I've seen writers post threads in the forums asking for co-writers or artists.  



Altamont said:


> Hey, this is actually going to happen! Man, I was upset when the original thread for this died...some great conversation there...
> 
> In regards to features...perhaps a place where aspiring yet unpublished authors can go to find people that can help workshop them in to publishing quality?
> 
> Lol, I hope that made sense to people other than me.



It made sense, though I'm not really sure how to coordinate something of that nature.  As with sunandshadow, something like that could be worked out in the forums, though I would like to have a forum off this site I'm working on at some point in time.  With the guild, my idea was to provide links to places where writers can research the information themselves, and possibly have a page where I might ask members if they'd be willing to write up a few sentences or a couple of paragraphs providing advice.


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## panzergulo (Apr 27, 2010)

duroc said:


> I'm currently working on a site for writers of anthropomorphic fiction.  Just to clarify, this is not a site designed for posting people's work.  There are plenty of those places already out there.  At the moment, my idea is more of an information hub, though the site may branch out into other areas as I learn the ins and outs of building a website.  My question is, what sort of features would people like to see in a website designed to fit the needs of furry writers?



I had hoped you had some sort of grand plan already. I mean, a website isn't a democracy, it's your site and you decide what goes and what doesn't. Just saying...

I have nothing to input, exactly, because I want to know what this site's function will be, actually. Remembering the end of the previous thread discussing about this, this site of yours might not be of interest to me in the first place. So, I would like to ask: What is your goal with this site? And: Am I allowed to join? Depending on the answers, I might have some ideas...

Anyway, great to see that something is happening. Talking is nice, but it's always great to see something real to happen.


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## M. LeRenard (Apr 27, 2010)

It sounds pretty schnazzy so far.  If nothing else, it's something you can expand on pretty easily.


duroc said:


> I was actually planning on commissioning you for that.    I'm just not really sure what I want yet.


Well, if you wanted to commission, but honestly, I'd do the work for something like this _gratuit_, since it's for a good cause and since you're putting the work in to make the site in the first place.  I'd consider it my contribution to get it going.  Plus it might turn out to be good advertising, supposing it takes off.
Just let me know what you want when you think of it.


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## Hauke (Apr 27, 2010)

Links about what cons accept submissions to con books (as well as deadlines and where to send submissions); stuff about writing prompts and contests would be nice too.


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## bitofgreen (Apr 27, 2010)

There needs to be good security. Or just a way that each story will always have it's author. Because there is nothing worse than people stealing an authors work


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## Atrak (Apr 27, 2010)

Commissioning information and such.

Also, maybe we should have a 'short story of the week' kind of thing.

You recommend good stories.


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## duroc (Apr 27, 2010)

panzergulo said:


> I had hoped you had some sort of grand plan already. I mean, a website isn't a democracy, it's your site and you decide what goes and what doesn't. Just saying...




Me and grand plans don't like each other.  I wing things.  And yes, I know the decisions will ultimately be mine, it's just that I'd like to get other people's opinions and ideas.  There are a lot of smart people around here who will come up with ideas that I never would've thought of.




panzergulo said:


> I have nothing to input, exactly, because I want to know what this site's function will be, actually. Remembering the end of the previous thread discussing about this, this site of yours might not be of interest to me in the first place. So, I would like to ask: What is your goal with this site? And: Am I allowed to join? Depending on the answers, I might have some ideas...




Well, here's the mission statement I've come up with so far.  I pretty much explained the rest of my idea in my first response to Renard.

http://www.furrywritersguild.com/home/who-we-are

As for who will be members, I'm still not settled on how to handle that.  I fear that allowing anyone to join will ruin the purpose of focusing on quality writing and getting together passionate, committed people looking to help, support, and elevate anthropomorphic writing.  So there will be criteria set for joining, but I'm not sure how I want to word it yet.  But basically, anyone will be able to access the site, it is just going to have some focus toward members, is all.  So if you feel like giving ideas, that's fine.  If not, I'll understand.




Hauke said:


> Links about what cons accept submissions to con books (as well as deadlines and where to send submissions); stuff about writing prompts and contests would be nice too.




Those are all good ideas, especially the conbook submissions.  Thank you for mentioning it.  




atrakaj said:


> Commissioning information and such.
> 
> Also, maybe we should have a 'short story of the week' kind of thing.




Not sure what you mean by "commissioning information".  That's kind of a broad statement.

The short story of the week is a good idea, though I might choose to do it monthly and put it in with the featured author idea.  Thanks.


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## Atrak (Apr 27, 2010)

duroc said:


> Not sure what you mean by "commissioning information".  That's kind of a broad statement.
> 
> The short story of the week is a good idea, though I might choose to do it monthly and put it in with the featured author idea.  Thanks.



Well, in addition to having their commission prices (per 250 words or however), it would also have their terms. If you absolutely won't do one type of writing, or if you want almost complete freedom...

That kind of thing.

You should read panzer's latest short story, if you haven't already. It has to do with this.


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## GraemeLion (Apr 27, 2010)

As I said, I would like market information for the fandom.

Also, just to clarify, this site wouldn't be for hosting of stories, will it?  Just curious, if I decide to join, if I would be putting my stories up there too.  I wouldn't do commissioning from a location if I don't have my stories there.. especially commissioning that involves likes/dislikes/strengths/weaknesses.  I want prospective clients to be able to read my stuff before purchasing.


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## kitreshawn (Apr 27, 2010)

Well if you are looking for suggestions probably the best way to get them is to put up a beta page so everyone can get an idea of where you are going with it.  Then they can come up with ideas for you to consider (and then get all angry when you say no! lol).

EDIT: Oh, nm, there already is one.  I'll go take a look.


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## Atrak (Apr 27, 2010)

GraemeLion said:


> As I said, I would like market information for the fandom.
> 
> Also, just to clarify, this site wouldn't be for hosting of stories, will it?  Just curious, if I decide to join, if I would be putting my stories up there too.  I wouldn't do commissioning from a location if I don't have my stories there.. especially commissioning that involves likes/dislikes/strengths/weaknesses.  I want prospective clients to be able to read my stuff before purchasing.





duroc said:


> I'm currently working on a site for writers of anthropomorphic fiction.  *Just to clarify, this is not a site designed for posting people's work. * There are plenty of those places already out there.  At the moment, my idea is more of an information hub, though the site may branch out into other areas as I learn the ins and outs of building a website.  My question is, what sort of features would people like to see in a website designed to fit the needs of furry writers?



Reading is fun to do sometimes.

You could always link them to your FA.


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## panzergulo (Apr 27, 2010)

duroc said:


> http://www.furrywritersguild.com/home/who-we-are



I see... Yup, nothing to add, really. You seem to have the basics down. I presume adding to the skeleton won't be that hard. You have a plan, now you just need more content.

One suggestion: You can fight many things with information. So, FAQ/About Us/something similar would be convenient _on _the site. That 'Who We Are' with the mission statement is just fine... but I do believe most people would like more information.

Also, if you let people add their own content on the site, you must regulate what is allowed and what is not. Google has the final word, I believe, but as the admin of the site you can tighten and specify the rules you have been given. So, 'Acceptable Content Policy' or 'Etiquette Policy' could be useful too. Just saying... how small group your site might ever get as its users, there's always those who'll abuse whatever little power they are given. I might be too much ahead with my train of thought, but yeah... these came to my mind. Not so much about what I would like to see on the site, but something to remind and maybe help you with administrating the site later.

I am in such a state with my writings I am not sure if I can really benefit from this site without being a member. Writing guides and tutorials don't have much to give me and I am not oriented towards publishing... so, what I would need is networking: I would like people to know I am here. But, if I can do that via this site, is up to the joining criteria; And remembering the thread we had before, it's very likely that as a non-publishing-oriented person I might not qualify.

Maybe I could find more quality writing through your site, who knows... but at the moment, I feel (fear) the site won't have much to give me... and most probably, I won't have much to give to it either.

Anyway, I hope all the best to you and your endeavors to elevate furry writing.


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## GraemeLion (Apr 27, 2010)

atrakaj said:


> Reading is fun to do sometimes.
> 
> You could always link them to your FA.



I did read.

And then I read later where it kind of got reversed when someone else suggested commissions and posting stories of the week/etc.

So I was just making sure.


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## kitreshawn (Apr 28, 2010)

If you are going to have some sort of Quality Control for the site (as panzergulo suggested) this is a non-trivial thing.

The plus side is that it lets you make sure only 'good' content ends up showing up on the site, which in turn makes the site stronger if it is going to end up serving archive functions.  The down side is that there will need to be some way to police for things which do not meet the content guidelines and enforce it.  Also, if the site is to be a social hub you probably need to be careful, if the content restrictions are too tight then people won't come because the restrictions on what they can do will deter them.

Here are my suggestions:

If you are going to allow uploads for members you might think of doing it sort of like FA does but with a focus toward writers.  Let them flag stories as looking for proof reading or critique and then allow other people to make changes to a copy of the story which the author can then look over (keeping the original 'copy' unchanged).

Institute a strong rating system if something is being put up for critique, allowing people to rate different aspects of the story/poem and comment on the different aspects.  Normal submissions that are just being put up for people to read (if any) should only have an overall rating.  Ratings should probably be 0-5 and have their meaning made quite unambiguous.  If you really want you could purge stories which have too low of a rating after reaching a certain vote threshold a-la newgrounds, though I wonder if you will get that many people.

Allow the organization of groups, like writing workshops and the like, where several people can work together on their stuff or on a collaborative project.

A Karma system is also something of a must.  Simply allow people to vote up or down on comments someone makes which adds or subtracts to a Karma score.  It is really silly but these types of numbers will keep people in line (they hate losing Karma even if it is a simple number).  If you really want you can build something on top of the Karma.

If submissions are going to be possible to make and store to the site maybe have some sort of featured submission system where it takes the top X rated new submissions from the last week (or two weeks or whatever).

Really nice might even be some sort of partnership with one of the furry publishers, though that is wishful thinking.

Key thing is that if something is going to be a social hub that exists to help writers it needs to 1) offer things that the writers will find useful (writing groups, critique and proof reading infrastructure, rating system) and 2) offer things that encourage them to participate (community, karma, featured submissions).


Yeah, this is probably WAY more ambitious than you had in mind but I figured I would just shoot my mouth off.  >.>


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## Kindar (Apr 28, 2010)

quality control is something I'd be weary of since it could keep completely new writers from joining. it also easily evolves into elitism.

one thing that I would like to see on the site is somethign to help with all the things Publishers require a writer does to submit novels. the few places I looked at require cover letter and synopsis but don't really say what either of those are and should have. I'm sure it's obvious to those dealing with them on a regular basis, but for the first timer is isn't quite so.


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## kitreshawn (Apr 28, 2010)

Kindar said:


> quality control is something I'd be weary of since it could keep completely new writers from joining. it also easily evolves into elitism.



Understand when  say quality control I don't mean in the sense of it needs to be wonderful writing.  I mean mostly from the stand point of spelling and grammar.  The case could also be made for content (for instance, no stories involving extremely graphic gore or straight up porn or what have you).


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## Atrak (Apr 28, 2010)

GraemeLion said:


> I did read.
> 
> And then I read later where it kind of got reversed when someone else suggested commissions and posting stories of the week/etc.
> 
> So I was just making sure.



That was me.

I said commission *information*.

And stories of the week month would be selected by duroc.


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## darkr3x (Apr 28, 2010)

Well for the collaborative crituqe and editing the site itself doesn't need to host the stories, i think google docs has a track changes option. 

*goes to check*

no there isn't a 'track changes', but there is a way to make inline comments. here's somethign up that people can read, but not edit. i want to see if comments can still be inserted.

You don't need to read this, it's old. Just try to put in a comment


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## Poetigress (Apr 28, 2010)

It's already been stated that this won't be a site for people to post their work, so I would assume stories are not going to be hosted there, and things like rating systems, quality control, etc., aren't going to be an issue. A story of the month could be done simply as a link to wherever the story is posted.

I agree that a up-to-date list of furry markets seeking submissions, modeled on the Writer's Market type of listing, has been sorely needed for a long time, and that's something I might be able to volunteer to help with (using foozzzball's thread here as a starting point). (I'll also see if I can send you some various resource-type links, though work has been... odd lately so I'm shorter on time than usual. :/)

Other than that, I'd like to eventually see a member-only forum of some kind. I think it's good to focus right now on elements of the site that will be available to everyone, but membership should provide some benefits that aren't available generally, and a forum might be the simplest one to implement in the near future.


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## duroc (Apr 28, 2010)

Poetigress said:


> I agree that a up-to-date list of furry markets seeking submissions, modeled on the Writer's Market type of listing, has been sorely needed for a long time, and that's something I might be able to volunteer to help with (using foozzzball's thread here as a starting point). (I'll also see if I can send you some various resource-type links, though work has been... odd lately so I'm shorter on time than usual. :/)
> 
> Other than that, I'd like to eventually see a member-only forum of some kind. I think it's good to focus right now on elements of the site that will be available to everyone, but membership should provide some benefits that aren't available generally, and a forum might be the simplest one to implement in the near future.



The writer's market is the area of the site which I'm trying to focus the most attention on while the general layout is being constructed.  I've mostly been using foozzzball's thread and doing some random internet searches to find other venues and see which current ones are up to date; but if there's anything you'd like to add, I'd greatly appreciate it.  

The members only forum is another thing I'd like to put together, it's mostly just a matter of finding out which is the best forum site for such an application.  That, and I also need to hurry up and decide on membership criteria.  *sighs*  Working on a website takes more effort than I thought.


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## Perri_Rhoades (May 16, 2010)

I've moderated a Furry Writers Workshop for years now. Though I've never considered it successful. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Furry_Writers_Workshop/?yguid=31033604

As a Furry Writer, the main things I've found myself in need of are collaborators, illustrators and readers that give feedback. Others would probably be interested in publishing options and advice.

If you do start a Furry Writers Guild, I would most certainly be interested in joining to contribute whatever I can.


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