writtenbyme.com > Reviews (3)

As an avid reader and wannabe writer the discovery of this web site was like gold. Writtenbyme.com is a web site that caters to all writers, including those of us who write slightly off centre and strange fiction.

Off course as with anything there are many pro's and cons and so I'll do my best to cover the main points.

You are rewarded on this site for reading other peoples work as well as writing your own pieces. You also get rewards for other peoples comments. Rewards come in the form of DEWEYS a points system; basically you get one point for every piece read, one point for every piece written and one point for every piece that is commented on by other members as well as bonus extras.

The fact that you get so few points for your work makes earning those all important DEWEYS a little effortful (is that a word? I don't think that’s a word…. Hmmm) and as the minimum you can exchange is one thousand of the little suckers it can be a little of an uphill struggle. Once you do gain that first thousand however you can exchange them at a number of great onsite stores for a decent amount, for example $30 of Amazon.com vouchers…

Aha but there's the rub you can only exchange them at the American web sites and so shipping fees apply. This however is by the by as the things you do order arrive quickly, in good condition and well make up for the wait.

As with any open forum there is a lot of rubbish posted on this site and the editors are not as quick as they could be at getting rid of site abusers. A lot of changes recently taking place on the site have also caused a lot of contention and some of the users have become a little rankled so some arguing has sprung up amongst some of the more prominent contributors.

While saying that however the arguments wouldn't have occurred if there wasn't such a huge sense of community on this site, and it's very easy to make friends and influence people via the use of the comments system.

There are some very unique writers on this site and it becomes swiftly addictive. Beware of Flamers (people who just comment to be rude) and people who post controversial or abusive articles just to get readership.

I must state that since joining this site I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the most intelligent people I've ever known as well as some of the most insane.

I've generally found that most of the writers are welcoming and this site IS fun but once your addicted beware that you do tend to get frustrated with other people and decisions and so a little annoyance does come with.

Pros: It DOES pay out.
It is a thriving worldwide community.
You can and do get read.
Tracking system.
Member forums.
It very easy to contribute.

Cons: Its American
Beware the Flamers
Beware the Zealots
Beware the petty squables.
Be prepared to have to look around for the truly talented writers.