YouWriteOn is extremely pleased that the Random House Group, whose authors include John Grisham and Bill Bryson, have extended their initial period of involvement with YouWriteOn.com.

Each month, they will continue to review the YouWriteOn Top Ten writers. This will carry on from their initial 6 month involvement be for a further 6 month period between October 2008 and March 2009. They have also informed us that they have had additional volunteers for the review group, so that each volunteer will now review one story per month instead of two each.

YWO would like to thank all members for participating, and without the great stories uploaded this wouldn't have been possible.

I was at the meeting with Random House last week, and one of the volunteers from Random House said she'd peaked a look at one of this month's Top Ten stories and really enjoyed it. So we hope for another fruitful 6 months with lots of great stories to be enjoyed.

Ted

That is brilliant news. Well done, and thank you to Ted and RH

You always get more of what you focus on in life...

Hi JD

They've been very impressed by a lot of the writing. A couple of stories in particular have been referred by their reviewers to Random House editors in the writers genres, and we've informed the writers.

Ted

No, of course not. Editors don't ask to read additional material unless the work is under serious consideration for publication. After reading the material, interest will likely increase or decrease, of course. It's always a crap shoot in the end, isn't it? Do you have any idea what the sheer odds are of finding a major publisher?

Paul, I have to take exception to this comment of yours. In the nicest possible way!

People don't get published (or fail to) because of luck: on the whole, it's due to talent and persistence.

Most of the work submitted to agents and editors is simply unpublishable, and so gets rejected. Work that is well-written, and that puts a fresh perspective onto its story, will almost always be taken on. Having contacts in the industry is not how it's done, despite what many think.

From my point of view as an ex-editor, I'd advise everyone to spend more time learning their craft before they try for publication. That's where places like this should come in: the criticisms that you receive, from each other and from RH, are invaluable tools for improvement. And I'd encourage everyone to review work as much as possible, because by reviewing the work of others you realise what's wrong with your own. Apologies for any typos I might let slip by: I've developed a problem with my vision and I've not got used to it yet.

How Publishing Really Works