A number of submissions have been trickling in for The Thirteen. With that, however, I’ve received a lot of questions as well. Today, I address those inquiries. If you have any other questions, feel free to post them in the comments below!

Are You Saying That Your Readers Will Direct Your Storytelling? Your career?

No, and I’m sorry if it seemed like that was the case. I am the captain of my own ship. Feedback will be taken into consideration, much like comments from a group of beta readers or critiques would shape a story. But there are many reasons, professional and ethical, why that would be a terrible and horrendous idea.

Will you share everything you’re working on?

For many reasons, I can’t do that. To start, there will be a couple of short stories so the group can get familiar with one another and with my work. Then we’ll take it from there.

Is everyone going to be accepted?

If I accepted everyone, then there would be no point to an application process. 🙂 The reason why I’m making this a closed group, though, is because these are people that I need to feel comfortable with both professionally and personally over the long haul.

You’re very brave. Why are you doing this again?

Could I write in a bubble? Sell books and my stories on my own? Yes. But I believe the artistic process is strengthened through the relationship between writer and reader, painter and viewer, photographer and subject, etc. etc. etc. Seeing first-hand what readers do and do not like will keep me grounded. Having a close-knit group of people to interact with will also ensure my heart and my head is in the right place — focused on my work.

If you think about it, some writers do this already by posting their stories online for feedback or giving readers password-protected access. This is a little more involved than that because I’m giving people the chance to get to know me and my work (and vice versa). That’s why this is closed. Because this would never work otherwise.

Who has applied so far?

Readers, slush pile editors, aspiring authors, and a few people I’ve met at conventions. The majority of applicants are familiar with my work though there are a few who aren’t.

Are applications still open?

Yep! I am taking applications through October 13th. Then, I’ll be letting those who applied know whether or not they’re in the group, and I’ll see what spaces are open from there. Once the group is launched, I’ll have a page on my blog with updates.

To apply, read this original post for details.