wordshack in the news
WordShack Publishing Puts Budding Writers On Internet
Published in the newspaper Myrtle Beach Sun News
By: Sherri L. Parrish
April 11, 2002
As an accountant, Lynda Blankenship was surrounded by numbers. Now she
surrounds herself with her love of words.
By launching her own website, wordshack.com, the Massillon, Ohio resident
is feeding her passion for the written word and helping to jump-start the
careers of amateur writers.
Wordshack.com features the works of unpublished and semi-professional authors. It aims to introduce aspiring writers to the public and to literary agents, giving authors the opportunity to share ideas and be discovered.
“We want to help amateur writers find a voice and an audience,” Blankenship said. “We’re seeking to be the author’s first step to greatness.”
Blankenship, who spends January through March living along the Grand Strand deems the website a personal project. She and website partner Ben Bernstein of London wanted to do something enjoyable with their love for literature.
Armed with their desire to help writers find their audience, Wordshack Publishing was born.
“Ideas are just too important not to share, or to have someone else filter what we read by whether it is commercial or not,” Blankenship said.
Before becoming an accountant, Blankenship worked in publishing for several years and was struck by how difficult it was for writers to get published. Commercial publishers and literary agents reject 99 percent of the material they receive, she said.
“Publishers ask themselves ‘Can we sell enough of these to put back the money to cover the costs of publishing?” Blankenship said. “It expresses how hard it is to get your thoughts read.”
With wordshack.com, writers, like other artists, have a forum to share their talents.
“Those who sing can get up on the stage and if heard by the right person, they may make it to Broadway,” Blankenship said. “But people who write, where can it be shared? Often we write a piece, it’s shared with a spouse, and then it goes in a drawer.”
That was the case with Wordshack author James McAfee. He didn’t receive a response from the TV series he sent a story line to, so he laid his work to rest.
After discovering Wordshack, he submitted his piece entitled “On Age” and got his efforts on the Web.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled I was,” he said. “Hundreds of people were reading my thoughts.”
Launched Feb.1, Wordshack.com features essays, poems, novels and short stories in a broad range of interests and tastes, from adventure and fiction to humor, history and romance.
More Information
- Wordshack publishes all works received, unless deemed objectionable by the editorial staff.
- Poetry, essays, short story and novel forms are accepted.
- To submit your work, visit https://www.wordshack.com for instructions and membership information.
- Submissions are free before May 1.
- Site motto: “Because words are everything.”