Juiced On Writing

In my inbox this week I received an email from WritersDigest.tv. The website is currently holding several videos taken at the latest ThrillerFest conference. These are available as subscriptions.

My problem with this subscription format is – for me – the pricing in cohesion with a time limitation. One video costs $14.99 – of which you can access that one video for 6 months. You can buy a package of videos (all available onsite) for $69.99 but for that you again only have access to those videos for the six months online. Note that you are subscribing to a series on this later option – new videos put up by WritersDigest.tv during this 6 month subscription period will be available to you also (they intend adding two new videos per month) but only if within the series of the initial subscription. If you want to access different conferences or genres you will need to subscribe – and pay – separately for these.

According to the FAQs found online, it appears that WritersDigest.tv intends providing straight workshops (possibly from outside of real-life conferences also) as writers who conduct these are paid royalties with each subscription or video purchase.

I think it’s an exciting opportunity to see the conference lectures online like this – I’ve never had the opportunity to attend a writing conference myself, and several of the videos available appeal to me and I would like to watch. However I can’t afford the cost of one video let alone the package, when I know that once I’ve watched the video(s) I will rarely need to watch them again, and certainly not get my six months value out of it. If I were studying for some writing certification with the videos as part of the course curriculum,  perhaps, but these are conference videos, without swat sheets.

As someone who does occasionally pay for subscription videos downloadable online (particularly how-tos and training videos) I also consider that once paid for, I get to own my copy – these are not enforced to being watched online. I can download them in various formats and watch them at my own leisure without a time limitation expiring my viewing pleasure at a later date. If I have to pay another subscription at a later period, to access more content then so be it.

But perhaps I’m misunderstanding the service being offered here. Perhaps I should be looking at the WritersDigest.tv ThrillerFest videos as a video rental agreement, like going down to my nearest video hirer, and checking out a DVD over a rainy weekend (or hiring a video over the internet for a week or month). The price isn’t exactly comparable however. Even Netflix in the U.S. has much cheaper memberships – but then, they’re on a monthly basis, and WritersDigest is for six months.

Back we are, to the six month time allocation,  and I can’t step away from the conference side of all of this. WritersDigest.tv does start off advertising this as something a little different -

Writer’s Digest brings the best writing conferences straight to your computer via WritersDigest.tv, an on-demand, online video network featuring writing advice, tips and instruction from best-selling authors, agents and editors.

On-demand, online advice, tips and instructions. Those would be helpful, yes I agree. And I again admit I’d love to attend such conferences myself. And quite rightly, the pricing of the WritersDigest.tv videos is simply not comparable with actually attending such conferences, especially when you factor in accommodation, meals and the conference pricing itself. Not to mention the T-Shirt.

But sitting in front of a laptop screen watching a video isn’t interactive or indeed dynamic enough a learning experience for me, no matter how long I can access it. The many I.T. conferences I have attended (the only comparison I have with a writing conference, unfortunately) have not only included such lectures (where I’ve sat down and watched people saying things at me) but crib notes -  entire folders of them, and two things even more important – the ability to ask questions myself of the speakers, and the ability to network.

However, I am not against the WritersDigest.tv offerings at all. Unless a successful author, I would never be able to attend such conferences in another country myself, nor probably hear the speakings of some of my favourite authors in a genre I’m interested in. So, despite the fact I’m not crazy about having to rent such videos and the pricing involved, I could well see myself saving up for a month or two to be able to watch one of those currently offered.

The .tv website is a division of F+W Publications Inc, and holds the name of the U.S. magazine, Writer’s Digest. They obviously must know their market and price accordingly, and I can certainly not question this from a U.K. basis. I might hope that another pricing policy is someday offered, perhaps at a cheaper option for a month’s access. As an on-demand service, normally I know that if I’m demanding – and paying for something – then I usually want to download or in this case watch the thing I’ve demanded and bought – immediately or very close to that purchase point. And if I can do this within a less expensive option, all the more motivation for me to subscribe and pay for it.

WritersDigest.tv currently offers nine videos of around 45 – 55 minutes each from the ThrillerFest and will shortly be offering other videos from the Maui Writers Conference. On the homepage, you will find one free clip to watch, which may give you a good idea of the visual and sound quality of the videos (both excellent, even at fullscreen mode).

Link : WritersDigest.tv

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