BlogPad (tm) .net / Blog Pad Publishing

Peer review website for writers

With publishing houses universally refusing unsolicited manuscripts and literary agents too submerged in submissions to offer constructive criticism (and often unwilling to look at works that don't come recommended), the premise of The Front List is simple: Lodge decided to tap into the ethos of peer-driven Web sites like YouTube and MySpace and add another filter to the process.

The process is straightforward: After posting an extract from a completed work on The Front List, a writer is allocated five works to critique while his or her extract is, in turn, read and annotated by five other authors. Marks are given out of 50 - based on five set criteria, which vary according to genre.

Any member who scores over a certain threshold (225 points out of a possible 250) is guaranteed a reading by a respected literary agent or publisher. The site makes money by charging members £10, or about $19.75, if they wish to read the critiques of their work.

» thefrontlist.com

Blogging Success Study / Northeastern University

After careful review, the research team identified five factors for success. The majority of the twenty participant bloggers pointed to these factors as important to the success of their blog. We focus in on these factors in Section Three.

The five factors identified by the participants were:

1. Culture
2. Transparency
3. Time
4. Dialogue
5. Entertaining Writing Style and Personalization.

» Advanced Organizational Communications