Figment helps authors get feedback and build community

One of the best ways for any author to be "social" is with your writing. That can be sharing your writing to build community, asking for feedback on your ongoing writing, or offering feedback to other authors. There are some great communities out there that give you a chance to do just that.

Figment.com is one of them. They describe themselves as

"A community to share writing, connect with other readers, and discover new stories and authors."

"Whatever you're into, from sonnets to mysteries, from sci-fi stories to cell phone novels, you can find it all here."

I learned about them from a comment that Brock C. left on another article I wrote last week. He noted that Figment is a good site to "encourage people to write and to critique and be critiqued" and that it will help self-published books avoid the all-too-common lack of flow and spelling/grammar mistakes.

The basic idea is that you post a story or a part of a novel as a way to hear what the community thinks. They also offer a series of contests and awards to recognize the best writing happening on the site.

Here are some ways I think Figment can help as a social platform for authors:

1. Beta readers: Getting early feedback on your new stories or next novel project is a great idea. It can make your writing better to hear how it is received, and can be a great way to build readership. The problem is often finding people who want to read new writing. Figment is great for this because it's a site dedicated to exposing new writers to a willing audience who is literally there to find new things to read. Go to where the readers are!

2. Social outreach: The idea of finding willing beta readers doesn't have to happen in a vacuum. With Figment, you are putting yourself out there as a writer, not just as someone looking for new readers. In this kind of supportive community, people are willing and motivated to leave comments, pass on writing that they like and share the best that they find with their network. In fact, that's what it's built for.

3. Feedback Callouses: One of the biggest challenges for any writer is that you spend so much time writing that you end up in a feedback loop with yourself. It is intimidating and emotionally challenging to put your writing out there - I know it is for me. Doing this first with a group where there are social norms around responding to new writing can be a way to "test the waters" and see what kind of reactions you get.

Have any of you used Figment? I'd love to hear about your experience if you have or if you try it out after this article!

Image courtesy of Screenshot of Figment.com