When HarperCollins launched their slush pile site, Authonomy, in beta, I signed up and received an invitation. I wanted to have the full and genuine authonomy (small ‘a’) experience, so I dug out of my old files the beginnings of a sf novel (login probably required) that I’d been writing at varsity (you know, instead of sleeping and stuff) and uploaded it.
This addition of my own writing enabled me to do more than just poke around the site – I could see how well their conversion engine processed my pages, what happened to the font and hyphenation etc. (nothing horrible), and that the text was genuinely protected from being copied and pasted into someone else’s novel (although if they did, I’m not sure they should have bothered).
This was all done very well – no glitches, no crashes, no errors. The next step was to participate in the community a bit – this I did half-heartedly, and it shows, I’m sure. Some people were good enough to bother reading my six chapters, and leave a comment (9, including my replies). Some added me to their showcase (3), and their watchlist (2). I read and commented in return… and then left it there.
The launch of discussion forums brought me back for another quick poke around the site, and occasionally a new comment in my RSS feed brought me back into the site. But otherwise, all was quiet. Discussion forums… big deal! I thought.
And then… and then they changed the game. Two additions: ranking of the manuscripts, based on representation (showcase, watchlist) and comments, and possibly general activity and frequency of login too; and a stopwatch was started. Suddenly, there’s a red ‘down’ arrow indicating my book’s lack of popularity! Now, I have 10 days and counting to get my manuscript into the top five positions in order to be skimmed off the top and passed to the HarperCollins editorial department to be read.
Something of an adrenalin rush if you care, even just a bit, about what you’ve written.
And this experience of being inside Authonomy is most interesting to me because I have a Big Question that I am constantly thinking about and it is: what brings people to a publisher’s website? Now Authonomy is not really the kind of publisher’s website I have in mind for this question – usually I’m thinking of the catalogue and marketing site – but it presents such a clear answer. You come to Authonomy because you want to get published. And now, the mechanism for achieving that (or having a good stab at it) is in place.
I think the user group / market segment that Authonomy is serving is a bit different too – just as the site is – to the group relevant to my Big Question; this is, in my mind, the middle ground: folks who are more than just readers (ain’t nothing wrong with being just a reader!) but not quite writers yet (in the sense of being published, especially within the publishing establishment).
More on the Big Question another day. For now, congratulations to the Authonomy team on changing the game a bit!
7 Comments
Hi James – many thanks for your comments – I’m glad you’re enjoying authonomy. Must say I spotted you on there very early indeed! We’re were a little nervous about the big changes we’ve made in the last few days, but we’re very pleased with how well it’s been received…
We’re still in private beta for the time being, but we’ll be going live very soon indeed so that everyone can take a peek inside…
I’m one of those not-quite-writers with material uploaded on Authonomy. I’ve been even less active than you, James.
The introduction of the ranking system didn’t give me an adrenalin rush. I’m too busy writing to worry about ranking.
The top books, those I’ve looked at, seem quite good, from what I’ve seen. But I notice they’re the books of those who are most active on the site, commenting on the works of others and participating in the fora. How much of this is a function of the popularity of the writer, rather than the popularity (let alone quality) of the book is difficult to judge.
I got my adrenalin rush from an editor (not from HC) who’s browsing the site, who said if my book came to his office, he’d read it. He called it “strong stuff.” Yay, for me! I’m on the right track.
Now to finish the thing, and learn how to write a query letter.
Hi Leah – I know what you mean about the ranking thing… some heavy commenting/rating sites suffer from certain users dominating, or the wrong behaviours being rewarded… it’s a danger for Authonomy too, but I’m sure they’re thinking about how to manage that sort of thing. And I think you’re right to focus on developing the right skills to get closer to publication – sounds like the site has already had the desired effect for you (i.e. be noticed).
Authonomy sounds like an interesting site–have sent the link to your post to some writer friends.
The ranking system leaves me cold, and not just because I’m uninterested in a publisher’s contract. This sort of site raises people’s hopes with little chance of fulfilment, hence ethical issues are involved. Just whom is it designed to serve? And then there is the problem of quality: most of the readers have fairly conventional, fairly bland expectations. I doubt that a Nabokov is likely to be ‘discovered’ in this way – and yes, that would be my benchmark.
I am new to the authonomy world and have quickly caught on to the “popularity” issue. Personally, I just like the fact that others get to read my story and give me their opinion. I can take the advice or not. It gives me some instant feedback that I can consider when reviewing and editing my story.
I also enjoy reading the work of others and giving them my opinion. The only problem I see is “personal taste.” I try to be very objective when I promise to critique someone’s work (whether it is the genre I am interested in or not). Not everyone has the same “taste” and will judge as such. I have written a YA Sci-Fi/Romance novel and will consider the criticism of those who actually “enjoy” reading these genres. Don’t get me wrong, I do consider the opinions of others, but I don’t get all bent out of shape is someone gives me a horrible review and then tells me that YA, sci-fi, or even romance is not what they enjoy reading. Their personal opinion doesn’t matter to me.
On another note…if I get published on authonomy someday, then “Yay!” However, I am not counting it. If it happens…it happens. I am just on the site for some constructive criticism, good reading, and new friends that happen to share the same interest…reading & writing!
Authonomy? Been there, done that…
http://playpitspark.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/stephen-king-is-right/
One Trackback
[...] tribe who really knows his stuff, James Long, has some generous, encouraging things to say over at The Digitalist and even wonders …. is Authonomy relevant to his Big Question of what brings people to a [...]