FanStory

I have been a member of FanStory for twelve years and have found it to be a rich resource of expertise, knowledge and camaraderie. For a nominal fee, members are able to interact with a dynamic international community of writers endorsing a common goal: to share their writing, skills, and life experience.

The membership is diverse and comprised of many demographics some of which include students between school years, to seniors, to people learning English as a second or third language; all bringing their unique background and culture to the group.

Many activities are offered including class instruction, daily prompts, in addition to member-sponsored, and site contests. There is also a Lock and Key feature where like-minded members can work in a private room on group projects. There is a Quality Seal committee that offers their professional expertise if a member is seeking to publish, and monthly awards are made available for outstanding efforts.

The site is responsive to member requests and continuously makes improvements to ensure that features are user friendly and accessible on any device. In this time of massive competition to capture the attention of readers and writers around the world, FanStory is definitely a top contender in the arena.

Fanstory was recommended to me by a friend who has been a longtime member. Candidly, I always thought my family and friends would only give careful, filtered criticism of my written work, and I needed an objective perspective. With the combination of my friend's endorsement and reasonable pricing, I decided to give Fanstory a try.

I am more than happy with my investment, as there are many facets of Fanstory that I particularly appreciate. The wide array of contests challenge me to write about new things, in new formats (and be incentivized to do so!) The community has not only been welcoming and kind, but insightful and helpful with their feedback. I also love the free register copyright feature; the idea that if, one day, I'm ready to seek publication, I can make my account private and limit its access. The website is designed thoughtfully in this regard.

That is all to say, although I am a relatively new member, I have no regrets in trying the website out and do wish I started sooner. I'm looking forward to seeing how I can continue to improve.

Please note: Fan Story does not provide a receipt for your purchase so I can't show one.
I accidentally subscribed to this when I was joining "Winning Writers," a free contest consortium. And even though I paid a full subscription that was supposed to cover all contest entry fees, they immediately ask for a small amount for "judges' fees" if you want to submit an entry. And they reveal that they don't actually cover all subscription fees. It's a scam. Beware. Very limited customer service.

I've been a member of FanStory for a while, and it's a great site with a nice writers. There's lots of good writing to read. People post all kinds of genres. But it's not a great feedback site It's more for posting your reading to be looked at by others, but not critiqued on a professional level. Still love it!

A friend told me about Fanstory because I began creative writing as a form of stress relief over the past year. It's given me a space to do that and ideas for things to write about with all the contests. I don't really care if I win them, but it gives my writing more of a purpose. No complaints overall so far.

I have been a member of Fanstory for about 8 months now and it's been a nice experience. I usually find myself only writing casually; mostly to kill time as a hobby. I stumbled upon this website by chance and I have to say, my hobby has turned into a passion. I started off by joining cash prize contests just for the heck of it, and although I didn't win any to begin with, the feedback I received from other members really improved the overall quality of my work going forward. Beyond that, it was the praise I had received from said members that encouraged me to put more time and effort into writing. For all amateur writers out there, or even those with experience, Fanstory is a reasonably priced platform to help you not only improve your skills but also connect to fellow creative minds. Highly recommend

So there are word count limits on various submissions that are not properly labeled as limits rather they say "recommended". There will be an non-descriptive error, that will require you to contact support. The site itself is a technical nightmare, the banner reads "Since 2000" which is roughly the last time the site appears to have been updated. It wont let you try to submit until AFTER you have paid a significant subscription fee.

The site is unintuitive, technically faulty, and intentionally obstructive. I lost $100USD, DO NOT USE THIS SITE.

I have been a member for about a year now and I'm so glad I discovered it. Fanstory is a great community to be a part of and the contests are a lot of fun. If you're looking for a creative outlet/place to express yourself through your writing and get good feedback, I highly recommend.

Poorly maintained site designed over 20 years ago. Lots of favoritism and bullying, vote manipulation, selective interpretation of site rules, outright censorship. Back in its heyday Fanstory was perhaps the place to be at. It has a good system to help writers become prolific, and it provides plenty of tyranny to give the better writers something to fight back against. This could be a great place to get started. Use a good nom de plume and see how much trouble you can cause. Not a good place to stay and grow long-term. If I said more, it would likely give away my identity to those on the site likely perusing these reviews.

The site itself is fine. However, my issues with Fanstory are how challenging (or more accurately, impossible) they make cancelling a subscription. I signed up directly with a credit card, not PayPal. While on PayPal, there are ways to individually cancel, there is no such option on credit card. The site does NOT have a mange subscription option or anything of the sortd. Naturally, I sent multiple emails over the months to try and get my money back; they have literally replied to none of them. I first contacted them about cancelling 5 months ago in September, and have frustratingly watched $10USD drain out of my account each month for a site I do not use. Unless you intend to sign up for life, I wouldn't recommend this website.

This is a unique and fun platform for new to experienced writers. I enjoy the experience of sharing my writing with others for detailed feedback. Really nice people comment on my writing. The contests are fun and can be challenging. Support is good to answer questions as I was a little confused when I first joined. Overall highly recommend it.

I found that some pieces needed serious editing rather than a few words of review, but the site is not set up for editing, so editing was painstakingly laborious. Sometimes I was thanked for my work and a few times told "to each his own," even though the writing read like sixth grade. I joined for a year hoping to get my money back at least, and I never won anything. I also found the emphasis on poetry a bit tiresome. Word of caution: Once you've submitted a story or poem to FanStory it is considered published, and most pubs don't accept already published material or, if they do, don't pay much if anything.

I took a somewhat circuitous route to becoming an author.
I have been writing small poems since the late 1950's.
I wanted to be a songwriter like my idol Smokey Robinson.
Living in Detroit, I was well aware of his route to fame.
However, I never learned how to play an instrument so I opted instead to convert my lyrics into poems.
I never received any formal training in poetry writing so, although I received praise, my efforts were pretty much amateurish.
Then I discovered FanStory. The reviews, the suggestions, the examples I was able to avail myself of, turned me into an author.
I still have much to learn, but I am no longer embarrassed by the quality of my output or lack thereof.
My thanks go out to the site administrators of FanStory and all of its talented pool of author/members.
I have published several books of poetry since becoming a member of FanStory.

I joined for the contests. There are many contests to enter. But I
Stayed for the friendships that I made. When I first joined I was
Nervous about the feedback I'd receive from other writers. But I was
Pleasantly surprised. Everyone was welcoming and encouraged me. I
Expected mean reviews for some reason, but that wasn't the case. The
Writing contests encourage you to try new forms of writing especially
For poetry. They can be a challenge. The site offers a supportive
Place for you to share your writing. I recommend it to everyone.

If you enjoy writing you'll love Fanstory. The writing contests challenge you to try new things. The people that are part of Fanstory are really wonderful. My biggest hesitation was sharing my writing with strangers because I was so new to writing. Heck, I had never even heard of any of the poem types in the contest listing. But everyone was so helpful. The reviews were really supportive. I really look forward to sharing my writing each day and seeing what my friends are writing. Don't worry! You'll love it!

I just joined fanstory its very cool and exciting for me

It's a terrific place to share your writing. You get feedback for everything you write. I've been a member for three years and still enjoy it. I share your poems. I enter the contests. And most of all I've met a lot of friends. Terrific place for writers or those just getting started with writing.

Love all the writing contests. You can write for both poetry and prose contests. And everything you write including the contest entries gets feedback. Loving it!

I think the majority of the five star reviews given to FanStory on this site were written by the guy who owns it. Either that, or by people who have not yet figured out what a scam it is, and are thrilled by the "fluff" reviews other members provide as a means of earning themselves points they can use to promote their own work. Please carefully read the post of those who rated FanStory three stars or less, because they tell the true story. In any case, don't waste any money joining this site or paying to have your work promoted. See how well the site works for you if you aren't pumping money into it, and make your own decision after figuring out how it really works.

In my opinion this site is absolutely brilliant. Never before have I had the opportunity to have my writing reviewed like this. It has been better than any writing workshop could be. There are some wonderful people in this community and I have enjoyed it. I have grown as a writer and this site is great at getting you motivated. So many contests to enter! For a poet to have such a sounding board is a treasure.

I was excited to try out FanStory, especially for their competitions, quick feedback, and "great people"--as noted in several reviews on this forum. Long story short: the website is... not good. The writing on the website is... not good. I hate to say that any writing is bad, but the site encourages bland, dentist-office-poster poetry. I've attached some examples below of what poetry looks like on the site. (There are also short stories, novelettes, novellas, and novels). I do not mean to bash any writer--I just think it is important for potential clients to see what kind of community they're joining.

I might also note that there are lots of highly insensitive poems about current events. I have read several haikus about George Floyd's murder, and other's about Breonna Taylor's. They are badly done and highly insensitive. If this matters to you, the site also pumps out Christian content. Lots of poems about prayer, repentance, faith.

And more so, as many of these reviews have mentioned, the site is a total scam. I recommend reading Mike P.'s review, "The more you spend, the higher you rank as a 'writer'?". You have to pay at least fifty or sixty dollars to even be noticed, and the reviews you receive will be bland, overly general, and not at all critical. I have NEVER seen someone give less than five stars. I think, also, for a price as steep as sixty dollars, one might expect at least a semblance of a nice website. It seems like it hasn't been updated since 2010--links lead to blank pages, fonts never match, and the site in general functions badly.

As a young writer, FanStory has been discouraging. The site encourages writers to tuck away their individuality and pay for attention. It's a breeding ground for stupendously mediocre work, churned out over and over again. I recommend finding another site to publish your work: perhaps HelloPoetry, AllPoetry, Medium, or Scribophile.

I've been writing on Fanstory for seven years. The feedback that I have received has really helped me grow as a writer. The contests are fun and challenge me to try new things. The site is wonderful for anyone that enjoys writing even if you are just getting started. Go ahead and join - you'll be glad you did!

I have been a member of Fanstory.Com since 2011. Fanstory is a community of poets/writers ranging from novice - professionals. It gives the opportunity to have your poems or stories read and reviewed by Fanstory members. Fanstory members have a chance to rate each poem/ story they read, on a star system ranked from 1 star to 6 stars ratting. Fanstory also holds competitions from prompts, challenges and monthly reviewer rewards or poem or story of the month.
You only win fanstory credits (Member dollars) from prompts and challenges and can win up to a max of 90.00 member dollars, but other contests created by fanstory/Tom, you can win cash prize for 1st place of $100.00 USD, 2nd I think is member dollars and 3rd prize is: 10.00 member dollars.

You also have the opportunity to Self publish your book and sell them at amazon.com.

Other positives of this site is you are able to get positive/helpful reviews off other poets which can allow you to grow as a poet.

There are also poetry and writting courses that can be taken with professional teachers for a fee of $90.00 USD you can learn grammar and punctuation, how to write stories, sonnets, Haiku ETC.

My experience on this site has been positive until a few days ago. When a poet named: Dean Kuch was caught plagiarizing on a recent fanstory Write a Dr. Seuss style sonnet contest, where his poem (Dr. Suess on aging. By Dean Kuch) which was a copy and paste (plagiarized poem) of this bellow. Copy and paste it in your browser and then press enter and you will see the poem.

Http :// www.google. Com. Au/search? Q=Dr.+Seuss+on+aging.&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=slWUUcaDNMeTiQeB4YCACQ&ved=0CDwQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=683#imgrc=vR546wqPsyV9XM%3A%3BEZeyJqDhvmG8MM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.woodriverfire. Com%252Fimages%252Fdrsuess. Jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.woodriverfire. Com%252Fdrseuss. Htm%3B478%3B366

He has used this poem on several other poetry sites and have won and got placings, including Fanstory.

Fanstory owner Tom was notified by a poet who hosted the poetry contest, same day contest ended which was may 9th 2013, then yesterday morning 15th of May 2013, I did my quick 2 second log in to find that he had received a reviewer reward and nothing been done so I congratulated him for the reviewer reward and getting away with plagiarism. And a link to evidence and let him know i was aware he used the same poem on other sites, he latter logged in, went to all the sites including WritersCafe.org, WritersCarnival etc and removed them, some it appears he has deleted his whole account. After I contacted Tom yesterday, The reward of split pot of the 90.00 fanstory credits went to the 4 deserving poets in 2nd place. No idea what happened with the 90.00 credits given to Dean, he had several days to spend it.

I got a warning as it's against fanstory regulations to expose a cheater or plagiarist publicly on their or your own page or to write a poem about it. He obviously got a warning even though he didn't just break Tom's little rules which punishments seem to vary depending on person. I have seen other honest and talented writters such as Indie, Tammy Gail and others banned for far less offense then plagiarism which isn't just morally wrong or breaking one of Tom's rules but AGAINST THE LAW. Yet he is still aloud on the site and gets a small slap on the hand (warning.) and a reviewer reward on top.

If he has done it numerous of times before and yet again in the last week, who's to say he won't do it again? He's gotten away with it so many times.

FANSTORY also has the ability to add copywrite/protection to your poems.
Don't actually think they hold any validity, just a pretty pic.

Here is my final letter to Tom after I received a warning...

Original Message
-------------------------------------------------

So does he get a warning to? After he has gotten away with the same poem being posted on several other sites and won with the same plagerized poem?
It's not just morally/ethically wrong or breaking just fanstory rules but breaking the laws as well. Is that aloud?

Regards
Tia_____________________________________________________________

Toms reply...

Yes, he did not win. The site stepped in.

Tom____________________________________________________________________
So basically Tom removed the poem after Dean disabled the poem after we caught on. Then he and I get a warning mine for exposing him, his for plagiarizing. He gets a reviewer reward on top and I'm meant to shut my mouth and let him get away with it.

Also A talented poet is able to get on front page by getting 2 x 6 stars minimum. But you may purchasing credits, I've never done it myself. You can earn credits from reviewing poems which comes free which is what I do. I think it's a waste of real money to purchase them, If your work holds any worth, it will get there on it's own merit.

It's other branches that Tom owns is poetrydances.com which is another great site and is all fixed up now, providing helpful tips on how to do various forms of poetry from Tyburn to sonnets.

Also Fanartreview.com where people can post their created art work.
I would have given 5 star rating to fanstory if it wasn't for the allowance of plagiarism. It should be exposed, dealt with severely, not just a slap on the wrist and certainly not praised.

Also there is a fanstory membership from monthly fee of $6.95 month, $48.00 for 1 year and $67.00 2 years subscriptions.

Regards
Tia