Booksie has an AI powered reviewer for any type of written content. It's working pretty well. TNBW users are eligible to use it. Let me know if you want an upgraded account.
Hey Sol, I'd love to try this out!
Oh that's nice! What did you use for generating it?
Hi all,
I was wondering if anybody is using AI to help with their writing? I just copied a chapter I'm working on into ChatGPT and asked it to create an analysis of the characters involved, and was shocked (and smugly pleased) to see it describe them exactly as I intended. I then asked it to tell me how to improve my writing in that chapter, and it gave me some areas to focus on, which I'm already aware are my weaknesses. I was really impressed by the results so I'm just curious to hear how/if others are using it.
More competitions would be great. I remember the Strongest Start one from a few years ago was very popular!
Thanks for letting me know! I remember there were loads of redundant groups so it was probably a big undertaking! I have to ask though, what happened to this site? I saw about the crash but this place is a shadow of what it used to be! Is that all because people lost some of their work or was it just fizzling out anyway?
Hi there,
I've just returned to the site after a 4 year hiatus and I'm trying to find the old groups that I used to belong to so that I can reconnect with old friends again but it looks like most groups have been removed. Is that the case?
If any of my old reviewing buddies are still out there, I'd love to connect again! :-)
Hi guys,
I've decided to take a break from this site for the next few months as I just don't have the space for it in my life right now. I'll be sorry to miss out on finishing all of your books and receiving your reviews. I still have two weeks left of my current membership so if you feel like I owe you reviews, please let me know so I can complete them before my account expires.
Thanks,
Siun
Hi everyone,
I have to apologise...I've been a pretty useless group member lately. It has been two months since I last reviewed anyone on my rotation. Honestly, I haven't been feeling that motivated to spend time on tNBW and have to force myself to login and read/write/review. Is it just me or do none of the newbies reciprocate or even respond to reviews? And have the forums become quite dull lately? And have competitions just disappeared?
Anyway, my point is that I'll do my best to catch up on reviews this weekend to make up for it! :-)
That's great you're able to make a bit on the side with your skills, CJ! You still seem to be posting new chapters quite frequently too!
Rhiannon, I'll take a look at Exile in Elsewhen as soon as I can...Like you, I'm enjoying the Spring weather here and finding lots of outdoor activities instead of sitting inside with my computer.
This group has been quiet lately, hopefully because everyone is so busy writing/publishing their stuff!! So I just wanted to check in and see how everyone's doing, what are they working on, what do they need reviews on, etc...? So, how is everyone? :-)
(Sheriff Norm, I haven't heard anything from you, especially, in months. Hope you're doing okay!)
I always go back to CH1 if I'm reviewing a new story.
1. Reviews of later chapters can't comment on character building, plot, etc. because they have no idea. I've had reviewers jump in on later chapters, and when they tell me they can't tell the characters apart or they don't understand why a character is acting a certain way, it's usually because they haven't read from the start.
2. I fix my chapters after I receive reviews, so it's always interesting to see what new comments a reviewer can make on the edited posting, even if 20 have already left a review. Sometimes, too, I make mistakes while editing so it's good to have these pointed out.
This is just my way of doing things, but hope it helps!
Refresh our memory--
Generally, do writers prefer to receive an in-line or regular review?
Feedback?
I think it depends on the reviewer. Some are great at inlines and can leave dozens of comments about commas and word choices, while regular reviews can be very powerful for big-picture feedback.
congrats!
I'd be interested to know if anyone has tried 'hybrid' (or vanity) publishing where you pay for their expertise in publishing including editing, printing, Amazon & marketing...
I agree with most of what you said, Suin, except for the marketing part. Even with a publisher, unless you're a big name that warrants the publisher taking out ads in the NYT, for example, marketing is pretty much up to you. On the plus side of self-publishing, you have total control of the product and reap all the profits!
Would the publisher, at least, give you support on how to market? Like a checklist of best practices, feedback on how to improve, etc?
It's really interesting to have this insight - people generally only share their 'i got a publisher' stories, so thanks for being so candid!! 50 rejections sounds like a good, round number to aim for before going to self-publishing. I'm going to put that as my target too! 
Did you go premium with Pro Writing Aid?
I remember your cover for You Only Love Twice - it was beautiful!
Note: For anyone inclined to give me the one-in-a-hundred-thousand success story, please spare me/us.”
I read that agents typically accept 1 in a thousand manuscripts, and publishers accept even less... so you're not far off!
How was your ROI when you published yourself, Bill? There are two major reasons why I'd be reluctant to go down the indie publishing route;
1. You have to invest in editors, cover artists & marketing experts but if your book doesn't do well, it could all be money down the drain. With a publisher, they'd take the hit if the book is a flop.
2. You have to invest a lot of time in learning and researching about different vendors & figuring out how to market it.
Are these valid concerns or am I wrong somewhere/overthinking things?
congratulations, that's a great achievement! best wishes for becoming a finalist!
Why would you want Patrick to be a 'stupid boy'? I don't understand...
Personally, I think you should make him more attractive - not physically, but in personality. He should be the nice guy who constantly supports Athens. The only other love interest is Bertie and I think the teenagers who are your target audience will struggle with Helga's attraction to BErtie because of the age issue. It would be like having a crush on their dad's age group. By making Patrick be the nice guy, teenagers will fall for him and want to read more because they'll be rooting for him.
You always revert back to YA bestsellers, so I'll do the same here. Think of Bertie as Gale and Patrick as Peeta in the Hunger Games. Everybody loved Gale for the first two novels (especially helped by Liam Hemsworth in the movies!) but it made sense that Katniss ended with Peeta at the end. He loved her through everything. And he may not have been as strong or brave as her, but in the end, she valued him for the strengths she didn't have; his empathy and charisma with others.
You could bring out these great qualities in Patrick so that he isn't the 'cool' guy or the 'hot' guy but he's the nice guy who's there for Helga in the end.
That's just my personal preference - I got irritated by him being so weak and unlikable in the last draft, but others may differ in opinion. Hope this helps!
. I won't participate, to make sure there is no cheating with the votes.
Sure you can participate! I am sure everybody would trust you not to cheat!!
sounds fun! I'm in!! what a great idea!
two suggestions - we vote for our favourite by private messaging you so that nobody will be swayed by seeing someone else's vote.
also, maybe it should only be one entry per member - otherwise reading each entry could become a bit tiresome if one person enters too many.
what do you think?
Hi!
I let my membership lapse because i haven't been around here much lately but joined again recently - and how nice it was to come back to all of your advice! I've read it many times before replying and am still reflecting on your ideas so i'm not sure what i'll do next.
i've thought of writing Claire's and Alicia's stories into this - in fact, i started it out that way but got feedback from various reviewers that they didn't like the story suddenly moving away from Sarah so i deleted those chapters and kept the story focused on Sarah.
Claire's story is pretty solid in my head - after her divorce, Alicia suggests that she moves into Grainne's apartment, as Grainne recently broke up with her boyfriend and wanted someone to share her apartment. Things gradually happen between the two girls - taking them both by surprise, but they both struggle to accept it as their families have expectations of them to lead 'normal' lives. it's only when Sarah returns that Claire feels she can open up to her family about who she really is.
Alicia's story is a bit of a blur for a while - from the time she leaves Dublin after being found in bed with Jack she spends a lot of time in hospital following her surgery. she starts dabbling in music and it slowly becomes bigger and bigger until she's touring the world (with her father along for help!). her story only clears up for me on the new year's eve when she meets jack in San Francisco and then heads to Vegas for a show. it's there she meets Declan. She gives him the challenge to find her within the next three weeks if he wants to be with her - eventually he does find her on a remote island in the Carribean that she owns. they spend a year together, away from people, technology and focus only on her music and his writing until he is called back to Dublin to visit his mother on her deathbed. Alicia goes with him, discovers she's pregnant, and ends up giving up her career and fame in order to be a mother and for 6 years, loves this role until she passes away shortly before Sarah returns.
I like their stories and have toyed with writing them. Jack's is more elusive - i think he just played sports, drank pints, and worked like a normal person until Alicia met him in San Francisco.
Writing their stories would considerably lengthen the storyline, but you may be right that i should just cut it off when Hugh leaves and rewrite the rest from there. maybe Sarah shouldn't be kidnapped. stories these days always seem to have non-stop action but over Christmas i was at my parent's house clearing out some of my old books and i reread a few of them which were solely based on the journey's their characters took. they didn't need a major plot because their character's were so interesting - maybe that is what i will aim to do (it won't be plotless but maybe it won't be action-driven).
Gacela, you've made some excellent suggestions and given me a lot of inspiration to go back to this story that has been frustrating me for so long, and to make something better out of it!
i really appreciate all of the thought and patience you've given this. i'd be lost without your suggestions!
thanks for the message! i honestly didn't know i was in the strongest start contest - i'd entered but didn't have time to post more than one chapter so i thought i'd removed myself from the contest. anyway, it was nice to be shortlisted, but Ann Everett is such a fantastic writer it's no surprise she won!
and Declan? he's pretty much a younger version of her father!!
that's sooo cool!! i can't believe Helga is exactly how i imagined her (Athens too!) your descriptions of these characters is perfect!
