Why do you publish on YWS?

The Lit Center is the hub for YWS works, so we want to find out what motivates YWSers to publish there. Feel free to share more on your choice by replying to this forum! Are there multiple reasons? Is it a 70%, 30% type deal? Let us know!

There’s lots of factors involved. Another one not included is: It is free.

I don't often publish things on YWS because I don't often write solo projects, but when I do tend to do it more for the community and sharing my work with others. I'd love to say for critiques but I always feel bad when someone critiques my work >.>

Several factors. I think one of them can be just to test the fire of the masses, seeing how long it catches the attention of the masses and disappear, how much it is criticized and broken yet praised. (Wow that was run-on sentence)

Anyways (my phone autocorrected to anygays for some reason?), that's one of the reasons why I would publish work. It's also used as pieces of clues or map for one to find a treasure I've hidden in the Internet too

All of the above, definitely! It really varies based on the work. There's a few things I don't share on here, like some of my more niche fics or my full-length novel drafts, but I do like sharing my poetry here because of all of the reasons up above.

In addition to the fame and prestige of the lit-spotlight though ~

I like to see how a work or method is received or if it is understood at all and I like the community aspect of poetry that we can muddle through poetic thoughts together to improve our craft and share what we think / feel / learn. Poetry as conversation or expression I think fits pretty well with what I like about posting poetry on the site.

With that I also love reading poems on YWS that either express something that I also resonate with or communicate something in a new or inventive or creative way that I would never think of myself but can still understand. Writing is cool isn't it?

Another reason I post (more-so in my NaPo thread & my wall, than through the publishing center) is to treat YWS as a bit of a time-capsule and conversation with myself & others into the future @_@. I love discovering that something I'm thinking or writing now has mysteriously picked up lines from a poem from 5 years ago, or reading a poem that's a decade old and trying to put myself in my own shoes xD

I like to see how a work or method is received or if it is understood at all

I didn't think of that earlier, but I very much agree with that, @lliyah! I always love seeing how people analyze different aspects of my writing—especially when I'm trying something new or covering a more complex topic/idea.

I clicked for critique but actually it is for all of the above so oopsie.