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so what do you think

I like the idea of the whole reading each others stories and commenting and stuff....but as for publishing..I dunno.
That would be the only reason i wouldn't join. Unless you give people the option of whether they want it published or not.
Other than that it sounds like a cool group. I'd join. XD

it would be nice, but it's hard for everyone to be on and comment on stories... even harder to find things that people like to comment on

In my opinion...limited as if is, for a group to be active the 'director' has to a bit of strong arm. In one of my groups I actually remove ppl who aren't active. It does make it uncomfortable, but if you explain at the beginning what you want and then explain when you do it why you have remove them, it's easier for all around. I've removed friends that I am very close to from my group. We are still friend, they understand what I am doing. Reapplying when they can devote more to the group is totally acceptable.

I like the idea of a joint book. Although you'd have to get permission from all who's stories you would want to publish. And another thing to think about is "are you going to be around for the whole year?" I've seen ppl come and go, so for me to put my trust into something like this I'd have to know that there was a comittement there.

I'd join, but I need to know that you'd still be here in August of 2009. And if I do get an editor or publisher that my book, who had been published through you and LULU, would still be MINE and be able to publish it through another source.

I likes the overall idea, could be complicated, one would have to arrange contracts, etc. But other then that, I'm all for it.

The idea will only work if you get active members in the group.

I only belong to a few working groups and have left most of the inactive groups a few months after joining.

If you are serious about helping each other--keep your group small. I would rather have two or three productive members than fifty names listed who do little or nothing.

The idea of getting published is great; but how can you promise that?

I'm all for commenting and reading. After all, that what's StoryWrite is supposed to be about (CB seems to the only reall reason a good portion come here). I've joined many a group with this idea as part of their creation, though. And to be honest, it has never worked. There are roughly 3 to 4,000 people that pop in each week. Of those 4,000, only about 2,000 read stories and about 1,000 of them comment. Of those 1,000 comments, half of them are on the same story - one that is written by a member who knows 500 people. (Of course these numbers are not technically accurate, but rather a depiction.)

Stiffarming the group is not easy. It requires effort, time, and daily dedication. I, admittedly, have not shown as much effort in my groups as I should've. But I have directed many sites and groups before (mostly not SW), and I know how trying it is to find not only interested members, but active ones.

Not to stomp on Brooke, but just kicking out inactive members doesn't always work. Sites can - and often - still fall in disuse. Kick out too many people, and it becomes viewed as an overly strict site. And if you have too few people, the activty rating is so low that no one wants to join.

People want to join a group that is active, but don't always want to help make it so. They'll join and sit on their quarters and expect you, as the director, to bend to their desires. And, yes, that's part of that role. But the point I'm making is that having an active group that focuses on such specifc aspects of writing is very difficult to attain and even more difficult to maintain.

The idea od adding incentives has been used widely to stimulate activity as well as interest in the group. But the trick is finding the right incentive - the one that actually works, and that you can actually give. Having an range of incentives helps, too, by bringing in those whose interest are not the same as every other member's. But again, the incentives must be valuable to the members and doable by the director.

Running a site like this is kinda like raising a kid. But with less burden (particullarly on the female anatomy). Don't ask me the first thing about raising a kid cause I don't know.

As for a group... if you have the time, dedication, and enough hair to pull out - go for it. But you'll need more than promises. You'll need evidences. And a lot of will.

Now, for me, writing isn't about getting published. Yes, having at least one of my stories professionally published is one of my many pipe dreams. But I do not write with the guise in mind that it will be published. I write because I love to. The incentive of getting published is a good one, but it's not necessairly enough to lure in a large number of the SW members who really don't care about being published (or who already are). And I've learned that points really don't matter much here, either. Yes, everything requires either points, cash, or both, but offering to give points in turn for activity doesn't work.

I'm not sure what incentive would be best. Other than the option to be published or the possibility of getting points. Perhaps that idea should brought to Kevin's attention, and perhaps he could help out by adding specialized awards or something.

Along the same idea: if a person doesn't want to be published, what reason is there for him/her to read and comment at all?

And if you're not sure if you can use LuLu, then the possibity of the incentive not following through may be enough to drive away would-be members.

I think it's doable, but it will require so much more effort than people seem to realize. If you can manage it, then I'm all for it.