Outrider Reviews

While Merriam-Webster defines "outrider" as "one who escorts or clears the way for a vehicle or person," here in the West, we more often use the term to describe the cowboy who checks the fences, riding the boundaries of the ranch for days at a time, patrolling the outskirts of the establishment.

We at WareFore Analysis employ this metaphor to cover those who prowl the boundaries of the publishing establishment, close to breaking through those mystical barriers to professional status. Sometimes, we sortie into that territory by selling a story or article, but we just can't make the magic last long enough to settle down in the bunkhouse with those who make their living by writing.

Outrider Reviews explore that question from just outside the fence. Not the distant view of beginning writers, as so many "how-to" books & articles do. Not the view from the other end of the pipeline, that of The Reader, as many newspapers and magazines do — though The Reader's perspective is often key to selling a piece.

Rather, Outrider Reviews rise right from the boundary, written by writers struggling with the same questions you do. They've sold a piece or two, or they've starting getting those personal rejections from editors, or they've even brought out a book from a small publisher that just didn't take off, but something's still missing from their work or their connections. Each review will take apart something that did make the printed page, maybe one of the reviewer's successful sorties, or maybe something — book, story, or article — by a more established name, and explore the differences between "almost" and "royalty check."

Click here to read a sample.