It’s true, isn’t it? All good things must, eventually, end. Like childhood, summer vacation, and a favorite book series, Authonomy is about to go the way of the dodo.
*sniffles*
True, I haven’t hung out there regularly in a very long time. Years, even. But without it, I would not be the writer I am today.
Authonomy was my introduction to the online writing community. At one point, I had the better part of The Lokana Chronicles up there for the world to see. The critique I received shaped my story into something much less dreadful than that first 10k upload and truly helped thicken my skin. I learned a ton about pitching, about queries, and about British spelling. 🙂
But it wasn’t just educational – it was also fun. Some of my first and closest writing friends were made an Authonomy. You’ll know them as the Alliance of Worldbuilders, a funtastic group of talented writers. Hundreds joined us (the cake is, after all, impossible to resist), but there was a core group of about twenty or so who stayed for the long haul. There was much critiquing, even more general chat, and some truly epic battles between the Vice Captain and the Ice Queen that kept our thread at the top of the Most Active Threads chart through three incarnations (our rambling adventures may or may not have crashed the servers a time or twelve). Most of us have gone on to publication of one kind or another, but through it all, we’ve kept in touch and supported each other through a multitude of highs and lows. We have our own website, a happening Facebook page (to say nothing of an awesome group), and a pretty awesome anthology coming out in September (party it up with us right here!).
Authonomy is officially shutting down September 30, and our anthology is coming out September 4. I don’t know about anyone else, but the timing of our release now makes me a little nostalgic. Without Authonomy, our anthology wouldn’t exist – our group wouldn’t exist, at least not as it is. Without Authonomy, 416 wouldn’t exist, either. So many friendships, so many projects, so many great memories would not exist without Authonomy.
So thank you, HarperCollins, for five years of fun. Thanks for the memories. And thanks for all the fish. Cake! I mean cake. Thanks for all the cake. 🙂
Did you ever hang out at Authonomy? Share your memories below – let’s reminisce!
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I’d never been there, but I remember other sites that were instrumental to me – MySpace was one – so I feel your pain at the loss, even if you don;t go there much anymore the idea that it existed was nice.
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Exactly.
Oh, MySpace. I remember MySpace. It was a nice little place… 🙂
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i was on Authonomy for a couple of years but gave it up after numerous requests to vote for others’ books. The experience was good for me as it was the first place I plucked up the courage to upload any of my writing.
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You had to admire the persistence and creativity of some of the spammers, though. Splinker’s “vote for me” messages always made me laugh, and the forums were a lot of fun. 🙂
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I haven’t been there in a long time, but I met some wonderful people there, including you! It’s sad to see it go.
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Same here. I stopped in a time or two after the revamp, but the place just wasn’t the same.
And I am so glad we met! I’ve made some of the best friends through Authonomy. It really is sad to see it go.
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I’ve been on Authonomy for almost four years. It was the first writing community site I signed up and uploaded my work on. So it’s sad to see it go, although I haven’t been around much in the last year. And even less so after the revamp. I have more frequent sightings on Wattpad and Scribophile. And pop in here and now on BookCountry.
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I joined in 2010 and loved it. Like you, though, I gradually checked in less and less, and hardly ever after the revamp. I still can’t believe it’s closing – hard to believe today’s the last day.
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