Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Introducing: The (Submissions) Grinder

This is topic Introducing: The (Submissions) Grinder in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by AWSullivan (Member # 8059) on :

Hey folks!

Hopefully this isn't inappropriate but I thought you fine folks might be interested.

I've been absent from here for a couple months and now I can tell you why. David Steffen and I, through our website Diabolical Plots, have been working very hard on a Duotrope replacement for people who don't intend on subscribing or were just waiting around until someone did what we've done.

We launched the site on Monday in BETA form and after a couple days of instability, we've got things settled. The site is being updated daily with bug fixes and enhancements and that won't be slowing down any time soon.

Hopefully you'll find the basic site functionality familiar and understandable but if you have questions or suggestions, please shoot me an email!

Enough of that craziness... here is the link.
The Grinder

Thanks for taking a look and thanks for your support!

Yours,

Anthony

Posted by Reziac (Member # 9345) on :

While I don't myself have a need for it... I messed with the interface some and am impressed by the efficient simplicity. [Big Grin]

Posted by Osiris (Member # 9196) on :

Will there be sorting feature for the searches? This was one of my favorite options with Duotrope. For example, I like to sort by response time (fastest to slowest).

Posted by AWSullivan (Member # 8059) on :

@Reziac, Thanks for the kind words. We're working hard to make it useful and hopefully not let it get in the way of what you should be doing... writing.

@Osiris, There will! And soon. [Smile]

Posted by EVOC (Member # 9381) on :

I've been shouting from roof tops about this. Well, my blog, Facebook, and Twitter. I especially like that it was so simple to transfer my data from Duotrope.

Keep up the good work!

Posted by AWSullivan (Member # 8059) on :

Thanks for that EVOC. The more folks that use it, the better a tool it will be.

Posted by easterabbit (Member # 9810) on :

The transfer didn't work for me as I'd have to pay now to get my old stats from duotrope.

Curses...

Looks good though! I have joined.

Posted by AWSullivan (Member # 8059) on :

@EasterRabbit: I have heard at least one account of a person emailing Duotrope and asking for their import file and the, providing it. It's worth a try.

Thanks for giving us a look!

Posted by pdblake (Member # 9218) on :

Just gave it a try. Thanks very much. The search was pretty much the only thing I used a Duotrope. This is a great replacement. I'll sign up latter when I'm on my home machine.

Posted by AWSullivan (Member # 8059) on :

Whew... been a crazy couple of weeks. We've made a ton of updates to the site. Are any of you using it? What are your thoughts (positive or negative) now that we're nearly a month from launch?

Posted by Osiris (Member # 9196) on :

I've just uploaded my duotrope data, and will be using both this and Duotrope with the hopes of switching exclusively to the grinder eventually.

One thing I like from Duotrope is that when you look at your list of pieces, there is a symbol or some indication as to the current status of the story (if it is under consideration, accepted somewhere, etc). Will this be added to the Grinder?

Posted by AWSullivan (Member # 8059) on :

It will! It's on our short list actually. I would expect to see this added in the next week or so.

Thanks for check us out Osiris!

Posted by extrinsic (Member # 8019) on :

Duotrope features I used and liked were: no login requirement to search listings, the way they represented and presented the magazine and digest, print and online publishing culture; and direct links to publisher's websites. I especially liked that Duotrope posted the number of markets they listed.

I followed Duotrope because they are or were an accessible glimpse into a corner of publishing culture. I agreed with their publisher screening policy, that a market had to be tried and true in order to be listed. I wasn't as enamored of their genre categorizations and the prominence of their donation solicitations. I am disappointed they now charge a fee for access. But tel est la vie; such is life. The Grinder now fulfills most of the same wants I have, excepting, unless I missed it, number of markets indexed.

Looking good.

Posted by AWSullivan (Member # 8059) on :

We show the number in our stats section on the front page. It's not quite as prominent (nor as large a number) as Duotrope. [Smile]

We're working to increase that however.

Posted by Reziac (Member # 9345) on :

Needs a key on the New Markets tab, so we don't have to mouse-hover over the images to see what A, W, H, etc. stand for. (I'm not a fan of using images when text would do, either.)

Much amused by "I am not a real market" [Big Grin]

I wish there was a way to see all the acceptances in one list, and perhaps all the reject-XX (other than form rejections) as well, without having to search for 'em.

Coming along nicely, overall.