Parents' Guide to Writersky

Writersky has potential -- not as a publishable story site by itself but as an easy-to-use platform for aspiring authors. Unfortunately, this Canadian-based endeavor has yet to gain a ton of titles, views, or traction. For writers struggling for exposure, it's relatively easy to make the main page, since new submissions are displayed chronologically, and some pieces seem to be using the site effectively as a link to the Amazon Marketplace to sell their work. Layout and navigation are super simple and mostly intuitive -- one of its best features -- although its menu areas could be consolidated into two. Content-wise, quality of writing is relatively high on average, and comments from readers are consistently positive but not particularly plentiful or necessarily focused on craft.

As it stands, the Takeover feature and blog are the only supporting engagement factors, and both appear to be falling a bit flat. Mystery, Fantasy, and Action are the most represented genres, but since the system allows users to assign an apparently unlimited number, there's a great deal of repetition, and the site is lacking some mainstays such as Historical Fiction. Non-fiction genres such as Biography also are absent, but a lonely Business & Finance sits with no entries. At least Writersky's moderation is a boon for parents and teens wanting to avoid the clutter and noise of other similar sites, but it may be contributing to the overall lack of activity. Some community- and energy-building additions, plus writing tips and resources, likely would provide a much needed spark.