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Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I have so much trouble reading fmm's posts that I really have no idea what he's trying to say. Can anyone else summarize?

Essentially, he thinks:
- Forums are replacing blogs as a web medium because forums speak directly to other individuals while blogs are too much about the writer.
- Your forum posts will be more important than your blog because readers want to talk to you as an equal.
- Forum posts should match the quality of your book, that he would hunt down a great author if he found him
- After reading a book, he would rather meet the author on a forum than a blog.
- Nobody's preventing us from doing creative things with our posts to give people a taste of our skill
- He is storing his posts to update later and, I think, post them on something like a blog.
- Apparently he's been banned or is worried about being banned somewhere and will or has, at such point, just move on.
- He doesn't like people who link in their signatures.

My apologies if I've missed something or made any mistakes; they're really not an easy read.

What I've been saying is that your forum posts will be so different from your work that they won't really hook readers by themselves. You need to use your forum posts, your reputation, your "likability" factor, to direct people to a location which will hook readers because it's actually kind of about you and your book.
 

Telcontar

Staff
Moderator
My apologies if I've missed something or made any mistakes; they're really not an easy read.

At least you read them. I stopped bothering to try.

I think the general thing he's getting at is that encountering an author on the forums is sort of like meeting them at a bar - hanging out, mixing with them in an informal way. There's a lot to be said for such interaction. I think he underestimates the fact that - much like at a bar - there are a bunch of other people there, many of whom are annoying or also vying for the person's time and attention. Blogs on the other hand are focused on the audience - more formal, but you get what you expect.

Doing creative things with our posts is well and good, but his 'creative thing' has made his posts too much trouble to read to bother with. Seems counterproductive. A forum thread is not a collaborative story (except those that, you know, are). It is a discussion. Communication should be simple and direct.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Doing creative things with our posts is well and good, but his 'creative thing' has made his posts too much trouble to read to bother with. Seems counterproductive. A forum thread is not a collaborative story (except those that, you know, are). It is a discussion. Communication should be simple and direct.

I once put together a story in a forum. We created fictional accounts for the characters involved and created a thread where each post was a character commenting on the events happening around them. It was a battle scene, so certain characters would post narrative scenes from the battle, but each post developed the story a bit. I remember one post went through a series of "communications" showing how the battle was getting steadily worse. It was pretty cool.
 
Essentially, he thinks:
- Forums are replacing blogs as a web medium because forums speak directly to other individuals while blogs are too much about the writer.
- Your forum posts will be more important than your blog because readers want to talk to you as an equal.
- Forum posts should match the quality of your book, that he would hunt down a great author if he found him
- After reading a book, he would rather meet the author on a forum than a blog.
- Nobody's preventing us from doing creative things with our posts to give people a taste of our skill
- He is storing his posts to update later and, I think, post them on something like a blog.
- Apparently he's been banned or is worried about being banned somewhere and will or has, at such point, just move on.
- He doesn't like people who link in their signatures.

My apologies if I've missed something or made any mistakes; they're really not an easy read.

What I've been saying is that your forum posts will be so different from your work that they won't really hook readers by themselves. You need to use your forum posts, your reputation, your "likability" factor, to direct people to a location which will hook readers because it's actually kind of about you and your book.

Hah, thanks, you just saved me a lot of trouble.
 

fleamailman

Closed Account
(and with that the goblin returned looked over the posts and just continued, by saying "...there now, if any potential reader turns up they'll understand your thinking better now, so a lot can be said for this...", and yet, too many things had been said for the goblin to reply to all of them it seemed. so instead he just answered a few of the points, saying "...if you go back to one of sashamerideth's posts, he recounts that there was a mod who banned one solely on not being liked by him, so no, it's often nothing to do with whether one's writing is wrong and everything to do with whether one is accepted or not, so simply my advice remains that of non compromise where if the price is too high or where one is banned just move on anyway without regret, if simply because you will outlive all those forums you're on like I have those bbs boards of way back now, none of them remain, but I'm still here you see...", and then the goblin smiled, replying to Telcontar "...these posts are not what I publish, I think the hitcount of what I publish runs into hundreds if not thousands of readers by now, where my being anonymous means I'm not interested in creating a readership like you, so now, if this is communication between us and I don't want a readership too, then what do I want you're asking, me, I want a replyship now, why, because you don't want to read this either, no, you want to form your own reply back to me now, so welcome to forumland dear reader/authors...")
 

Xanados

Maester
Okay, I'm sorry, but I'm finding Fleamailman's posts to be rather obnoxious now. I didn't even find them intriguing in the first place. I don't think we should have somone on the forums who doesn't speak with even a modicum of coherency. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but it is true. He/she doesn't even add any clarity to the topic on which she is commenting.
 
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Xanados, could I get your opinion on the current state of my blog? It currently needs work, more posts, more information, etc., and I'd like to know what people think it needs.

Edit: I plan on additional information fir each story. Longer synopsis, character info, maybe more status updates.

Sent from my Blade using Forum Runner
 

Xanados

Maester
Xanados, could I get your opinion on the current state of my blog? It currently needs work, more posts, more information, etc., and I'd like to know what people think it needs.

Edit: I plan on additional information fir each story. Longer synopsis, character info, maybe more status updates.

Sent from my Blade using Forum Runner
Sasha, I think your blog is okay. I think that it could benefit with a more interesting theme, but if you want it to be spartan, I think that is quite alright. I'm certainly not an authority on this, but you can check out my blog which currently doesn't have anything on it. I think adding a picture banner that relates to your interests is a good idea. I dislike the standard blog themes.

Your "writing resources" post is quite nice. I'd make sure to put in your word processor of choice because some words are mispelled. The first word I noticed was the contraction "don't".
 
Okay, I'm sorry, but I'm finding Fleamailman's posts to be rather obnoxious now. I didn't even find them intriguing in the first place. I don't think we should have somone on the forums who doesn't speak with even a modicum of coherency. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but it is true. He/she doesn't even add any clarity to the topic on which she is commenting.

Agreed, I stuck them on my ignore list days ago... :(
I just don't have time to wade through the filler stuff to figure out what they are trying to say.
 
Rats, I guess I really can't proofread my own stuff :) I will get that cleaned up.

Sent from my Blade using Forum Runner
 
Sasha,
I checked out your site last night... Looked nice and normal. I read fluent typo so I missed what Xan seen.
However, I presume it is a WIP?
It seems a little too safe, dull etc., when you consider that I know how vibrant your work is. Just stuck me as odd is all but, that is just my Opinion.
 
Thanks for the look. I am going to try to tweak the layout and theme. I am also working on a third post, first experiences with Amazon KDP. Hasn't gone as well as planned, so I wanted to talk about it.

I like spartan blogs, lots of white space, just the content. No ads. A whole redesign will take a while to get right. Right now, it is a standard template with a few tweaks.

I haven't figured out how to make it as vibrant and interesting as my stories and posts here. The blog is a bit more formal than I like, maybe it's my attitude that needs to change.

The Blue Lotus said:
Sasha,
I checked out your site last night... Looked nice and normal. I read fluent typo so I missed what Xan seen.
However, I presume it is a WIP?
It seems a little too safe, dull etc., when you consider that I know how vibrant your work is. Just stuck me as odd is all but, that is just my Opinion.

Sent from my Blade using Forum Runner
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Thanks for the look. I am going to try to tweak the layout and theme. I am also working on a third post, first experiences with Amazon KDP. Hasn't gone as well as planned, so I wanted to talk about it.

I like spartan blogs, lots of white space, just the content. No ads. A whole redesign will take a while to get right. Right now, it is a standard template with a few tweaks.

I haven't figured out how to make it as vibrant and interesting as my stories and posts here. The blog is a bit more formal than I like, maybe it's my attitude that needs to change.



Sent from my Blade using Forum Runner

You should post more about your work directly and not just about the writing process. What did you write recently, are you happy with it, are you learning new things about your characters, did something surprising happen in the story that you weren't expecting - that sort of thing. You shouldn't give too much away, but that's what you should talk about if you want a wider audience to connect with your work. You want fans, not just followers.
 

Black Dragon

Staff
Administrator
("...any chance of seeing some excerpts of you blog on this forum then..." asked the goblin now)

As long as they are brief excerpts, that may be fine. See the following item from our site guidelines:

3. Avoiding Duplicate Content

Please do not repost anything which has previously been posted elsewhere on the Internet (including your own sites or blogs). Google has a policy of penalizing sites which repost content which has already appeared on other sites, and this could result in serious consequences for our community.

If you wish to share an excerpt from an article or page which is located on another site, the excerpt must be no longer that 3-5 sentences, and must include a link back to the original article.
 
fleamailman said:
("...any chance of seeing some excerpts of you blog on this forum then..." asked the goblin now)

OK then, have a preview of an as-yet unpublished article. I don't know what the forum software will do with my tags, may have to edit it again. Posting it as it came out of my blogger phone editor so it may go horribly wrong.


I've added in the rest of my crew complement in episode two. I need to revise them a bit, they may be a bit too stereotypical for my liking.

The first to make an appearance is Ferrer. He is the ship's mechanic. I will admit to lifting his character straight from a few of the Ghibli Studio films. He is similar in personality to Kamaji, the boiler man from Spirited Away, and the Dola Gang mechanic from Laputa Castle in the Sky. This mechanically inclined character seems to be a recurring theme in the Ghibli films, especially those where flight is a central theme. There is a similar character in Porco Rosso, and probably others. He is sympathetic to Rosy's plight, he has known her longer than anyone else, and just like her, he came with the ship.


edit: here's the link to where this came from, now that my blog post is up.
 
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I like reading favorite authors' blogs. Blogging isn't so formal that there's no interaction between author and audience; that's what the comment section is for. This is just me, but if I were a well-known author I'd probably prefer to be anonymous on forums like this so I could get unbiased advice and reviews from my peers. I think for those of us who are trying to establish ourselves, a blog is the best bet.

I've "watched" a friend of mine create a blog and become pretty successful at it. Last time I asked, which was a year ago or more, she was getting 7,000+ hits per month, and I'm sure she's getting more now. If anyone is interested, here's what I've learned from her:

1) Start commenting on popular blogs that have a high volume of traffic. Many of them allow you to link your own posts, which will start bringing a higher volume of traffic to your blog. Build a relationship with well-known bloggers so that they will mention your blog in a post, link to your blog, twitter, or facebook page, or (best of all) allow you to guest post on their blog.

2) Create a facebook page that people can "like" and always post a link to your blog entries as you put them up. Post a link to twitter for every new blog entry, as well.

3) Most importantly, have something for people to read so that you keep the traffic coming. Post twice a week minimum. Four posts would be even better. My friend posts five times a week on average. When people comment on your blog, respond! Especially in the beginning.

If anyone wants to take a look and see what she's doing, her blog is called Musings of a Marfan Mom. It's a blog about parenting special needs kids while being special needs yourself, so it's not about writing, but it's a great example of how to create and maintain a successful blog. Recently she's guest posted on WebMD and some other sites, so obviously she's build a decent name for herself. It seems to me that it's all about putting in the time (it takes more than you'd think) and self-promotion. Anyway, this is what I've observed and what she's told me.
 
Two more posts up. I really need to get my first episode ready, need to take it off Amazon, noticed a dozen typographical errors on my last read. Oops.
 

fleamailman

Closed Account
("...that is why reposting is so important then, basically it's air/edit/backup, as in people take interest, you edit your typos, and there's a copy somewhere in case of mishap..." mentioned the goblin again, adding "...better if you also have a universal avatar across forums too, because the lines between the work the forum and the author are blurring as we speak now, and if the reader won't go to your work then your work must come to the reader...")
 
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