There is no requirement for membership except a desire to belong. From janitors to college instructors, from the widely published to the completely green, writers of all descriptions flock to the site. Camaraderie, says member Jim Nichols, a Maine writer whose work recently won a spot in New Rivers Press s American Fiction Vol. The opportunity to meet, converse with and learn from accomplished writers. Still, the allure of the name behind the enterprise is impossible to dismiss.
Many writers come because they are admirers of Coppola.
Messages addressed to him appear frequently on the discussion board, and sometimes, sometimes, he answers. Yes, I visit, Coppola says. I feel we are in an experimental phase. I want to be sure we are doing things right, and so I watch and listen, and we make changes all the time. So you re a writer with a story you want to post to the site.