Our Story starts here...
Exposition
The mission of Criticol is to stand the traditional publishing model on its side – and then push it over. Be a disrupter. Steal some cheese. Maybe even get somebody mad. Clichés and Business 2.0 jargon aside even. Maybe. The cliché part anyway. We're serious about the disrupter bit though.
Rising Action
New scene. Writers enter.
It is nearly impossible to get a book in front of an editor of a major publisher, regardless of quality. Publishers have very limited resources, so they tell aspiring authors to get an agent first. This effectively downloads the review and cut-through-the-chaff process to the agents. And the agents say "don’t contact us without a referral". Start again.
Same scene. Readers enter.
Readers are left reading the same best sellers. Same authors. Same characters. Same story lines. Same. And when they do try to find something new, fresh and uncharted they're confronted with a never ending supply of self-published authors.
But drinking from a fire hose is hardly refreshing. Or discerning.
So. The publishing model is stuck on the "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" cycle. No (or poor) prior sales means they're not interested.
And readers are left reading what they read last month or a wet head. Or twitter.
Climax
Even knowing there are problems with publishing and getting critical recognition, writers are still compelled to write – and, to make matters worse, not all of it is good. To make matters, ahem, worser, (all?) writers think their stuff is Fantastic.
What they need is a critical audience. To help them hone their story and their craft. And then, critical mass to get their story told.
We need a hero!
Enter Criticol.
We're building a Criticol Community, where we bring critical stories and critical readers together.
We provide critical and timely editorial review, writer support and assistance.
We bring new, curated stories to critical readers.
And, for those interested, a forum for authors and readers to engage about their stories, directly and critically.
Falling Action
There are, of course, other options for writers and their story to get out there. One is pay-to-publish, or "vanity publishing", and is a well-known route for getting stories into book format. If you’re interested in discussions on various self-publishers, let us know. We can help with that too. Contact us.
Resolution
Other places (pretending to be reputable publishers and agents) ask writers to pay for services up front in the hope of someday publishing – like pre-pay editing services and book review services. While those are almost always a bad idea, that's not what we do. But feel free to go that route.
Just not with us, we don’t want your money.
What we want is to see your manuscript. Then, we'll tell you what we think - quickly, confidentially and critically (trust us - it's what you need!). No obligation. No cost. No rights transfers.
Then it's up to you where you take your story next.
Still working on your story? No problem. Check out our writer resources.
Ready to have us look at your manuscript? It is Fantastic, right? Check out our submission section for details.
Want to become a criticol reader and get in - early - on the newest, freshest, criticolly acclaimed stories?
Then join us as a Criticol Reader!
To be continued...