To register, simply click Sign Up link which appears at the very top of your screen.

Be sure to check your spam/junk folder. If it's not there, try adding our e-mail address ([email protected]) to your address book / contact list and then visit the following link to resent your confirmation e-mail:

https://www.writerscafe.org/register/resend/

If you still don't receive your confirmation e-mail, use our contact form to let us know about the issue. Please be sure to include the e-mail address you used when signing up.

To login, click the Login link which you see in the very top right corner of your screen. If it's not there it means you're already logged in.

Visit our Reset Password page and enter either your username or the e-mail address you used when registering. You will then be sent an e-mail which contains a link where you can change your password.

The e-mail may appear in your junk mail so be sure to check there. If, however, you haven't received the e-mail within 5 minutes try adding [email protected] to your contacts or address book in your e-mail client (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) and then resend the e-mail by visiting the Reset Password page again.

Visit our Reset Username page and enter the e-mail address you used when registering. You will then be sent an e-mail which contains a link where you can change your username.

The e-mail may appear in your junk mail so be sure to check there. If, however, you haven't received the e-mail within 5 minutes try adding [email protected] to your contacts or address book in your e-mail client (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) and then resend the e-mail by visiting the Reset Username page again.

First, make sure you're logging in with your username and not your display name. Your display name is the one which the rest of the public sees (the name which appears on your writing, profile, etc.) Your username is just used for signing in. It's a little confusing I know, but just make sure you're signing in with your username.

Second, in order to log in on WritersCafe.org, you must have cookies enabled in your browser. To this, click tools on the top menu of your browser and follow these instructions:

Internet Explorer

• Select 'Internet Options' from the drop down menu
• Click on the 'Privacy' tab
• Adjust the privacy level to Medium-High or lower
• Alternately, you can click 'Advanced' in the Privacy tab and adjust cookie levels there

Mozilla Firefox

• Selecte 'Options' from the drop down menu
• Click the 'Cookies' tab
• Tick the 'Allow sites to set Cookies' box

You may have noticed the option to 'Login with Facebook' or 'Connect with Facebook'. Logging in or connecting with Facebook simply means you're connecting your WritersCafe.org account with your Facebook account. This makes it easier for you to share your writing and other activity on WritersCafe.org with your Facebook friends.

When you 'connect' with Facebook we'll ask you if there's anything you want us to automatically post to your Facebook wall so your friends can see it. This can include writing you post, contest you create, groups you create or join, photos you add, and much more. As we've said, though, you can choose exactly what you want us to share (if anything).

We don't send messages to your Facebook friends or see what you've done on Facebook. All we do is post what you want us to post onto your Facebook wall.

If you haven't already, click the link below and you'll be able to connect your account with Facebook:

At the top of your screen you see a navigation bar. Click the arrow next to the 'Writing' tab in the navigation bar and you'll see several links including Add Writing (it won't be there if you haven't registered or aren't signed in).

At the top of your screen you see a navigation bar. Click the arrow next to the 'Writing' tab in the navigation bar and you'll see several links including Manage Writing (it won't be there if you haven't registered or aren't signed in). There you can edit, delete, feature, or share any and all of your writing.

Safari
Our text editor doesnt' work in some older versions of Safari (older than 1.3) so if you're a Mac user, you may have to use the Old Text Editor (you'll see a link to access this just above the text editor on the Add Writing page).

If you're pasting your writing from a Word document in Safari, you might also find that some characters (quotes, dashes, etc.) don't appear properly. To get around this click the Paste as Plain Text icon. Paste your Word text into the popup which appears and all the characters should display correctly,though you may lose some of the page formatting (indents, line spacing, etc.).

Other Problems
If your story is missing a line or two of text at the end, this is a different problem. The text edtior isn't closing the tags it applies to your text (all the crap you see in the 'Code' view). Our suggestion is press enter twice at the end of your text. Then click the 'Preview' button at the bottom of the Text Editor to make sure it appears right.

Also, as a last resort, you're always free to use the Old Text Editor by clicking the [old text editor] link which appears just above and to the right of the new text editor.

If you're using a script writing software (such as Final Draft) and you've pasted the text into our Rich Text Editor, it may not look right. To fix this, first save your script as a text only file, then open and copy that version and paste it into the Rich Text Editor. It should work fine then.

Yes. Any registered WritersCafe.org users can start a contest. Because of this, you should always be cautious about anyone who promises a large cash prize for a contest. If you visit their profile (by clicking the Moderator photos which appears at the top right part of the Contest) you can see how long they've been a member, how active they are, etc.

Note: as a rule, no one can charge an entry fee for a contest. You should never have to pay one on WritersCafe.org and if you see a contest charging an entry fee, let us konw and we can take the approriate action.

Each contest has it's own rules as to the writing they'll accept as set by the contest moderator. Sometimes they only accept writign of a specific genre (Horror, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, etc.) or of specific type (Poetry, Stories, Books, etc.) As such we only allow you to submit writing which will comply with the contest's rules.

This sometimes happens. We send the moderator messages about reading submissions and picking winners, but we obviously can't force them to do it. In such cases the contest drifts away to the island of forgotten contests.

When the submission deadline has been met, the contest will automatically close and you'll be sent a message with a link to where you can read through the submissions.

You must mark each and every submission as 'Good' or 'Bad' and have the proper number of finalists (equal to the number of awards you're giving) before you can move on to the next step. When you have categorized all submissions and have the proper number of finalists, a button will appear just under the finalists section which allows you to either assign awards or open voting (depending on the option you selected when you created the contest).

In the top right corner of every writer's profile you'll see several links, including an 'Add to Friends' link. Once you click the link, the writer is sent a Friend Request, if he/she approves it, you're friends.

If you click the arrow next to your My Profile tab, then click the Friends link you'll be able to manage all your friends. To change your Top 10 friends, click the Top 10 tab and select how you'd like to display your Top 10.

You can block writers by clicking the Block Writer link which appears in the top right corner of each writer's profile.

By blocking a writer, you block them from sending you messages and from viewing your profile or writing. You are also prevented from seing the writer's profile/writing/etc.

If the harassement is serious and you fear it may affect more people in the WritersCafe.org community, you should report it to us by using our Contact page.

First of all, take it seriously. This is important. Second, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1 800 273 TALK (8255) or visit their website at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

If you're the writer's friend and feel comfortable with it, just talking to them about it can make a world of difference.

If your thinking about suicide, please don't do it. First of all, you've got so much writing left to share with the world! Also, without you, who'd let us know about our improper use of 'your' two sentences ago?

Note: If you're outside the United States or Candaa, you can find your local suicide prevention organization here.

You can edit your profile by clicking the Account link which appears when you hover over the 'Home' link at the top of the page.

We don't allow backgrounds on WritersCafe.org profiles because the code often disables the writer's other functions.

You may have noticed that several WritersCafe.org users have music on their profiles. If you'd like to add music to your own profile you can visit a website which provides embeddable playlists (such as Playslist.com). Once you've created your playlist, these websites will provide you with a small amount of code. You then simply have to go to your Settings page and paste the code into the 'Biography' section of your profile.

Avatars must be in .jpg format. If they're not, they probably won't upload properly. Also, try pressing Ctrl + F5 while you're on your Photos page (this resets your cache and reloads all photos anew).

Note: We resize the photos to 100 x 75 pixels so some of your avatar may be trimmed off. This is normal.

This can usually be solved by simply going to your Photos page and pressing Ctrl + F5.

You can turn each of these e-mail notices off or on by going to you Settings page and clicking the Options tab.

Read Requests can be turned off or on by going to your Options page.

Points are a away for us and the rest of the WritersCafe.org community to track how active each writer is. You receive points for several different actions such as reviewing other writer's work or sharing your writing with others [see a full list here]. The more points you have, the higher you appear on the Writers search and rank pages.

Badges are a way for us to reward writers who have had a special impact on WritersCafe.org. There are several different kinds of badges, each with their own requirements. For a full list see our Badges page.

If you blocked them after June 15th, 2007, you should see a 'Unblock' link when you try and visit the person's profile. Click the link to unblock them.
If you blocked them before June 15th, 2007, send me a note about it (along with the blocked person's username) using our Contact page and I can unblock them for you.

We never delete accounts, but if you like, you can close your account by going to the Settings section of your profile and clicking the Close tab.

If you go to the same place where you closed your account, the Close tab on your Settings page, you can reopen your account.

You may have included the http:// before your web address. You don't need to include this as we add it for you.
You can edit your profile in the Settings section of your profile.

Tips for getting reviews:

• Review Other's Writing
  The easiest and most reliable way to get reviews is by reviewing another writer's writing first. When you do this, they are sent a message urging them to return the favor by reviewing your work.
• Share Your Writing
  We offer several tools which allow you to share your writing [found in the box which appears next to your writing] including creating links, sharing on facebook, bookmarking, and sending to friends.
• Add A Photo
  Simply adding a photo to your writing can help to draw attention. [edit writing]
• Keep it Short
  Reading 20 pages takes along time and it can be hard to convince other's to go to the trouble [especially for new writers]. Try posting shorter works to start out with or, if you can, break the writing up into sections.
• Include a Title/Description
  It seems obvious, but many writers leave them out making it harder for would be readers to get an idea of what they'd be reading. [edit writing]<
• Write Well
  In the end, good writing trumps all.

We don't allow you to rate a story until you've given it a review. Once you give a review, you'll be taken to a new page where you can Rate the writing, edit your review, add notes to your review, share the writing with your friends, or find related writing.

Once you've reviewed a piece of writing, you have to option to add Notes to it. Notes are most easily compared to the suggestions you would scribble into the margin's of a paper copy of the writing. They can suggest revisions, point out spelling and grammar errors, offer praise, give your general impression, or say pretty much anything else you think needs to be said. You also recieve 1 point for each note you post in a story.

The Top Writers/Writings (as they appear on the Writers/Writing home pages) are based upon user ratings (both the average and the number of ratings are taken into account).

When dealing with creative material piracy and plagarism are always of concern, and as with anything on the internet, we can not guarantee that someone won't try to claim ownership of your work. However, whenever you publish anything (in a magazine, on the internet, etc.) you automatically have an implied copyright. This is indicated by the' © Year Your Name' which we place at the end of each story/poem. As well, if a situation were to arise in which you would need to prove ownership, we--as an objective third party--would be able to provide a 'Date of Publication' which would almost certainly debunk the thief's claim. It's worth noting, too, that we've yet to have any problems with theft.

No

Click here if you'd like to see our full Terms of Service.

Suffice it to say that by posting your work you allow us, WritersCafe.org, a perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide, royalty free and non-exclusive license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify and publicly display such Content.

That is to say, you allow us to post it. We don't get paid and we don't have exlusive rights to your work. WritersCafe.org does not claim ownership of Content you submit or make available for inclusion on the Service.