Wednesday, October 16, 2013

New Membership Options

Thank you to everyone who completed our survey about Rate Your Story Membership Options. As you know, we (especially Miranda) have been truly frazzled trying to run the site on a 100% voluntary basis. We knew a few things needed to change to keep up the high quality of services you have come to expect from Rate Your Story.

So that all changes today!

Your responses made it super-clear what the vast majority of you are looking for from our site. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your encouraging words were well-received and inspirational, and we will do what we can to bring you the resources you're looking for.

In an effort to meet your demands and preferences, and keep the site operational on our end, Rate Your Story now offers a wide range of services for writers who are seeking to polish their work for publication. We're very excited to offer you the following options at prices that are super-affordable (as low as $1.83 per submission)*:
*All packages except SPEEDPASS are based on a yearly membership.

All of the membership options and free service offerings are now outlined in detail on our new page, Membership Options.

Based on the Survey we posted, your responses were quite clear!

The vast majority of you were very interested in:

  • Priority Inbox Treatment (member submissions will be read/rated ahead of nonmembers)
  • Multiple Submissions (submit many manuscripts within the same month)
  • Open Submissions Window (submit any time of the month)
  • Reduced Fees for Professional Critiques (members only will be invited to obtain full line-edit critiques at steep discounts - notified through a special email)
  • Referrals or Connections to agents, editors, and new publishing markets (for pro-members only)
And these are the things you'll now get with your membership!


We're also going to be offering these options for all people, including nonmembers:

  • An email newsletter
  • An annual contest with prizes
  • Super-fast turnaround time options (additional purchase)


All of the membership options and free service offerings are now outlined in detail on our new page, Membership Options.

Please post your comments below. We are happy to answer your questions about Rate Your Story's new membership options! Also feel free to e-mail us your questions so we may clarify anything for you.

We appreciate your continued support. Happy writing!

15 comments:

  1. What is the turn-around time on manuscripts received via the Basic or Pro Options? Also what is being delivered by RYS for Basic/Pro/Speedpass, just a rating number, rating number + some comments ? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Darshana! Thanks for the questions. We don't have a set-in-stone firm turnaround time for the Basic/Pro options, but believe it will be around 14 days. Our hope is to always return manuscripts within 30 days or fewer for members; even sooner whenever possible. We'd love to guarantee every submission a specific turnaround time, but that's just not possible! The only guaranteed turnaround time comes from SPEEDPASS, in which you're guaranteed to get your rating + comments back within 7 days. This seems like a fantastic option for anyone who is looking for quick feedback, and we've sold more SPEEDPASSES today than almost the other memberships combined. As a reminder, Basic + Pro members will always get a number rating PLUS some comments in the box on the rating template (occasionally on the manuscript—different judges send feedback in different ways). Nonmembers are guaranteed a rating only, and they are not given priority in terms of read/rating order. I hope this helps to answer your questions!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I should clarify that non-member or free submissions may also get comments ; that's not a guarantee though, as it is for our member submissions.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the speedy reply. This helps.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations, RYS! You've offered a super service and have now made it even better!!!! I'll be on-board by next week and look forward to enjoying 2014 with your new set-up. Great job, Miranda. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am thrilled with the opportunity for membership to RYS! I think the fees are fair, and well worth the price, considering all we will receive in return. Well done.
    One question: If we sign up for Basic, and then decide to go "Pro", can we do so by adding the difference between the two, or do we pay another full fee?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Excellent question, Jarm! Someone else just asked me this. I will definitely look into adding an upgrade button after returning from the SCBWI conference over the weekend. No need to pay more than the difference in the two.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is more than fair. The time and expertise of the judges is worth paying for--we do it at conferences and workshops. I appreciate all the options, and the fact that you still provide a free option for those who need critique but can't meet the cost. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  10. To respond to the question about whether or not the PRO membership is worth it if you already have an agent—remember that some interviews will be with agents, others with editors, and some will have market updates with links for submission calls from magazines, contests, and new publishers. Pro Membership also allows you to send more MSS over the course of a year, so if you want to bounce them off someone quickly before sending to your agent, it might be the way to go. Happy to answer more questions for anyone. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This sounds like a great program! Worth it for all the assistance I've gotten from RYS in the past!!!
    One question:
    Will RYS ever offer referrals for Members? For instance if a RYS reviewer critiques a story and knows someone who might be interested, either an editor, agent, or particular story market, will they let the writer know?
    This would be an amazing benefit for membership!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Blanche! If an RYS judge feels strongly enough about a member's manuscript, they would likely let that member know privately. This happens from time to time, and has happened to some past RYS submissions, but please don't come to RYS expecting you will receive personal referrals. Please remember that a personal referral is a very significant thing to ask of any writer, as it means they will ask a very busy editor to read something, and they are putting their own personal name and reputation on the line.

    Hope that answers your question! We're here to help!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh of course! It's nice to know that this is a possibility if the RYS judge really feels for the project, but it makes sense that it wouldn't be an everyday occurrence. Especially if their name will be associated with it.
    Actually, I was thinking more along the lines that if a judge happened to know a certain editor/agent was looking for a particular sub-genre of book, and one of their critique submissions happened to match that type, they would pass on that information to the writer in their critique....More sending the writer in the right direction (letting them know someone they might want to submit to), then putting themselves on the line by the the writer using their name in the submission. But I see why it would do both.
    Thanks so much for clarifying! Much appreciated. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm on board! 2014 may be the Chinese Year of the Horse, but for me, it will be the year of FOCUS on WRS (Writing, Revising, Submitting). I'm excited that Rate Your Story will be an important part of that process. :)

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.