Book Country is a site where writers and readers come together to better their someday-to-be-published manuscripts and to give feedback to those who ask for it. It's a community of well-meaning people who want to see each other succeed. And I'm proud to be part of it.

However, what grinds my gears is this: When I'm scanning the list of members looking for like-minded writers/readers and spot 'advertisements' people have so generously left. I don't come across them often, but enough to get me irritated. Maybe I'm being uptight, but I just don't like it when people go on a site meant of readers and writers and advertise their business/shop/handyman skills. It irks me to no end to exploit a website as meaningful as Book Country like that.

What irks me more is when I click on someone's profile page--which was made somewhere in 2011, 2012, 2013--thinking they sound pretty interesting or like-minded, and discover they haven't done anything for Book Country at all. They haven't reviewed, haven't posted a comment, haven't uploaded anything since the day they joined. And the ones I really can't stand are the people who've reviewed only once so they can upload their manuscript, then abandon it to the site. What are they thinking? That reviews will fall into their laps?

I feel bad for the ones who do give reviews to these people, since they don't get so much as a thank-you. I mean, you've got to wonder how many hours or days the reviewer spent on the review. How fair is it if it doesn't get noticed or appreciated?

I'm not saying this happens often. But new members, or those who don't take the time to check the date a manuscript is posted, might review a manuscript that hasn't been tampered with since a year ago and put a lot of thought into it, only to discover that their words are wasted. It makes a person wary of what they review, which is a shame. What if the person who's hoping to be reviewed is a new member and I'm too worried they're just another of those people who've dumped their manuscript here to give feedback?

Here's what I think should be done to members like this: when a profile's older than a year and it hasn't been accessed at all, it should be deleted. 'Advertisement' profile pages should be deleted as soon as they're noticed. Manuscripts that haven't been touched or haven't had new drafts uploaded in a year's time should be deleted, also. That'll make the site much more tidy.

Well, there you have it. My Writer's Rant. Wanted to get that off my chest, and boy, do I feel better now

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Amber,

Cool rant. I agree with much of what you've written. I recognize myself in some of it, and I'll add my paragraphs.

People will advertise here as long as they are allowed, and as long as they think it will results in sales. I don't do it, but marketing has always been one of my weaknesses.

The stale material on the site, the dusty books that have not been lately attended to by their authors, weigh down the site and make it harder to find the works that are honestly in development.

I am one of those who has yet to review a book, and who has not posted anything for review. I haven't found writing like mine on the site. It's good to read outside one's own genre, but I don't know enough about science fiction or fantasy or YA or romance to offer constructive criticism. I've read some books here with the intention of writing a review, but I wasn't up to the task. It's not a good idea to tell a new parent that the baby is ugly unless you're an expert on babies. I'm not an expert on babies, especially on some of the subspecies offered here. And it doesn't help to tell the new parent that the baby is beautiful, if you don't know it's true.

I wirnessed a sharp exchange between two members on this site. One took offense at a critique by the other. When I told the first that she should try to understand the message of the second, she attacked me, and quite vigorously too. Our debate took place in personal messages, rather than out here in public. That was a good thing. She was a new parent who wasn't going to take advice from old men, even though these old men had more experience and more writing success, to date, than herself. I don't need that kind of drama. I have enough drama in my day job.

At Bookcountry I read the message boards for insights on marketing and publishing, and I post a message from time to time. If others come here for other reasons, if they take advantage of other features and they benefit from the community, then the site is working. Let's celebrate that, and improve on it.

Happy New Year.

Perry, Curtis, I get what you're saying. But it still irks me. I don't care for advertisers or stale manuscripts that've been on the site for a couple years and haven't been messed with at all in that time. It's not enough to deter me from reading and reviewing. But I hate to think that some new member (such as I did when I first joined) might review a book that was abandoned and put hours into their thoughts, only to have their advice or thoughts go unheeded/unnoticed. That happened to me, with an Epic Fantasy manuscript titled Cold Fire. I put hours into reviewing it, without realizing that it had been on the site for at least a year with no revisions.

 Took me about two months before I got up the courage to review again . . .

Take this in fair warning, newcomers. Check the date a manuscript was posted before reviewing!

Kind of like checking the date on milk before buying. Right Amber

Trying to add some levity to the conversation...okay, leaving now!

Seriously, most definitely check the date!

Christmas was a really long day, but a whole lot of fun w/ cousins and my uncle, telling stories, etc.   I do hope everyone else had a wonderful day.