Membership

I’M A WRITER. CAN I JOIN?

Any writer, aspiring or established, may apply for membership to Fiction Foundry. We actively work to be the last stop for a manuscript before an author submits for publication. We are not a “how to” group. What this means to authors considering applying for membership is that we expect a certain level of writing ability. Applying members should be familiar with pronouns, LY adverbs, “To Be” verbs, gerunds, crutch words, and the problems overuse of these brings to any prose work.

DO YOU HAVE AN AGE REQUIREMENT?

Our “minimum” age is 16 with parent’s written consent, should the author be accepted for membership.

WILL YOU LOWER THE AGE REQUIREMENT FOR ME?

No.

HOW MANY TIMES CAN I VISIT BEFORE APPLYING FOR MEMBERSHIP?

A minimum of three times before applying for membership.

AM I ASSURED MEMBERSHIP IF I’VE ALREADY PUBLISHED PROFESSIONALLY?

No. All applicants are treated the same regardless of publishing history.

WHAT IF I’M REJECTED FOR MEMBERSHIP?

There’s a six month waiting period between applications for membership. You may continue to attend during this period, just not submit.

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS?

Differences between the Wednesday, Friday and Sunday groups are as follows:

Wednesday Group:

Members must have the following:
A webcam and mic
Meets on the first and third Wednesdays per month (barring holidays) from 6-9PM.
Submissions are limited to approximately 25 total pages per member per meeting (approx. 6,000-7,000 words).

Friday Virtual Group:

Members must have the following:
A Google account
A webcam and mic
Meets on the first Friday of each month ( baring holidays ) at the following times 9:00PM Eastern / 8:00PM Central / 7:00PM Mountain / 6:00PM Pacific
Submissions are limited to approximately 5,000 words per member per meeting.
Members are limited to submitting one work per meeting.

Submission and Feedback

DO AUTHORS HAVE TO USE THE FEEDBACK GIVEN BY MEMBERS?

No. While our membership strives to offer the best feedback possible for submitting authors, feedback is nothing more than individual opinions offered by peers. Our suggestion is that if one person gives a particular critique on a scene/submission/etc. it’s something to consider. However, if the majority of the group has the same, or similar, opinions, the author might want to make suggested changes.

DO ALL MEMBERS HAVE TO SUBMIT?

No, but submission is highly encouraged. The mission statement of Fiction Foundry clearly states our ultimate goal is to aid members in attaining professional publication for all members.

WHY THE “APPROXIMATE” SUBMISSION LIMITATION?

Submissions are limited as “approximate” to ensure we get a complete scene/story/chapter for review from members. For instance, a Wednesday group member, where the submission page limit is 25 pages, might give us 29 or even 31 pages to complete a story/novel chapter, but if there’s a better scene break on page 22, they would limit the submission to the lower number of pages.

DO MEMBERS READ, EDIT, AND OFFER BOTH WRITTEN AND ORAL FEEDBACK ON EVERY SUBMISSION FROM THEIR GROUP MEETING?

Yes.

Beers With Writers

I SAW THAT YOU SUGGEST ATTENDING ONE OF THE “BEERS WITH WRITERS” NIGHTS TO GET TO KNOW SOME OF THE MEMBERSHIP. WHAT IF I CAN’T ATTEND THOSE?

The “Beers With Writers” nights are just a relaxed social event Fiction Foundry does for fun and a good place to get to know our membership outside of meetings. There’s no requirement to attend one. Any interested visitors can contact the group beforehand and directly attend a meeting. However, if the concern is that the interested writer is under 21 our meeting locations are always pubs (meaning a restaurant environment where all ages are welcome).

HOW DO I GET ON THE LIST TO BE INFORMED OF A FORTHCOMING “BEERS WITH WRITERS?”

Simply “CONTACT US” and request to be put on the list. We’d appreciate it if you’d take a moment to tell us a little about yourself.

Publishing

DO I HAVE TO HAVE A PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATION TO APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP?

No. The goal of Fiction Foundry is to help its membership attain professional sales and, ultimately, to have the membership reach that goal on a consistent basis.

DOES RECEIVING A CONTRIBUTOR’S COPY COUNT AS PAYMENT?

No. Most publishers offer a copy (be it e-copy or print) of the work an author appears in. Monetary compensation, be it direct payment or a quarterly percentage, is required to be counted as a professional publication.

I SELF-PUBLISHED. DOES THIS COUNT AT PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATION?

Although there are many self-published authors attaining high sales and making good money, this is not professional publication by the classic definition.

I SEE YOU MENTION “PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATION” A FEW PLACES ON THE WEBSITE. ISN’T ANY PUBLICATION THAT CAN BE PURCHASED A PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATION?

This is a good question and the answer among the writing community has been in a constant state of flux since POD (Print On Demand) services became available to the masses. Here’s Fiction Foundry’s stance on this:

“Professional Publication, as currently defined by Fiction Foundry, is receiving monetary payment for accepted manuscripts for publication in print, electronic publication, performed audio works, performed plays, etc. from an outside business entity.”

I HAVE A CLUB/GROUP THAT I PUBLISHED MY NOVEL/STORY WITH. DOES THIS COUNT AS PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING?

To answer this accurately three questions must be asked:

          • Was the submission call open to the public with minimal limitations (such as “a women-only,” “age-restricted” or “state-residence-limited” publications)? If it was limited to club/group member’s only the publication falls within the definition of self-publication/promotional publication.
          • Did you receive monetary payment? Without monetary payment it cannot be considered a professional publication.
          • Were there rejected submissions? If not, then it falls under vanity publishing or self/group/club promotion. While these types of publications are popular today (and fantastic for showing what the club/group is capable of), they do not qualify as professional publications.
          • If the answer to all three of these is “yes” then it qualifies as a professional publication in the eyes of Fiction Foundry.