Forum / What are groups like PANK, Word Riot, Wigleaf, SmokeLong, Glass Women Prize etc about?

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  Jane Flett

  Jan 24, 01:23pm

  There are lots of groups here for mighty fine publications, and a lot of the times I see a story posted and 'sent' to these groups.

  What does that mean?

  At first I thought it was for stories posted on Fictionaut that had been published in these places, but that is clearly not the case.

  Does it mean, Hi, I wrote this story, I would love to see it published in your magazine?

  Do editors from these publications lurk around in their groups looking for things they'd like to publish?

  Is sending a Fictionaut story to a bunch of groups like a really lazy way of simultaneous submitting?

  Do any of these places even consider things that have been published openly on Fictionaut?

  So many questions...do you know the answers?

• 
  Gloria Garfunkel

  Jan 24, 05:13pm

  I've been wondering the exact same thing. Do they serve any purpose at all?

• 
  Nicolette Wong

  Jan 24, 07:13pm

  Past contributors who want to publicize their new work, potential contributors who want to share their work with those who've been published in, or are interested in the magazines...it's another channel for exposure/networking I guess.

  I don't look at the stories people send to the A-Minor group. I think most editors don't.

  Some editors/journals would consider things that have been posted on Fictionaut. I used to skip those pieces. Now I'd consider pieces that have been taken off the site or the writers' personal blogs or web sites, etc.

• 
  Gloria Garfunkel

  Jan 24, 11:47pm

  If the editors aren't reading the stories, there seems to be no point at all. It's just a random bunch of stories. I favor groups that actually have a theme because you can compare their different perpectives. Frankly, if the magazine editors aren't reading the groups, I think those groups should be taken off the site. There is such a cacophony of groupness here, some for useless reasons. Why would an editor be more likely to read stories geared to it than read any of the theme groups?

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  Gloria Garfunkel

  Jan 24, 11:49pm

  It's like they're journal groupies' groups.

• 
  Gloria Garfunkel

  Jan 25, 06:06am

  I would start by eliminating all journal groups plus groups with only one member and no activity since 2011 if any like Pithead Chapel, Horror Poetry, BDSA, Planet of the Apes, The informed Voter, Narrative Poetry, Twitter Quitter, error, error, funny, Greetings Earthlings and that's just the start. The group program must be reigned in to be effective. Right now it's a sprawling, meaningless joke.

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  Jürgen Fauth

  Jan 25, 09:36am

  The Groups could certainly be integrated better so it's easier to find active groups and groups you're participating in. But: anyone can start a group, for any reason, and I like it that way. Some groups may have outlived their usefulness--but I'm not sure that's a reason to delete them. Many of the journal groups were & are started by the editors of the journal, for a number of reasons: to spotlight stories or authors that have been published there in the past, or to invite submissions, to give the journal a presence on Fn... and some of them groups weren't started by the editors. I don't see a problem with that either, as long as it's clear from the group description what it's about.

• 
  Jane Flett

  Jan 25, 11:10am

  Thanks all, for your comments; Nicolette, that is good to know.

  I wonder if it would be helpful to have a sticky like JP's "welcome and primer" describing the ways of the groups? I could try putting something together if people thought it was helpful, or someone who is more of an expert could... I find the rest of the site very intuitive, but it's taken me a while to work out what the group etiquettes/purposes are.

• 
  Gloria Garfunkel

  Jan 25, 11:52am

  I agree a sticky would be great but would not solve the bigger problem of at least a third of the groups not having any activity since 2011 and should be expunged.

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