"HELP"

Dear Karan,

I'd like to address your concern about your work being printed and used by others. As Scott told you, the copyright is yours, but that is no guarantee that all will respect it as such. But as writers, that is the chance we take. And as writers, we want our work to be seen by others, possibly make a difference in another life. I have no problem with someone printing the story with my name on it. In fact, if they do so, it's a compliment to me. But if they take my name off the story and use it as their own, then I'd be furious. That's theft! Fortunately, in the writing world the instances of that happening are very few. So, I'd urge you to continue posting your work, continue practicing this craft you seem to enjoy, and continue growing in the field. I can honestly say that I am a far better writer today than I was ten years ago. Why? The longer I write, the more I learn and the more skilled I've become. Perfect? Oh no,not be a long shot. But to see my work improve as time goes on is greatly satisfying to me, particularly since I began writing when well into my fifties. We 'late starters' have to hurry to catch up to those who've been writing for decades. One last comment--Fred Wickert's suggestion that you read all the postings that won contests, or are in the section called Hall of Fame,was an excellent one. Learn from those who have done well as well as from your writing group sessions. You're doing all the right things, I think, and I wish you well in your pursuit.
Nancy Kopp

Thankyou Nancy, I just wasn't sure if ( Jokingly ) I should quit my day job and continue my writing or get crafty and do something else. I hope all writers are not as unsure of their craft as I am at this moment in time.

I am by no means an expert. Just the same, I do have some advice. There are some truly great writers who are regular contributors to Ourecho. I have learned a great deal from them, and one in particular who has been a mentor to several of us. A number of them are professionals with many publishing credits. I know of at least two who either do now or have in the not to distant past, been teachers and/or advisors for The Childrens Institute of Literature, a writing school of considerable repute. I am not going to mention the names of these people, but look in the list of winners under the CONTESTS heading and you will find them. Scroll through the pages of POPULAR POSTS, and take note of the ones with a trophy displayed by it. Read all of those over and over. You will then be learning. Those works were winners for a reason. They can teach you in so many ways.

As for the workings of the web site, Scott explains in articles on the home page from time to time, and he also explains new changes and updates. Scott is also a little modest in saying he doesn't explain things very well, because he does explain them well. You will find him to always be extremely helpful and kind.

Fred

Dear Fred, yes Scott explained it very well, my main worry as I am sure it is with others just getting started, is "am I wasting my time"? I have only one credit to my name, and I would love some input on my work to see if it is good enough. I feel as if there is something besides confidence on my part missing. I will look up the stories you suggested. Thank You for you kindness.

Thank you, I see your point. Thanks for the help. Greatly appreciated.

I am sure you will find that you are not wasting your time. If it were so, you could never find the number of good quality professional writers posting their work on Ourecho. They don't want to waste their time either.
Fred

Hi K.L,

I run OurEcho, so I can answer some of the questions

First of all, OurEcho is an open forum for you to share your work with others. You retain all copyrights. I originally built the site so my aunt could share her work and after she died, I modified the site so other could do the same. For the record, I make no money from OurEcho and I hate to think how much it costs me to run it. I’m almost afraid to look at the figures because I’m not sure I would continue to do it if I looked at the expense. Just to build the site cost me more than $10,000.

1. The contests are meant as an incentive to help bring writers to the site and to provide recognition for as many posts as I can. I will tell you that running the contests is an enormous pain, but I hope it does add some excitement to posting a story and I do think it is important to provide as much recognition as I can. The judges make a good faith effort to pick the post “they are most glad they read”. Each month there are probably more than a dozen posts that deserve to win. I do what I can.

2. Other writers will have to answer this one. I just make the site work.

3. The up and down arrows allow you to sort (ascending and descending) the entries based on the data in that column. There are a lot of features in the site and I have done a very poor job explaining them. I’m going to make an effort to do better this year, but no guarantee.

4. The printing is actually an enhancement I put into the system, so people could print off your stories and share them. Why would they do this? Because they liked the story and wanted to share it with someone they know. Why would you want them to do this? It’s recognition that you created something valuable enough for people to want to pass on to others. For most, that’s the only compensation this site provides.

The primary goal of the site is to provide a mechanism for you to share your stories. I work hard to make them easy to find and share with others. What you post is available to the world to read the minute you publish it. Could others take your writings and use them for their own? Not legally, but technically it is possible. It’s the same as putting it in a newspaper or book. You do retain an online copyright, but as with all legal matters you would have to legally pursue others that used your work. Anytime you allow others to read your work in any format, it can be taken and used by others. I prefer to look at the brighter side of things which is that your words have the possibility of connecting with another person and making an impact on their life. If you have a piece of work that you feel has true monetary value, I would pursue a traditional paid publishing route for that piece.

I hope this provides some answers to your questions. In the end, there is no hidden agenda with the site. It is what it is – a place for sharing your work with others.

I hope this helps,
Scott

Dear Mr. Lupo, thankyou for your kindness, your answer to my questions helped a lot, at Bards Corner my teacher said he had talked to you and I have not yet had that Honor. Please forgive me for asking but I was concerned about the printing of my work. I now believe I understand. I pray that as you said someone will learn from our work here at Our Echo. I am blessed to have found this site. And I do hope that some day I can be as good as some of the others. Karan